Tax Lists and Records

Collection Status: Open for Transcription

Transcription Difficulty Rating: Intermediate

About the Collection

The Tax Lists and Records collection features tax records from the holdings of the State Archives of North Carolina drawn from General Assembly, Treasurer & Comptroller, and Secretary of State records. The bulk of the records are from the Colonial and Revolutionary War eras, but some lists date from as late as 1809. Each set of tax records includes slightly different information. References to “polls” below relate to poll taxes, a tax of a fixed amount levied on adult males, female heads of households, and slaves.

Lists sent to the General Assembly are from various counties and give the names of the heads of households and others who were subject to taxation. Horses, cattle, livestock, and other luxury goods such as carriages and coaches are also often referenced. Information about slaves may also be present in these lists.

Tax records sent to the State Treasurer or Comptroller relate to the settlement of accounts between local officials and the state. These records generally include the names of the heads of households, acreage, valuation, and number of polls in the household (black and white). Horses, cattle, livestock, and other luxury goods such as carriages and coaches are also frequently referenced.

Thirty-four tax lists from the Secretary of State records list households subject to taxation in fifteen counties. Information in these records generally includes the name of the head of household, acreage, valuation, and number of polls in the household (black and white).

Information on Currency in North Carolina

• "Currency" by John R. deTreville and R. Neil Fulghum in NCPedia.
• "The Value of Money in Colonial America" by David Walbert in NCPedia.

How to Help Transcribe Documents

The transcription conventions, or “rules,” are located at the bottom of every page in the transcription view.

For more information, check out our Transcription Guide, Handwriting Guide, or the FromThePage transcription demo video.

When transcriptions are finalized and exported out of FromThePage, they will be added to the digitized items in the North Carolina Digital Collections. Here are a few examples of what that looks like! These are real transcriptions finished by TranscribeNC volunteers just like yourself. Click the word Transcript below the image of the item to view the transcription.

• Constitution, 1776
• Local Draft Board Records, Macon County
• Appalachian Training School

About Us

The State Archives of North Carolina collects, preserves, manages, and provides access to information that protects citizen rights, documents North Carolina history and culture, promotes transparency, and encourages stewardship of government records.

Thank you for helping us improve public access to historic documents and materials through your transcription efforts.

For more information, please visit the State Archives website.

Questions?

Contact our transcription archivist - Please be sure to fill out the subject field as specifically as possible.