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_Thomas ARIS ________|
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_Samuel ARIS _____________________|
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| |_Sarah ARIS _________|
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|--Samuel ARIS
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| _John FAIRWEATHER ___|
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|_Elizabeth Middleton FAIRWEATHER _|
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|_Hannah FAIRWEATHER _|
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"To the Honorable Commissioners and Govenors fo His Majesty's Revenue of Excise, Malt, Etc. These are to certify that Samuel Aris, born at St. James in the Parish of Clerkenwell in the County of Middlesex in London Collection is a likely Man to make a good Officer, he is Healthy and Active and not encumbered with Debts; is a Single Man aged Twenty Two Years of respectable character and well affected to the present Government, he hath been bred a Printer and proposeth for his Sureties Charles Pitt of the City of Canterbury, Gentleman, and John Hanskom of the same City, Tailor, and humbly desires to be instructed by James Phillips, Officer of Canterbury Third Division, Canterbury District and Canterbury Collection."
"I, Smauel Aris, do voluntarily make Oath that neither I nor any Person for me to my Knowledge or Belief have or hath directly or indirectly given or promised to give any Fee Gratuity or Reward to any person or Persons whatsoever for obtaining or endeavoring to obtain for me an Order of Instructions or any Employment in the Revenue of Excise."
The second of the two entry papers is written by James Phillips, and signed by James Phillips and a supervisor whose signature is illegible. It is dated at Canterbury on February 21, 1828:
"May it please your Honors. These are to certify that Samuel Aris, born
at Clerkenwell in the County of Middlesex in London Collection, aged
Twenty two years, is instructed pursuant to your Honors Order having date
this 21 June 1827. and is qualified for surveying common brewers,
victuallers (keepers of eating houses, taverns or inns), maltsters,
chandlers (candle makers & sellers), soap makers, paper makers, tanners
and tawers (makers of white leather), brandy, coffee, wine, tea, and
tobacco dealers, he can cast excise and malt gages both by Pen and Rule,
hath taken gages and stocked for six weeks in Canterbury 3rd Division and
duly entered his Surveys in books prepared by him for that purpose, from
which he hath made true Vouchers and abstracts, is provided with proper
instruments and instructions, and in every respect well qualified for the
Employment of an Officer of Excise."
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Bowmore is a town on the island of Islay. Islay is an island which is
part of the Inner Hebredies chain of islands off of Scotland's west
coast. Bowmore is in the Parish of Killarrow. The island of Islay was
part of the old County of Argyll. Since re-organization in the 1970's,
it is now part of the Strathclyde Regional Council.
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From "A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland" by Samuel Lewis published
in 1851: The island of Islay is celebrated for its "whisky, which is the
great staple commodity, producing annually to the government a revenue of
more than £30,000. Two-thirds of the grain used in the distillation are
raised on the isle." This primary industry explains why there was a need
for Excise Officers in such a small town. They were there to collect
excise taxes on the production of the liquor. To the present day, Islay
is famous for its single malt Scotch whisky.
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From the Scottish Whisky Association's publications as reprinted on the History of Whisky:
Whisky's increasing popularity eventually attracted the attention of the Scottish parliament, which introduced the first taxes on malt and the end product in the latter part of the 17th century. Ever increasing rates of taxation were applied following The Act of Union with England in 1707, when England set out to tame the rebellious clans of Scotland. The distillers were virtually driven underground.
A long and often bloody battle arose between the Excisemen, or gaugers as they were known, and the illicit distillers, for whom the Excise laws were alien in both their language and their inhibiting intent.
Smuggling became standard practice for some 150 years and there was no moral stigma attached to it. Ministers of the Kirk made storage space available under the pulpit, and the illicit spirit was, on occasion, transported by coffin - any effective means was used to escape the watchful eyes of the Excisemen.
By 1777, eight licensed distilleries were alone contributing in a small way to the revenue of the United Kingdom in the City of Edinburgh, while nearly 400 unregistered stills were said to be contributing only to the personal gains of the freebooters who ran them. This was in any case miniscule when compared to the operations of illicit distillers in the remote Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
Clandestine stills were cleverly organised and hidden in nooks and crannies of the heather-clad hills. One undetectable location channelled the smoke from the peat fire underground for 70 yards to a cottage so that it could be released up the chimney without arousing suspicion.
Smugglers organised signalling systems from one hilltop to another whenever Excise officers were seen to arrive in the vicinity. By the 1820s, despite the fact that as many as 14,000 illicit stills were being confiscated every year, more than half the whisky consumed in Scotland was being swallowed painlessly and with pleasure, without benefit of duty.
This flouting of the law eventually prompted the Duke of Gordon, on whose extensive acres some of the finest illicit whisky in Scotland was being produced, to propose in the House of Lords that the Government should make it profitable to produce whisky legally.
In 1823 the Excise Act was passed, which sanctioned the distilling of whisky in return for a licence fee of £10 and a set payment per gallon of proof spirit. This notable piece of legislation laid the foundations for the Scotch Whisky industry as we know it today.
Smuggling died out almost completely over the next ten years and, in
fact, a great many of the present day distilleries stand on sites used by
smugglers of old.
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It is interesting to note that Samuel Aris was an Excise officer as was
his father-in-law, Robert Hamilton. An Excise officer is a tax
collector. It is highly likely that Samuel Aris worked with or for
Robert Hamilton as a fellow Excise officer and in that way met his future
wife, Charlotte Hamilton Aris. He may have married the boss' daughter.
The profession of tax collecting stayed in the family as both Samuel's
sons John and Charles Douglas were Excisemen. It is possible that his
son Thomas was also an Exciseman.
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On the 1851 Census for Duddeston cum Nechells, Aston near Birmingham,
Samuel Aris and his family are living at 108 Little Francis Street. He
is a 44 year old Supervisor of the Excise. His wife Charlotte is 38
years old and they have two daughters and 4 sons.
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On the 1861 Census for Duddeston cum Nechells, Aston near Birmingham (FHC
film #0087317), Samuel Aris and his family are living at 62 Heneage
Street. He is a 53 year old Supervisor of Inland Revenue. His wife
Charlotte is 49 years old and they have four daughters and three sons
living with them. It appears that their eldest son Robert (who would
have been about 20 years old) is not in the house. He has either died
or started his own household. Samuel's birth place is given as
Clerkenwell, London. This contradicts the 1851 census which gave it as
St. James, London. Both are neighborhoods near central London.
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The 1851 and 1861 censuses give conflicting information on where Samuel &
Charlotte's children were born. We believe the 1861 census is correct
because the 1851 census incorrectly identifies the four oldest children
as being born in Launceston, Scotland (we know them to be born in
Edinburgh (2), Bowmore, & Leith, Scotland from baptism records). There
does not appear to be any Launceston in Scotland and we believe that town
name is a census taker's confusion with Launceston, Cornwall where the
1861 census shows the fifth child (Thomas) was born. This disagrees with
the 1851 census which claims that Thomas was born in Birmingham. All
information agress that the sixth, seventh, & eigth children (Mary,
Charlotte, & Flora) were born in Birmingham. From this, we believe that
the family started off in Scotland (Bowmore to Edinburgh to Leith), then
moved to Launceston, Cornwall, and then moved to Birmingham.
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