Tax Records and Their Cousins, the PA Septennial Census

  from Penn in Hand, Vol. 21, no. 2 - - June 2000

by James M. Beidler

WHILE the reaction to taxes in the present usually evokes emotions ranging from just this side of scorn, genealogists are always happy when their ancestors appear on tax lists since these documents almost always pinpoint the township, borough or city of residence. Once such residence is determined, it can be used by the researcher to make a decision on what other records (such as the registers of a particular area’s churches) logically should be consulted.

Tax lists

Tax records are usually found in county tax assessors’ offices in Pennsylvania. In many instances, early lists have been transcribed or microfilmed and can be found at county historical societies. The State Archives also has a respectable set of microfilms of tax lists from the state’s counties. A number of state lists from the Colonial era were transcribed in the Third Series of the published Pennsylvania Archives. This series along with a number of other tax list transcriptions are found in the GSP Research Room. An important item to remember is that tax lists reflect the county and municipal makeup as of the date of the list; for example, tax lists for the area that is now Lebanon County before 1813 will be found at the Dauphin County Courthouse since nearly all of Lebanon County was part of Dauphin from 1785 to 1813. An additional caveat is that townships from areas of a county later erected into new counties sometimes are ignored in published transcriptions of records. Tax lists can be very helpful in establishing the comings and goings of individuals. When someone “disappears” from a particular township’s list, it ordinarily means the person either died or moved elsewhere. Lists vary greatly in the amount of information given – sometimes just the name and a tax rate; other times with occupations, approximate land acreage and numbers of sheep, cows, and horned cattle. The Colonial and early 19th century lists were usually divided into several lists – one of property owners, usually dubbed “freeholders”; another of married renters heading households, called “inmates”; and a “single freemen” list composed of unmarried men (usually age 21 and above). At times the best proof of an individual’s marriage may be when the groom moves from “single freeman” to “inmate.”

“Window Tax”

A very specific record known as the 1798 U.S. Direct Tax, nicknamed the “window” or “glass” tax because the levy was based on the number of windows in a house, is a boon to Pennsylvania genealogists. The window tax lists that survive for the state give specific dimensions and building materials used in the homes of the time and therefore can assist in determining whether an ancestors’ home dates to this time period. The lists also show acreage, the name of an adjoining property owner, and other information about the real estate of the time. GSP’s Research Room currently has copies of the window tax microfilm for Allegheny, Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Somerset, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, and York. Some counties’ records have only partially survived. Window tax records for Philadelphia can be found in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library.

Septennial Census

A final record, the so-called Pennsylvania Septennial Census, was taken from 1779 to 1863 and bears the name of census but looks more like a tax list. These records – relatively few of which have survived – were generated to enumerate taxpayers for the purpose of determining representation in the state legislature. The septennial census returns usually list only the names and occupations of taxables. Ironically, data concerning slaves is sometimes more detailed in the returns that have survived. The septennial census returns that are available to researchers are the following: Adams, 1800; Allegheny, 1800; Armstrong, 1800; Bedford, 1779, 1786, 1800; Berks, 1779 to 1800; Bucks, 1786, 1800; Centre, 1800; Chester, 1779, 1786, 1800; Columbia, 1821; Cumberland, 1793, 1800; Dauphin, 1786, 1800, 1807; Delaware, 1793, 1800; Fayette, 1786, 1800; Franklin, 1786, 1800 to 1842; Greene, 1800; Huntingdon, 1800, 1821; Lancaster, 1779 to 1800; Luzerne, 1800; Lycoming, 1800; Mifflin, 1800, 1821; Montgomery, 1786 to 1807, 1842; Northampton, 1786, 1800; Northumberland, 1800; Philadelphia, 1793, 1800, 1863; Somerset, 1800; Washington, 1786, 1800; Wayne, 1800; Westmoreland, 1786, 1800; Wyoming, 1849; and York, 1786 to 1807. Septennial census returns can be found at the Pennsylvania State Archives, Third and Forster streets, Harrisburg. Mailing address is PO Box 1026, Harrisburg, PA 17107-1026. Its Web site is found at the URL, www.phmc.state.pa.us (Then click on Pennsylvania State Archives).

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