| This image includes the top portion of the third page of the original 1779 tax assessment return for Ayr Township, within Bedford County, showing the names of Residents "Paxton" through "Stephens". |
| Note: This image was scanned from a photocopy of the original 1779 tax assessment for Ayr Township, within Bedford County. The originals of the tax assessment returns were stored, for many years, in Vault #1 in the basement of the Bedford County Court House. The webmaster of this site was given permission by the officials of the Bedford County Court system to photocopy the original returns in the 1980s. A year or two after the original returns were photocopied, a pipe burst in the vault in which the returns were stored, causing water damage to many records, and the original tax assessment returns were subsequently transferred to the Pioneer Historical Society of Bedford County for storage. |
The following is a transcription of the names of the Residents which appear on the 1779 Ayr Township, Bedford County tax assessment return, as shown in the image above. It is as accurate as possible. Certain names are followed by a name in brackets { }. These are included in order to show how the names are spelled in the published Pennsylvania Archives (1897 Edition, Third Series, Volume XXII, Pages 179-182). Apparently, the compilers of the published Pennsylvania Archives decided that the names should be spelled the way they thought proper, rather than how the tax assessors and/or collectors actually spelled them.
Notice that there are a few names which are only presented within brackets { }. These names are included in the published Pennsylvania Archives, but do not appear on the 1779 tax assessment return. The 1780 tax assessment returns for Bedford County were not included in the published Pennsylvania Archives. The names that do not appear on the 1779 returns, but were included in the published Pennsylvania Archives for that year are those of individuals whose names do appear on the 1780 tax assessment returns for Bedford County. Apparently the transcribers mixed up the 1780 and 1779 returns when they were transcribed.
| Paxton, Thomas {Paxten, Tho's, Esq'r} Paterson, William {Patterson, William} Philips, Evin {Philips, Evans} (illegible - crossed out) Query, John Query, Allexander {not included in PA Archives} Ryer, Daniell {Royer, Daniel} Rancon, John {Rankin, John} Rinds, Joseph {Rind, Joseph} Scott Robert Stuart, James {Stewart, James} Stevins, Thomas Shelve, Evan {Shelby, Evan} Smith, John Swagler, Widow {not included in the PA Archives} Sloan, William {not included in the PA Archives} Stephens, Richard {Steven, Richard} {Swagart, William} {Salmon, William} {Simpson, Liddle, Ja's} {Stevens, Benjamin} {Shull, Adam} |
