Library of Virginia, Record Group 48, Auditor of Public Accounts, Inventory Entry 640: Provision Law & Specific Tax (1 foot; files alphabetical by county)
Many of the records in APA 640 have their genesis in a May 1779 act laying a tax, payable in commodities (wheat, etc.), to provide for “armaments” for defense of Virginia (Hening, Statutes at Large, vol 10, 79-81). The act provided that “for every man above sixteen years old, and every woman slave of like age” one bushel of wheat, or two bushels of Indian corn, rye, or barley, or ten pecks of oats, or fifteen pounds of hemp, or twenty eight pounds of inspected tobacco were to be delivered to a commissary appointed to receive the same. The county courts were directed to appoint commissioners for the year 1779 and for each consecutive year thereafter for four years, and the act empowered these individuals with authority to fix the places and direct the commissaries where the commodities were to be received.
The implementation of this act did not go well. First, counties did not have timely notice of the act. Second, many of the individuals who were obliged to pay the tax could not do so because their commodities had already been impressed by military forces and they had nothing left to give. Third, men were away from home in the “frequent calls of the militia” and were thereby unable to bring in their commodities. Finally, the Commissioners appointed to execute the act were sluggish in the performance of their duties, or simply refused to act. After a series of remedial acts intended to correct these deficiencies (Hening, 292, 357, 404-5, 435), the situation did not appreciably improve and the Assembly started over with a completely new act in November 1781 (Hening, 490). There are significant differences between the 1779 specific tax act and the 1781 specific tax act. First, it should be underscored that the 1781 act makes no explicit reference to the defense of the Commonwealth. Second, the 1779 act was a “stand alone” act, whereas the 1781 act incorporated the specific tax concept into the payment of the poll tax. That is, the 1781 act allowed citizens to discharge the duties of the poll tax by payment in commodities or in money. Therefore, when we speak of “specific tax records,” it is very important to understand under which act the records fall: the 1779 act or the 1781 act.
While many files in APA 640 only contain bonds for the appointment of commissioners, many include long lists of individuals and in what commodities they paid. While the inventory title (Provision Law & Specific Tax) overstates the case, there are indeed some miscellaneous records related to the Provision Law of May 1780 (Hening’s, vol 1, 233-7). Let there be no confusion: the commodities impressed under the Provision Law are completely unrelated to the commodities supplied under the specific taxes. It is also very important to note that there are quite a few lists herein that relate not to the specific tax or the provision law, but to the personal property or land tax assessments under the so-called “revenue act” of 1782. The 1782 act simplified Virginia’s tax structure by reducing the tax burden from several convoluted assessments into a two fold structure: the personal property tax and the land tax. These miscellaneous personal property and land tax records should probably be somewhere else in the LVA collection, but they are not. They are lying here, neglected and unknown.
As such, it is fair to say that APA 640 is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get. You will need to pay close attention to headings and dates in these records. You will also need to have a working understanding of Virginia’s tax structure during the Revolution to correctly interpret these records. The best introduction to Virginia tax legislation during the war, to my knowledge, is Joan Peters, The Tax Man Cometh: Land and Property in Colonial Fauquier County, Virginia (Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books, 1999). The following list is my rough inventory of all files in APA 640. Enjoy!
1. Albemarle County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
2. Amelia County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
3. Amherst County (Box 1759): Alphabetical list of balances due in the lower district of the county for the specific tax; 1780 account of tax laid on grain for the lower district.
4. Augusta County (Box 1759): List of vouchers to be taken by Capt Culbertson Feb 1779 [before the 1779 Specific Tax Act]; Alphabetical list of delinquents in the lower district of the 1st Battalion who have not paid specific tax 1782.
5. Bedford County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
6. Berkeley County (Box 1759): Lists of grain received at Worthington’s Mill for tax on enumerated articles 1781.
7. Botetourt County (Box 1759): Several lists of 1780 and 1781 specific tax.
8. Brunswick County (Box 1759): List of grain received, 1782; List of insolvents charged with specific tax, 1782.
9. Buckingham County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, letters, etc.; Short list of beef cattle collected but “not yet drove.”
10. Campbell County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
11. Caroline County (Box 1759): Lists of specific taxes collected 1780, 1781; Account of beef drivers for 1781. A good file.
12. Charles City (Box 1759): Account of delinquents for specific tax, 1781.
13. Charlotte County (Box 1759): List of grain tax insolvents, 1782.
14. Chesterfield County (Box 1759): List of specific taxes, 1780.
15. Culpeper County (Box 1759): List of specific taxes received, 1782.
16. Cumberland County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
17. Dinwiddie County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No Lists.
18. Elizabeth City County (Box 1759): List of those who had not paid specific tax, 1782.
19. Essex County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
20. Fairfax County (Box 1759): List of lots in Alexandria sold by the Escheator as British property; Narrative lists of individuals who furnished supplies on various occasions.
21. Fauquier County (Box 1759): List of specific tax delinquents, 1782.
22. Fluvanna County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
23. Frederick County (Box 1759): List of delinquent taxes for 1783 [not for specific tax]
24. Gloucester County (Box 1759): Receipts of commissioners, etc. No lists.
25. Goochland County (Box 1759): List of specific tax for 1781.
26. Greenbrier County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
27. Greensville County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
28. Halifax County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
29. Hampshire County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, general returns, etc. No lists.
30. Hanover County (Box 1759): Return of stray horses collected, 1781.
31. Henrico County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
32. Henry County (Box 1759): List of specific tax insolvents, 1782.
33. Isle of Wight County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
34. James City County (Box 1759): Specific tax lower part of county, 1782.
35. King & Queen County (Box 1759): List of money received for the “one eight percent tax.”
36. King George County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
37. King William County (Boxes 1759, 1761); Alphabetical account of grain, tobacco, etc. received for specific tax, 1780.
38. Lancaster County (Box 1759): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
39. Loudoun County (Box 1760): Undated list.
40. Louisa County (Boxes 1760, 1761): List of specific tax for 1780; Alphabetical account of grain received under the specific tax, 1781; List of specific tax insolvents for 1782. A good file.
41. Lunenburg County (Box 1760): Two lists of grain, 1781; one list of grain 1782.
42. Mecklenburg County (Boxes 1760, 1761): Brief accounts for specific taxes; Alphabetical return of grain taken under provision law, 1781.
43. Middlesex County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
44. Montgomery County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
45. Nansemond County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
46. New Kent County (Box 1760): Account of all taxes received in New Kent for 1783 [not specific tax]
47. Norfolk County (Box 1760): Letters, commissioner’s receipts, etc. No lists.
48. Northampton County (Box 1760): Undated scraps.
49. Northumberland County (Box 1760): Bonds, accounts of commissioners, etc. No lists.
50. Orange County (Box 1760): Bonds, receipts of commissioners, etc. No lists.
51. Pittsylvania County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
52. Powhatan County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
53. Prince Edward County (Box 1760): Bonds, receipts of commissioners, etc. No lists.
54. Prince George County (Box 1760): Specific tax list for Brumeton Parish, 1782.
55. Prince William County (Box 1760): Bonds, receipts of commissioners, etc. No lists.
56. Richmond County (Box 1760): Return of the classes laid off in Richmond County per act of May 1782.
57. Rockbridge County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, general returns, etc. No lists.
58. Rockingham County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
59. Shenandoah County (Box 1760): Lists of hemp collected agreeable to act for raising tax of 2 percent, 1781; 1783 return of the Sheriff for taxes [not specific tax] This is the largest file.
60. Southampton County (Box 1760): Oct 1780 account of brandy purchased by Commissioner; List of taxes due from Nottaway Parish, 1782 [not specific tax].
61. Spotsylvania County (Box 1760): Large specific tax booklet, 1782.
62. Stafford County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc. No lists.
63. Surry County (Box 1760): Incomplete assessment for 1783 [not specific tax]
64. Sussex County (Box 1760): Bonds of commissioners, etc.; No lists.
65. Warwick County (Box 1760): Lists of those who failed to pay specific tax, 1780; List of specific taxes received 1780; List of “revenue tax,” 1782. A good file.
66. Washington County (Box 1760): Scraps.
67. Westmoreland County (Boxes 1760, 1761): Alphabetical list arranged by parish of specific taxes collected, 1780; Account of surplus beef, 1781.
68. Williamsburg city (Box 1761): Alphabetical account of the “land tax,” 1782, two lists.
69. York County (Box 1760): Two lists of taxes paid under “revenue act” 1782.
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