On Dec 4, 2008, at 7:01 PM, [email protected] wrote: > Because the 1790 census of Virginia is among those missing [the so- > called > 1790 census is a reconstructed census and is not a true census], > the 1787 > personal property tax lists for almost all counties extant in > Virginia are a good > resource for those with early Kentuckians. The Virginia personal property tax lists are invaluable research tools for genealogists. The lists started in 1782 and were taken annually (1808 being an exception). Generally, only the head of household was named, but the number of males over age 16 (over age 21 in some years) is noted. Taking the data from multiple years, the researcher can make educated inferences about the year a male came of age, the year a male died or left the county, and more. If you're really lucky, you'll find a few years when the enumerator named all of the free white males in a household, gave the names of slaves, occupations (usually only when there were two or more males with the same names), location in the county (also usually only to distinguish between two households). Surprisingly, there is considerable variation from county to county and even from one district to another within a county, but the most common categories were free white males over age 16, slaves under age 12, slaves over age 12, cattle, horses. Even the years that are alpha-sorted may have visible dates of enumeration, making it possible to determine names of people enumerated on the same date. After 1787, all households enumerated on a given date *probably* lived in the same general area. Some originals were in better shape than other and some images are more legible than others--one year might have visible dates and other years do not. You can order microfilm of the original VA personal property tax lists by county through any Mormon Family History Center, each film covering several years. You pay a $7.00 fee to have the film sent to your local Family History Center, where it will be available for you to use for 3-4 weeks. You can extend the loan period for another $7.00 and extend it to indefinite loan for yet another $7.00. These tax lists not only can fill the gaps left by missing census records, but they also can fill in the gaps between existing census records. I consider these lists to be an essential component of my research into my many ancestors who came from or through VA. Pat Seaver