Meaning
A freeholder who owned and farmed his own land, ranking below the gentry but above tenant farmers.
Description
A yeoman was an independent landowner of modest but respectable means who farmed his own freehold land. The term implied a degree of social respectability and financial independence. Yeomen formed an important middle tier in rural society, serving as churchwardens, overseers of the poor and jurors. The term was widely used from the medieval period through to the 18th century, after which farmer became more common. Finding a yeoman in your family tree suggests an ancestor of some local standing with property that may be traced through wills, inventories and land records.
Also Known As
Freeholder, Husbandman
Commonly Found In
- Parish Registers
- Wills and Inventories
- Manorial Records
- Land Tax Records
- Quarter Sessions Records
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