1. Place where the tax list was made   2. Names of single men   3. Name of the head-of-household where the single person resides   4. Livestock   5. Occupation, profession details   6. Office or post of profit   7. Special Tax details

Poll Tax List

Column Headings

Place where the tax list was made Names of single men Name of the head-of-household where the single man resides Livestock Number of horses, mares, and geldings at least four years old owned by the single man Value of horses, mares, and geldings, in dollars Number of cattle owned by the single man Value of cattle in dollars Occupation or profession Name of the single man's trade, occupation, or profession Annual income from the trade, occupation, or profession Office or post of profit name of the single man's office or post of profit annual income form the office or post of profit Special tax details Name of the trade, occupation, or profession with an annual income of $200 or more Total annual income above $200 from a trade, occupation, or profession Name of the office or post of profit with an annual income of $200 or more Total annual income above $200 from an office or post of profit Between the Office or Post of Profit section and the Special Tax details section is the value of other taxable property.

Poll Tax

Poll taxes are of two types: a tax paid by all people eligible to vote, or a tax paid by all men (and some women) or a particular age. This tax list illustrates the first type.

Poll (or head) tax lists are very important records for genealogists, because they include the names of every man who meets the "qualifications" for the tax, often every man age twenty-one or over, regardless of whether or not they owned real or personal property, and wwhether or not they could vote. Women usually only appear in poll tax lists when they are the head-of-household and have sons still at home who have reached taxable age.

Most poll tax lists are maintained both in the county where they were made and in a state office, so these records often survive in counties where the courthouse has burned. Most poll tax lists have not been abstracted and indexed. Many poll tax lists have been microfilmed and can be found at the LDS Family History Library, its local Family History Centers, and in the genealogical collections of private, local, state, and university libraries throughout the country.

Always check to see if poll tax lists are available, because they usually name almost every adult male in the county.

© Palladium Interactive, Inc. 1997.