I don’t know anyone who likes paying taxes. I certainly don’t and I’m pretty sure our ancestors didn’t either. But Uncle Sam must get his due. I’m sitting in my office this weekend getting all our tax documents ready for the CPA. In this blog post, I’ll make you appreciate tax records too.
So, is there a reason to like taxes? Yes!! They produce records and we love records! There is so much genealogical information to gain from tax records.
Age
By looking at many tax years in a row, you can see if an ancestor came of age (usually 21) and had to start paying. You can also notice if someone fell off the tax rolls. If you find them somewhere else the next year, you have an estimate as to when they moved. If you don’t find them at all perhaps they died.
Other Records
Looking through tax records can also lead you to other record sets. If your ancestor was taxed for land, go look in the deeds for that parcel. You might also find them in probate records.
Neighborhoods
Unfortunately, alphabetized tax records, lack the neighborhood context found in census records. However, they typically organize them by town or township, making it manageable to search page by page.
Separating Same Name Individuals
When I looked for the parents of Susanna Krewson Bothell, a 10-year span of tax records helped me to distinguish between two possible candidates for Susanna’s father.1 Both men were named John Krewson, but their occupations (mason and carpenter) always helped tell them apart and eventually pointed me to the right person. (The carpenter was my guy).
Finally
When you’re just starting in genealogy, you stick with the easier records…census and vital records. Branching out into new documents, like tax records, will open your eyes to learning all you can about your people. Give it a try!
Genealogy tip: The old saying “Follow the Money” holds true when searching for ancestors. Make sure to include tax records when doing thorough research.
Tax records are just one type of record that genealogists use constantly. If you have trouble figuring out how to use them, give me a call.
1 Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S., Tax Records, 1842-1851, unpaginated entries arranged alphabetically, all years read for entries relating to John Krewson, carpenter and John Krewson, mason; digital images, “Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S., Tax Records 1782-1860,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 Oct 2022); citing Bucks County Historical Society (BCHS) microfilm, 76 rolls.
