Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Dunmore County (Va.) Levy Book, 1775-1779. Local government records collection, Shenandoah County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia under the accession number 35516.

Historical Information

Shenandoah County was named for the Shenandoah River, which passed through the county. Shenandoah is an Indian word meaning beautiful daughter of the stars. The county was named Dunmore when it was formed from Frederick County in 1772 and named for John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore and governor of Virginia from 1771 to 1775. Lord Dunmore's actions at the outbreak of the American Revolution made him so unpopular with Virginians that the General Assembly changed the county's name to Shanando (now Shenandoah) in 1778.

Scope and Content

Dunmore County (Va.) Levy Book, 1775-1779, consists of two different kinds of tax lists. Pp. 1-183 contains multiple lists of levies or tithables for the year 1775 kept either by the sheriff or a commissioner of the revenue. The lists give the name of the person taxed, the number of levies, the amount in pounds, shillings and denarii (pennies). Notes about levies in arrears and other taxes or fees or payments may be included. Pp. 1-27 is the list of Jacob Holeman; pp. 27-37 list of Jonathan Langdon; pp. 37-55 list of John Tipton; pp. 55-74 list of Alexander Machir; pp. 74-96 list of Abram Kellar; pp. 96-108 list of Henry Nelson; pp. 109-134 list of Francis Slaughter; pp. 135-183 is not given as anyone's list. All of the lists are in alphabetical order by surname with the exception of pp. 135-183 which are not in any order at all.

Following page 183 are notes for a more traditional tax list from the year 1779 listing the name of the person taxed and taxable items and amounts for things such as land, quit rents, poll tax, negroes, cattle, horses, paper currency, coin, and liquor. The final pages of the volume contain other tax lists and also notes about numbers and weight of hogs killed in 1777 and 1778.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Shenandoah County (Va.). Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records -- Virginia -- Dunmore County.
• Taxation -- Virginia -- Dunmore County.

Geographical Names:

• Dunmore County -- History -- 18th century.
• Northern Neck (Va.) -- History -- 18th century.
• Shenandoah County (Va.) -- History -- 18th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Lists -- Virginia -- Dunmore County.
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Dunmore County.
• Tax and fiscal records -- Virginia -- Dunmore County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Dunmore County (Va.) County Court.