Tax lists from the late 1700s are an underrated source for finding detailed information about our ancestors. Because taxes were collected annually at the county level, they reveal when settlers arrived and when they left. They show how much land a family owned and how quickly they acquired it - even in the absence of deeds. Some of these records reveal the number of horses, cattle, and slaves that a family owned.
With over 19,000 entries covering the first 23 years of the county's history, this 638-page book is the most comprehensive collection of Wilkes County tax records that has been assembled. The lists were studied along with deeds issued to the taxpayers. This allowed the author to create a series of 14 custom maps showing the district boundaries for each tax year.
Basic information from the 1798 Federal tax list is included in this book, but details about the size and construction of cabins and other structures are included in a separate book, "1798 Wilkes County, NC, Tax List".
Wilkes County extended north to Virginia and west to Tennessee, so settlers in present-day Alleghany, Ashe, and Watauga Counties are also included in these records. To view the 1790 tax district map, visit:
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