Connecticut Tax Records

This entry was originally written by Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., CG, in Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of the Connecticut Family History Research series.

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Taxes were levied for personal property and land through most of Connecticut's history. The town assessor (or lister) made annual lists or rates of all taxables. This generated a considerable number of tax lists across time. The Connecticut State Library has a list of various tax records still at the town clerks' offices. The Connecticut Historical Society and the genealogical collections throughout the state have some records. See Frederick Robertson Jones, History of Taxation in Connecticut, 1636'1766 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1896).

A highly valuable tax record for Connecticut is the U.S. Direct Tax for 1798. The records are extant for nearly half of the towns, with some also having rate lists for 1813, 1814, 1815, and 1816. The original booklets indicate rate based on land, dwellings, and personal property, the latter of which is usually itemized. Later years indicate out-of-state owners. The records have not been microfilmed as a group, but the originals can be researched at the Connecticut Historical Society.