Dear Pat Thank you so much for the information. I have a lot to learn about taxes and deeds. Cindy At 07:25 PM 5/13/99 -0400, you wrote: >Cindy, > >Land on the Tax records was > >1) first surveyed before a land patent or grant was given. THis was one of >the requirements for being granted land. you had to pay the surveyor to make >a survey and register it with the state land office. >who ever paid for the survey is listed in the survey category. > >2) then when a land patent/grant was issued (meaning the requirement of >settlement and development was met) >whoever got the grant was the person in whose name the land was entered > >3) then the person chargeable is the person who owns it now and owes the tax. >+++++++++++++++++++++++++ >if the three are different there is a story there. rare is the person >surveyed different from the person entered since the two occur very close >together maybe only a year or two apart. (but I have a case in NC where the >wife paid for the survey before she married and then the husband got the >patent after they married) But the person chargeable is the current owner >and the land may have changed hands sevearl times from the original patent >holder (the person entered) I advise that your can use the names as a clue. >For instance if the person entered and chargeable difer then you can go to >the county deed records and look for a deed from the original patent holder >to the current owner. perhaps the deed will have family data or state some >useful relationship between the two of interest in your genealogy work. > >Patrick >