1679 Tithe Myth

William Womack does not appear in the 1679 Henrico Tithe List

The notion that a William Womack appears in the 1679 Tithe List of Henrico County, Virginia, originates with this quote:

In the lists of tithables (tax lists) of Henrico County, 1679 are the following familiar names: Nicholas Perkins, James Royall, Mr. Kennon, Thomas East, Abram Womack (son of William), James Akin, William Harris, Mr. George Worsham, Charles Clay, Godfrey Ragsdale, Henry Pruitt, Mr. Richard Ward, and John Millner.

The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, by Maud Carter Clement, 1929, p.43.

In parentheses, Mrs Clement provided additional information that Abram Womack was the son of William Womack. The actual record does not say that, nor does it list any Womack other than Abraham Womack. Abram was a nickname and abbreviation for Abraham. Mrs Clement wrote about some Womack residents of Pittsylvania Co, VA. Though not a Womack descendant herself, parts of her extended family intermarried with Womacks, hence her interest in the name. Mrs Clement's book was published two years after the Valentine Papers, so she likely had access to the information in the Valentine Papers, from which she gathered the information that Abraham Womack was the son of William Womack.

A transcription of the 1679 Tithe List is on John W Pritchett's Virginians website. Again, the only Womack listed is Abraham.

This list was brought to attention in 1915 by William Clayton Torrence in a series of articles published in the William and Mary Quarterly:

William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Oct., 1915), pp. 116-142 (27 pages)

Henrico County, Virginia: Beginnings of its Families, Part 1, by William Clayton Torrence.

p.131 - Att a Court holden att Varina for the County of Henrico the second day of June Anno Dom 1679 ... An account of ye several fortye Tythables ordered by this Wor'll Court to fitt out men horses armes &c. according to act, viz:

Abrah Womecke 2

An abstract of this record is also in the Valentine Papers, Vol 3, p.1769.

The list is actually on page 102-103 of Henrico Co, VA Will & Deed Book 1677-1692 (image 34 of 650, LDS microfilm #31763). Click on image below for larger version. Abraham Womack's name is on p.102 (left page), middle section, left column, 6th name.

There is no mention of other Womacks in the list, taken in June 1679. The first William Womack had died before Oct 1677 (Henrico Co, VA Orphans Court, p.1), and his son, the second William Womack, died before Apr 1674 (Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, By Henry Read McIlwaine, published 1924, p.369). There was no adult William Womack living in Henrico Co, VA in 1679. Probably, Richard Womack's son William was not born by 1679, nor was John Womack's son William. Abraham Womack's son William was a boy in 1679.

Thomas Womack, son of the first William Womack was only about 15 in 1679, not old enough to be a tithable (Thomas Womack, age 28, deposition 1 Aug 1692, Henrico Co, VA 1688-1697:337). Richard Womack and John Womack were old enough, and it is not known why they were not enumerated. Perhaps they were counted as tithables under another person.

Abraham Womack is the only Womack to appear in the 1679 Henrico Tithe List.

Thus, William Womack does not appear in the 1679 Henrico Tithe List.