Tax lists of all kinds can provide a valuable resource for documenting residency, particularly in colonial or early American Connecticut. Because Connecticut collects property taxes on the town level, finding someone in the tax lists is a good indication that they lived or at minimum owned property in that area. Yet, it’s important to realize that Connecticut towns often kept two types of lists.
The most familiar to out of state genealogists will be the lists kept by the tax collectors, which list how much someone paid in tax. These lists are retained inconsistently but may be found both within the town meeting minutes and as separate volumes. They may be found on FamilySearch; at the Connecticut Library; and onsite at the town hall. (Historic tax records are typically held by the town clerk, not by the tax collector.)
Connecticut also keeps something called the “grand list.” The grand list is the list of assets considered taxable. If you ever wanted to know if your ancestor was being taxed because they owned a home or just a cow, this is how you find out. These records are typically held – if they survive – at the town clerk. Some will go back as far as the Revolutionary War era. Retention is very inconsistent for older records.
If you’re having a hard time parsing through the various types of taxes, be sure to check out “As True as Taxes.”
Happy hunting!
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 