Additional information
by Wesley Pippenger (Author)
This book contains a reproduction of the personal property tax lists for Richmond County, Virginia for the years 1782 through 1803. It has been created using digital copies at FamilySearch.org. The earliest list for Richmond County contains the name of the Proprietor (person paying the tax) and taxable Negroes, the number of: white tithes, Negroes, horses, cattle, wheels, ordinary licenses, and (after a few years), billiard tables and store or physicians' licences.
A boon for researchers is that in 1783, three of the lists include an accounting for the number of acres. List 3 of 1785 does the same. This is presumably the number of acres owned by the taxpayer, although an amount of tax is not shown. This is helpful because there are no extant Richmond County land tax records, as such, before 1796. A few entries for land alterations are found in 1789 and 1791. Another plus, is that these records give us the best possible enumeration of living persons as a replacement for the missing Federal census for 1790 and 1800. And, lists before 1787 give the name of each tithable negro/slave.
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.
There are multiple lists for each year through 1786, at which time the lists settle in to being one for the upper part of the county and one for the lower part - later being for Lunenburg Parish and North Farnham Parish. The dividing line between the two districts, later parishes, is Totuskey Creek. The recordkeepers frequently inserted abbreviations to differentiate between multiple persons with the same name. Other notations behind the name of the taxable person may (but not always) indicate their profession or occupation, like (C) for constable, (T) for tailor, or (B) for blacksmith. Those declared tax exempt levy free are often shown with "Ex." or "Lf" or following the name.
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 estate or probate records at the courthouse. An index to full-names, places and subjects adds value to this work.
