Illustration 9: Population of New-York circa 1700 by Ward

Table 1: Summary of Tax List for the Year 1695

Summary of data as developed in 1695 Spreadsheets 1-3 and from Tax List of 1695 in Collections of The New-York Historical Society for the year 1910 (New York: Printed for the Society MDCCCCXI)

Table 2: Summary of Census of 1703 (sans Out Ward)

Summary of data as developed in 1703 Spreadsheets 4-6 and from THE DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BY E. B. O'CALLAGHAN, M. D. Volume I. (Albany: Weed, Parsons, & Co. Public Printers 1850) pages 395 to 405 Census of the City of New-York about the year 1703

Table 3A: Summary of 1695 Tax List

Table 3B: Summary 1703 Census

Note 1: The number of houses in South Ward seems artificially low. The analysis above based on a closer look at the census data (see South Ward Analysis Spreadsheet) suggests some listings as business were not only businesses but also houses/households. In the South Ward Analysis, the number of house/business combinations under plausible assumptions was between 40 and 60. Thus the addition of those to the calculation above slightly modifies Households/House and People/House as shown in the "South Ward + 40" and "South Ward + 60". Another analysis comparing Tax Listings from 1695 to the 1703 Census of households shows that at least 33 listings from 1695 have no indication as being used as a "house" but show up as a "household" in 1703. That does not include 35 1695 listings that would be "possible houses" under the plausible assumptions above. Plausible = listings over 50 pounds.

Note 2: For the purposes of these calculations the number of houses in 1695 is assumed to be the same as the number of houses in 1703. Although the population increased through 1700, a yellow fever epidemic reduced the population by 1703 to ten per cent less than 1698.

Discussion of Tables

Five of the six wards in The Tax List of 1695 itemized the assessments by real estate (house) and by personal estate. The Out Ward did not follow that convention and, in any case, is not shown in Illustration 6 (hence the compilations here without the inclusion of the Out Ward). The Tax List listed individual houses and the owner. It also listed people who were assessed for personal property in the house but had no liability for the house itself. Table 1 proceeds from the calculations from Spreadsheet 1 which lists the individual assessments by person and by ward.

Table 1... there seems to be some anomaly in the South Ward. The South Ward has more assessments than any other ward but has by this account only about half the houses of an average ward. One explanation could be that in that ward many people lived in the same buildings as their business. Instead of segregating the business from the house, the assessors simply assessed the business and included the building as part of the business' assets.