King William County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists, 1782–1804

This book contains a reproduction of the personal property tax lists for King William County, Virginia for the years 1782 through 1804, except 1786. It has been created using digital copies at FamilySearch.org. The earliest lists here contain the name of the proprietor (person paying the tax), the number of white tithes, the number of slaves, horses, cattle and taxable wheels. Early lists are separated by St. John's Parish and St. David's Parish. Some lists from 1783 to 1785 are sorted by military precinct. In 1783, 2,421 negroes above the age of 12 are listed by name, and of the 508 taxpayers named, 61 are women. Most lists are in rough alphabetical order by surname, but some are either sequenced by first name or are in no discernable order. The personal property tax lists in this county are frequently commingled with land tax lists. They may show the number of acres of land and the land tax amount (not included here).

Before 1787, the local sheriff created the list. By law, a white male is tithable upon reaching age 16, at which time his name should be listed in the record. Frequently upon reaching age 21 he is listed as a separate entry and pays his own tax. Black males are taxable at age 12.

In October 1786, an Act of Assembly established districts in each Virginia county, positions for Commissioners of Revenue, and for the keeping of a record of taxes to be a true account of all persons subject to taxation or having property in his or her possession or care on which any tax is imposed. Unfortunately, compliance was inconsistent, and there are many variants to how the surviving lists read.

The year 1786 was a big deal for tax and financial reform in Virginia. Provisions were refined for land and personal property, and reflected arrearages, delinquents, claims by military officers and their widows and orphans, court and clerk’s fees, and tax on houses and town lots, merchant licenses, spirits and wines, imported goods, etc. The nitty gritty got all the way to the number of wheels on carriages. Now for every coach or chariot, there was an additional tax of five dollars per wheel; for all other riding carriages with four wheels, except those used for agriculture, an additional tax of three dollars a wheel; for all other riding carriages with two wheels, an additional tax of one dollar a wheel.

For genealogical researchers, tax records may help distinguish between individuals by the same name living in a locality at the same time. Some references, notations and evidence of estate divisions may be found here when not readily located in any of the few court records that have survived multiple fires at the King William County courthouse. The tax records for 1790 and 1800 serve as replacements for lost Federal census records. No tax records exist for 1808. An index to full-names, places and subjects adds value to this work.

Wesley E. Pippenger

2026, 8.5" x 11", paper, index, 394 pp.

ISBN: 9780788459191

101-P5919