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Iberian Publishing Co. 2026 Catalog of Genealogical Reference Books & E-Books from
Virginia, the Carolinas and Other Southern States
*Iberian also offers the majority of these titles in e-book (PDF) format. Click here for a complete online catalog of available e-titles
Use the table to the right to go directly to a specific Virginia county. To search by general topics (military, general, census, etc.), click on any of the logos above.
Don't forget taxes in your research!
The year was 1782. At home, in Virginia, the war had left the local economy in chaos. People were on the move. Inflation had skyrocketed over the war years until, by 1782, prices were 8,000 percent higher than in 1775. Paper money continued to circulate, but at an extremely reduced valuation. The state government was broke; clearly, a new system for operating state finances was required.
That year the Virginia General Assembly revised the old colonial county tithe which had supplied operating funds for local counties and added a parallel set of state taxes:
(1) a land tax based upon the acreage owned and the quality of the land; These records can indicate the dates of departure from a locality and establish the year of the owner's death as well as the inheritance of the estate.
and
(2) a personal property tax recording the name of each property owner and males over sixteen, several categories of property owned, the number of enslaved people, livestock, and the tax paid. This tax provides a wealth of information for the genealogist who mines it properly The early lists in the 1780s personal property tax records reveal the status of property owners and families within communities. Compared over time, these tax records shed light on changes in local social, economic, and agricultural conditions.
For genealogical researchers, personal property tax records may also help :
- distinguish between individuals with the same name in a locality;
- establish parentage- When a young man attained the age of sixteen, he was liable for militia service and was counted among "male tithables" But his parent or guardian paid the 'tithe' for him until he reached twenty-one and the two were listed together. The rationale was that though required to participate in the county militia at sixteen he did not become a legally responsible adult until he reached 21 or married;
- place a family in the local social and economic heirarchy. Items taxed were generally considered 'luxury goods' or high-value possessions (e.g., wheels for carriages, billiard tables, licenses to operate an ordinary);
- document enslaved and free Black people. The number of slaves in each holding was listed, and many county recorders in the early years of the tax (1780's) often cited each slave by his or her given name.
Don't Forget Taxes!
NOTE: An asterisk (*) denotes a current West Virginia county.
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