New Hampshire Tax Records

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This entry was originally written by George F. Sanborn Jr., FASG, and Alice Eichholz, Ph.D, CG for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of
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the New Hampshire Family History Research series.
History of New Hampshire
New Hampshire Vital Records
Census Records for New Hampshire
Background Sources for New Hampshire
New Hampshire Maps
New Hampshire Land Records
New Hampshire Probate Records
New Hampshire Court Records
New Hampshire Tax Records
New Hampshire Cemetery Records
New Hampshire Church Records
New Hampshire Military Records
New Hampshire Periodicals, Newspapers, and Manuscript Collections
New Hampshire Archives, Libraries, and Societies
New Hampshire Immigration
Native Americans of New Hampshire
New Hampshire County Resources
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Map of New Hampshire


No thorough survey has yet been attempted to locate all the annual tax lists for New Hampshire towns. They can be found in manuscript collections in public libraries, in town clerk's offices among the pages of the annual town meeting minutes, and at the archives and other repositories. Both residents and nonresidents who owned property or businesses might be listed on the annual assessment, which would indicate the number of voting-age males as polls, and such items as the type and acreage of land, animals, and milling products. Following annual tax lists can provide important clues for ages of males (nearly always ages twenty-one to fifty and occasionally sixteen to sixty) and for men moving to or leaving a town, since non-landowners were listed as well, although a few officials were usually exempt.

One important collection of tax records, which has been microfilmed from the originals held at the New Hampshire Records and Archives, is the multi-volume nonresident tax lists (1849'74). Some printed tax lists are listed under Census Records.

In 1798 a U.S. direct tax was ordered. Heritage Books has printed the returns that have been located for nine New Hampshire towns located at that time in Strafford County.