State Tontines and Annuities

In the late 17th and 18th centuries the government raised money by setting up tontines. The first in 1693 required people to purchase £100 shares, which gave them an annuity during the lifetime of their nominated person (often a child of the family). As each nominee died, the annuity payment to the purchaser (proprietor) increased, until all the nominees had died. In the meantime, the purchasers could assign their annuities by deed or will, or they passed to their next of kin on death if they had made no bequest of the annuity.

British and Irish State Tontines

Records relating to the British State Tontines of 1693 are in E 407, 1766 and 1789 in NDO 1 and NDO 2, and the Irish State Tontines of 1773, 1775 and 1777 in NDO 3. The records list names, addresses, rank, profession or occupation of purchasers. They also give details of the nominees including age and parentage. Regularly updated and printed lists of nominees show when they died and who was alive at specific dates. Certified copies of marriage certificates, death and burial records of nominees can be found, as well as copies of wills and letters of administration of proprietors filed as the authority to assign payments to heirs and successors. A complete name index to all the tontines except 1693 is available at the Society of Genealogists www.sog.org.uk.

Annuities

Annuities consisted of payments at equal intervals to the purchasers (proprietors) during the lifetime of their nominee. When the nominee died the annuity ended. The records of the five State Annuities of 1745, 1746, 1757, 1778 and 1779 are in the series NDO 1 and NDO 2.