The United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, mandated that an enumeration of the people of each state be taken in 1790 and every subsequent ten years. With the exception of the 1890 census, most states have continual censuses from 1790 through 1990. Georgia does not have a surviving 1790 census. In fact, Georgia is also missing her 1800 and 1810 censuses, and the 1820 census is incomplete.

To compensate for lost records, researchers often use any material they can in order to fill gaps and locate ancestors. For the missing Georgia census records, one important gap-filler is the collection of tax digests held in the Georgia State Archives.

Thanks to the R. J. Taylor Foundation, there is a convenient means for accessing the Georgia tax digests. The Foundation was set up by Mr. R. J. Taylor to promote scholarship and to publish records of Georgia citizens who lived prior to 1850. In an effort to fill the gap of the missing 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1820 censuses, the Foundation funded publication of a five-volume series of books indexing some of the extant Georgia tax digests. Clayton Library has two complete copies of this series, titled An Index to Georgia Tax Digests. These are located in the Georgia section on the first floor. The call number is 975.8 I38.

Volumes in the series of tax digests cover the following years:

• Volume 1, 1789-1799, a substitute for the 1790 census
• Volume 2, 1800-1802, a substitute for the 1800 census
• Volume 3, 1804-1806, a substitute for the mid years between 1800 and 1805
• Volume 4, 1809-1811, a substitute for the 1810 census
• Volume 5, 1814-1817, a substitute for the mid years between 1810 and 1820

Each volume of the series contains an introduction to the entire series and a chart listing the counties and tax digest years published in each volume. Each volume also contains listings, by county, of the tax lists that are extant but unpublished.

For each volume there is a “Key to Location Symbols” section that provides a guide to county and district abbreviations. For example, “CK” is used for Clarke County and “EL” for Elbert County. Under each county heading is the abbreviation for the Georgia Militia District (GMD). In most cases, prior to 1820, the GMDs went by the name of the local militia captain. Thus, “al” might represent Captain Alexander’s District, or “ba” Captain Barnett’s District.

There is a section of “Notes on the Tax Digests” in each volume. These notes give excellent insight into the condition and completeness of each digest enumerated in the book. The notes also indicate instances where original page numbers were used or where page numbers had to be provided by the transcriber. Other notes reflect the legibility of the handwriting or quality of the microfilm used to compile the index. They also list the Georgia State Archives microfilm number used for the transcription.

The crux and purpose of the series is the actual index of taxpayer names. Each taxpayer in the state is listed alphabetically, surname first and given name second. Following the name is the county of residence, GMD, tax digest year, and page number appearing on the tax digest. Asterisks following page numbers indicated there was no original page number and the transcriber supplied one.

For further study, the researcher should go to the actual microfilm copy of the tax digest for the concerned county and locate the entry indexed in the Taylor Foundation series. Clayton Library has many tax digests on microfilm. If the desired county or tax year is unavailable at Clayton, microfilm may be borrowed from Salt Lake City through any Family History Center.

The actual tax digests list the GMD as Captain Neal’s (or Roger’s or Crawford’s, etc.) District. Each tax payer is listed in the district in which he resided. In some cases, tax digests are arranged alphabetically. Fortunately, most are not. We say this because, in alphabetized listings, there is no convenient way to identify neighbors—something that is often of great importance to genealogists.

The following categories of taxation are noted in the digests:

• Polls: Polls are taxes on each white male over the age of 18 or 21, depending on the law at the time. Polls were payable until the age of 45 or 60, again depending on the prevailing law. It is common to see men paying a poll tax and not having other taxable property. Free men of color were also taxed.
• Slaves: The number of slaves taxable. Not all slaves were taxable. Sometimes slaves, either very young or very old, may not have been taxed. Laws would vary from year to year. Only slaves taxed would be listed on digests. Only the number of slaves, and not their names, were given.
• Land: Number of acres of land by quality: 1st, 2nd, 3rd quality, or “Pinelands.”
• County: The county in which real property was located. Taxpayers paid their taxes in the county in which they resided. Taxes paid on owned property in counties other than the residence county were paid in the county of residence.
• Grantee Name: The name of the original grantee of the land. The taxpayer may have been the original owner, he may have purchased the land from the original grantee, or he might be several purchasers removed from the original purchaser. With this information, a chain of title for the land might be created for reference in grant books.
• Waterway: The name of the waterway on which the land was located. Land deeds often refer to streams and rivers. These were important points of reference in tracing land.
• Adjacent Land: The name of adjacent land owners. Adjacent land owners were an ancestor’s neighbors, relatives, and friends. Knowing adjacent land owners is helpful in further research, particularly when a researcher can find no more on that ancestor or if there is more than one person of a particular given and surname.

Depending on the tax year, other taxable items may be listed, such as two-wheel or four-wheel carriages, cash, watches or clocks, tools or materials used in trades or professional occupations, and a variety of other types of valuable personal property.

The last item on the digest is the actual tax paid.

Tax records, or digests, as they are termed in Georgia, can be filled with all types of “goodies” for genealogical and historical researchers, and it is unfortunate that such records are often unaccessible or difficult to work with. The R. J. Taylor Foundation has done a commendable job in coming to the aid of researchers by publishing the index to tax digests coinciding with the years of missing censuses. It would behoove the researcher to use the Taylor Foundation’s Index and then to follow through to locate the actual record referred to in the digest.

Microfilms of the actual tax digests are available from the Georgia State Archives for $20 per reel. Since Clayton owns only a small part of the overall collection, and researchers are encouraged to donate funds for use in making additional purchases.