This year for tax month—extended to May 17—I have extracted some property tax records for Georges Township, Fayette County, PA. The focus is on the Conn family beginning in 1815 with George Conn, listed in February’s blog, and his sons over a 25 year period. Tax records can provide clues about residency, land ownership, death of a land owner, as well as indicate the potential age of men who become adults and were then taxed for an occupation.
The 1815 tax records listed the senior George Conn, who owned 290 acres of land. Four of his sons, along with his son-in-law and grandson, Caleb Fowler and John Fowler were also in the rolls, although none owned land. They probably resided on their father’s property. In 1817 George died intestate and his lands were distributed to his children, which is evidenced in the 1818 tax register. That year listed six of his sons: Clement, Jacob, John, George, Isaac, and James who was marked as living in Virginia. The records also had Caleb Fowler with the land passed down from his wife’s father. On various tax years, it appeared that John might have paid Jacob’s taxes by the way the total values were recorded.
As the years progress the names for the Conn family changed as new ones were added and others disappeared. The new names were likely the next generation of Conns who had become adults and as their father’s passed away and were taken off the tax rolls, the sons then inherited the land. The second generation George in 1825 was listed as an old man, but in 1830 his land was listed as part of his estate, suggesting he died the previous year. Delving into the deeds and wills for Fayette County would determine to which families these Conns belonged and pinpoint dates for these events.
Some of the Conns moved out of the county, which would explain their absence. For instance in 1825 a note by Caleb Fowler lists “gone”, and he does not appear on the tax rolls after that. What happened to his land is unclear as no deed transaction for Caleb selling the land is found in the indexes. It seems that many of the Conns left this township, as by 1840, the only Conn remaining was William; his relationship to the original George has not yet been determined.
These five year increments give a quick glance of some changes that took place in the family and the distribution of land. Examining each year of the tax rolls more closely can provide better detail about the shifts in the family, as young men became adults, and the older men passed. Although other documents are needed for conclusive evidence of the fate of the Conns, these records provide a good starting point for identifying the Conns who lived in Georges Township, and likely descended from the earlier settler George Conn.
| 1815 Tax List Georges Township, Fayette County, PA | ||||||||
| Name/Occupation | Occupation Tax | Acres | Land Value | Horses | Cattle | Livestock Value | Total Value | |
| Conn, Clement | ||||||||
| blacksmith | 300 | 2 | 4 | 92 | 392 | |||
| Conn, George | ||||||||
| farmer | 40 | 290 | 2030 | 4 | 3 | 152 | 2222 | |
| Conn, George Jun | ||||||||
| blacksmith | 300 | 1 | 4 | 62 | 362 | |||
| Conn, John | single | |||||||
| saddler | 150 | 150 | ||||||
| Conn, Jacob | ||||||||
| farmer | 40 | 1 | 30 | 70 | ||||
| Fowler, Caleb | ||||||||
| farmer | 40 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 78 | |||
| Fowler, John | ||||||||
| farmer | 116 | |||||||
| 1818 Tax List Georges Township, Fayette County, PA | ||||||||
| Name/Occupation | Occupation Tax | Acres | Land Value | Horses | Cattle | Livestock Value | Total Value | |
| Conn, Clement | ||||||||
| blacksmith | 200 | 47 | 705 | 2 | 4 | 128 | 1033 | |
| Conn, Jacob | ||||||||
| farmer | 60 | 47 | 705 | 1 | 12 | 72 | ||
| Conn, John | ||||||||
| Saddler | 200 | 3 | 250 | 2 | 1 | 92 | 1247 | |
| his part of father’s land | 47 | 705 | 705 | |||||
| Conn, George | ||||||||
| blacksmith | 200 | 48 | 720 | 2 | 3 | 116 | 1036 | |
| Conn, Isaac | ||||||||
| farmer | 60 | 47 | 705 | 3 | 2 | 144 | 909 | |
| Conn, James | ||||||||
| Virginia | 47 | 705 | 705 | |||||
| Fowler, Caleb | ||||||||
| carpenter | 90 | 12 1/2 | 187 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 329 | |
| Fowler, John | ||||||||
| farmer | 60 | 2 | 3 | 116 | 176 | |||
| 1820 Tax List Georges Township, Fayette County, PA | ||||||||
| Name/Occupation | Occupation Tax | Acres | Land Value | Horses | Cattle | Livestock Value | Total Value | |
| Conn, Clement | ||||||||
| farmer | 75 | 50 | 500 | 2 | 3 | 90 | 665 | |
| Conn, George Sen | ||||||||
| farmer | 50 | 500 | 2 | 2 | 80 | 520 | ||
| Conn, George Jun | Single | |||||||
| blacksmith | 75 | 75 | ||||||
| Conn, James | ||||||||
| — | 50 | 500 | 500 | |||||
| Conn, John | ||||||||
| unclear | 100 | 50 | 500 | 2 | 20 | 620 | ||
| Conn, Jacob | ||||||||
| — | 50 | 500 | 500 | |||||
| Conn, Isaac | ||||||||
| farmer | 75 | 50 | 500 | 2 | 2 | 80 | 655 | |
| Fowler, Caleb | ||||||||
| farmer | 60 | 12 | 120 | 1 | 10 | 190 | ||
| 1825 Tax List Georges Township, Fayette County, PA | ||||||||
| Name/Occupation | Occupation Tax | Acres | Land Value | Horses | Cattle | Livestock Value | Total Value | |
| Conn, George | ||||||||
| old man | 50 | 800 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 850 | ||
| Conn, James | ||||||||
| NR? | “ | 50 | 700 | 700 | ||||
| Conn, John | ||||||||
| Saddler | 100 | 50 | 700 |
|
3 | 150 | 1650 | |
| Conn, Jacob | ||||||||
| NR? | “ | 50 | 700 | |||||
| Conn, Isaac | ||||||||
| farmer | 60 | 51 | 663 | 2 | 1 | 70 | 793 | |
| transferred to ??? | ||||||||
| Fowler, Caleb | ||||||||
| gone | 12 | 144 | ||||||
| Conn, Clemmans | ||||||||
| blacksmith | 60 | 1 | 10 | 70 | ||||
| Con, James | ||||||||
| laborer | 60 | 1 | 2 | 45 | 105 | |||
| 1830 Tax List Georges Township, Fayette County, PA | ||||||||
| Name/Occupation | Occupation Tax | Acres | Land Value | Horses | Cattle | Livestock Value | Total Value | |
| Conn, Daniel | ||||||||
| single | 100 | 100 | ||||||
| Conn, John | ||||||||
| Saddler | 200 | 97 | 990 | 2 | 3 | 130 | 1320 | |
| Conn, George | ||||||||
| Estate | 42 | 420 | 420 | |||||
| Conn, Isaac | ||||||||
| farmer | 80 | 48 | 486 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 660 | |
| Conn, Samuel | ||||||||
| laborer | 75 | 75 | ||||||
| 1835 Tax List Georges Township, Fayette County, PA | ||||||||
| Name/Occupation | Occupation Tax | Acres | Land Value | Horses | Cattle | Livestock Value | Total Value | |
| Conn, Samuel | ||||||||
| laborer | 40 | H & L | 100 | 140 | ||||
| Conn, John | ||||||||
| Saddler | 75 | 113 | 791 | 2 | 4 | 98 | 964 | |
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