There are a few great genealogy and local history resources available online which perhaps don't always get the attention they deserve. Among these I would count the eighteenth century tax rolls, some of which have been available for some time on the scotlandsplaces website.
These records date from the late 1700s and can be invaluable in helping to trace ancestors before the period when the Scottish census was taken. The two sets of tax records which are available online are the Farm Horse Tax and the Clock and Watch Tax from 1797-1798 and, although the records are not indexed, digital images of the books can be browsed on the scotlandsplaces website.
Simply go to the homepage, select the county in which you are interested, and then choose to view the historical tax records from that county.
These records are not as comprehensive as the census records, but they do give the following information:
Farm Horse Tax: Names of owner and number of horses and mules used in husbandry or trade
Clock and Watch Tax: Names of owners and number of clocks, gold watches and silver or metal watches
There will be an indication of where the individuals lived, but the lists are usually simply split by parish with a list of names for each parish - still they can be an invaluable research tool, and they are especially useful for those who may be researching from a distance.
And...they're free to access!
There are all sorts of other taxation records available at the National Records of Scotland [formerly National Archives of Scotland], maybe one day there will be even more of these available to researchers online too.
In the mean time, why not check out these online records and see whether any of your ancestors owned a gold watch...
Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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