What is a toll farmer?

Question

Just wondering if a "toll farmer"/"toll lab" is an actual profession or if it may be a transcription error?

- Jonathan is noted as "toll lab", but his wife and daughters are noted as "toll farmer's wife" and "toll farmer's daughter"

- In 1861 Census after Jonathan has died, his widow is noted as "Proprietor of Lane and Houses". In later Censuses his children are noted as "Annuitant" or "Living on own means".

- From the sounds of it they owned a road and charged tolls for it? Unless I'm misunderstanding this!

- It also sounds like the children were getting some amount of money. The three eldest daughterss remained spinsters/unmaried their whole life and always "Living on her own means" as occupation.

Census in question:

• "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SG1V-RWM
 : 29 July 2017), Jonathan Lapish, , Yorkshire,Yorkshire (East Riding), England; citing , Yorkshire,Yorkshire (East Riding), England, p. 10, from "1851
England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (
http://www.findmypast.com
 : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

Comments

toll-farmer: of the tolls at a certain place (cf. FARMER noun

source:  http://www.seadict.com/en/en/toll(2)​

It makes more sense when read with the rest of the page, there are a lot of other "toll" hyphenated words and meanings :)

I hope it helps!

 

---

"lab" might mean "laborer"

---

Yes, it does, Keith

Answer 1

In 1841 he was a toll farmer in Acomb. Obviously well-off family.

The 1851 census actually says toll farmer and that has been crossed out and replaced with toll collector.

I assume we are talking about something like a tax farmer, which is a better known concept.

Answer 2

"Lab" is a pretty common abbreviation for "Laborer" back in the day.

Comments

... that makes complete sense now that you mention it.

Though "toll laborer" still is confusing and his wife being "toll farmer's wife".

My assumption is they must have had some sort of road through their farm/holding and it was a toll road? Whatever it was, his children seemed well off enough from it to have been able to live on their own means without having a husband.

Answer 3

Or perhaps he was the toll-keeper who also had a smallholding? (you know, 2 sheep, 1 pigge, 2 cows etc.

Comments

can I just say I love you spelled it "pigge" lol

---

I found that spelling in a *very* old document, and loved it too!

Answer 4

"Toll lab" makes no sense.

Looking at the image, the original return said "Toll farmer", but the statistician has scribbled Coll and somebody has transcribed it as lab.

A toll farmer was somebody who paid a fixed price for the right to collect and keep tolls.

The payments would usually be on credit, against security or a guarantee.

Since the job was 24/7 he would usually live in a house next to the toll-bar.

There's no implication that he grew corn or kept pigs or had any involvement in that sort of farming, although of course he might, since the road traffic wouldn't keep him busy.

Answer 5

In " old English " the stated definition is, as a noun, " tool tax custom duty due "