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