“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1789. So for tax month, I am including some extractions of county tax rolls from around this time period. On the surface tax lists might appear to be non-essential information that only provides what a person owned for a particular year, in a particular place. However, these documents, if they have survived, can supplement other genealogical research. In addition to verifying a relative’s residency or if he owned property, these records can offer a time frame of when a person moved into an area or left it, either by relocation to another county or that other certainty—death. Continue reading →