Does anyone on the list know anything about how "smokes" are taxed?  I am
trying to decipher Grand List records from Stonington, Connecticut
(1790-1803) and have had some trouble understanding/interpreting the
difference between 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rate smokes.  Does this rate base
reflect the size or condition of a particular house?



Most individuals are being taxed on 3rd or 4th rate smokes. Occasionally I
see a 2nd rate smoke and rarely a 1st rate smoke.  Under each of these rates
is the number of smokes being taxed (usually between 1 and 3, but I have
seen some as high as 7 to 12 and one at 20).  For the purpose of this
discussion, the OED defines smoke as "the smoke arising from a particular
hearth or fireplace; hence, a hearth, fire-place, house."  If I take the
number of smokes as the number of fireplaces/hearths, then why do I so
commonly see annual fluctuations in the number of smokes at a particular
dwelling?  For example, 2 - 4th rate smokes in 1790, 1- 4th rate smoke in
1791, 2 - 4th rate smokes in 1792, etc.  I am puzzled why this number is
sometimes so erratic from year to year.  Given the sensitivity to taxation
around this time, I wouldn't think this is attributable to the whim of the
assessor.  Can anyone explain this?



Also what would cause a dwelling to be assessed as 3rd rate one year, 4th
rate the following two years, 3rd rate for the next three years, and 4th
rate after that?



I hope this is not too confusing and I would be happy to clarify my
questions/concerns to interested persons.  Thank you.



Jason



Jason R. Mancini, Senior Researcher

Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center

110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, CT 06338

tel. (860) 396-6802  fax (860) 396-6914

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