Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Accomack County (Va.) Lists of tithables, 1738-1769 and undated. Local government records collection, Accomack County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court papers from Accomack County.

Historical Information

Accomack County was named for the Accomac Indians, who lived on the eastern Shore at the time of the first English settlement in Virginia. One of the original eight shires established in 1634, Accomac County (spelled without a k) became Northampton County in 1643.

In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Virginia, the term "tithable" referred to a person who paid (or for whom someone else paid) one of the taxes imposed by the General Assembly for the support of civil government in the colony. In colonial Virginia, a poll tax or capitation tax was assessed on free white males, African American slaves, and Native American servants (both male and female), all age sixteen or older. Owners and masters paid the taxes levied on their slaves and servants. For a more detailed history of tithables, consult "Colonial Tithables" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

Scope and Content

Accomack County (Va.) Lists of tithables, 1738-1769 and undated. Consists of manuscript lists of tithable heads of household in the county including in some instances the names of slaves, and squirrel and crow scalp and head claims.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Accomack County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Slaves -- Virginia -- Accomack County.
• Taxation -- Virginia -- Accomack County.

Geographical Names:

• Accomack County (Va.) -- History -- 18th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records -- Virginia -- Accomack County.
• Tax and fiscal records -- Virginia -- Accomack County.
• Tithable lists -- Virginia -- Accomack County.