Nature of Source
Records generated from a form of annuity (fixed annual income for life) organised by the state. The investors shared the annuity each year until each investor died leaving a sole subscriber. Tontines were usually associated with the wealthy who often subscribed on behalf of a relative (nominee). Some borough corporations also organised their own tontines.
Records of Irish tontines are also available at The National Archives, although the subscribers were not necessarily of Irish origin.
Where Found
The National Archives (NDO 1, National Debt Office: Tontine, 1789; NDO 2, National Debt Office: Tontine, 1789; NDO 3, National Debt Office: Irish Tontines, 1773-1777)
British Library (Published records)
Period Covered
1693 – 1789
Genealogical Value
- Name and address of the subscriber and nominee.
- Names of the nominee’s parents.
- Age and date of death of the nominee.
Further References
- Bevan, Amanda. Tracing Your Ancestors in the National Archives: The National Archives, 2006
- Leeson, Francis. Guide to the Records of British State Tontines and Life Annuities of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: Pinhorns, 1968
Websites
www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Tontine_and_Annuity_Records_(National_Institute) (FamilySearch Research Wiki: England Tontine and Annuity Records)
www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Tontines (Historic UK: The Tontine Principle, by Sandra Whitnell)
Online Databases
www.findmypast.co.uk (Irish Tontines Annuitants 1766-1789. Search over 153,000 annuity statements, accounts of deaths, death certificates, and marriage certificates relating to the subscribers and nominees of the Irish Tontine. Some subscribers and nominees could come from all over the British Isles as well as mainland Europe)
Findmypast
Yorkshire, Sheffield Social and Institutional Records 1558-1939 List of Tontine Inn subscribers, 1785.
CD Roms
N/A
