Ancestry Magazine

Finally we can all have a reason to like taxes–we can put them to USE when LOOKING for our family history.

Never has a government said, “Golly, we don’t feel like collecting taxes this year. Let’s just skip it.” You pay taxes. Your children will pay taxes. And your ancestors before you paid taxes. Still, some people avoid looking for family history in tax lists because the lists seem like just a bunch of names. But there is so much more.
In many places, taxes pre-date civil vital records. And tax lists tend to be quite thorough and complete, although there will always be some records somewhere lost to fire, flood, or misfiling.
Relationships may be found on tax lists. It might be something as explicit as “William Smith (son of John),” although more often, it is hidden. For example, over several years, a man named Samuel Livingston might be taxed for a certain number of acres. Suddenly, another man with the surname Livingston is being taxed for a portion of that land, but no deed can be found transferring the property. Did Samuel give a portion of his land to his son? It’s a clue worth noting.
Occupations might be included on a tax list—a plus when you’re trying to distinguish between two men of the same name. You might discover that George Miller (blacksmith) paid taxes on this property while George Miller (tailor) paid taxes on that property. Some jurisdictions taxed specific occupations, particularly doctors and lawyers—a search of occupational tax lists, often found at the end of the tax record for that year, may provide a clue about the day job of a very private uncle.
Ancestors who aren’t found on a regular tax list could be hiding on the delinquent tax list—if they were behind in their payments. Some of these records will include notations about the person like “cannot be found,” or “unable to work,” or some other invaluable tidbit.
And tax records can point to places for further research. A listing for “heirs of Peter Starkey” is a prompt to search probate records. If Philip Huber, who was taxed for ten years on the same piece of land, suddenly disappears from the list, it’s time to look for the deeds in which Huber transferred the property. Can’t find one? Then it’s a clue to search on the grantee of the land—the land’s subsequent taxpayer. If that person obtained the land in a sheriff’s sale, court records may help you determine why.
Fortunately, tax lists are typically easy to find. Many have been microfilmed and are available through a local Family History Center. Others can be found in county courthouses, still in their original binding.
Taxes are inevitable, but are tax lists just a bunch of names? Absolutely not. Read a tax list carefully and follow up on the clues. You could learn a lot.

Amy Johnson Crow, CG, is an author, editor, and lecturer, the creator of DeafBiographies.com, and co-author of Online Roots. She can be reached at amy@amyjohnsoncrow.com.