Research


Scope and Content Note

B0848-85: These books record unpaid taxes on non-resident lands. Entries contain figures in columns. None of the columns are identified, but they appear to give town or city name; lot number; description of parcel sold; assessed valuation; amount of tax unpaid; date of sale; name of person making payment; and amount paid. There is a book for each tax year except 1837 and 1838.

B0848-99: These volumes (1799-1817, 1837-1926) contain information similar to that recorded in volumes in the original accession. Unpaid taxes of non-residents are recorded by the Comptroller's Office; subsequent payments, with dates and names of persons making payments, are also recorded. The volumes for years 1849-1851 are missing.

These volumes contain abstracted information apparently used to prepare lists of lands available for tax sales. These parcels were in arrears for later tax years than those making parcels eligible for sale in 1926 (the last year for which the Comptroller's Office was responsible for conducting tax-sales). Whether the parcels were later offered for sale by the Department of Taxation and Finance, which assumed the function of conducting tax-sales, is unknown.

Information given for each parcel includes the tax years for which taxes were unpaid; name of owner; description and location of property; acreage or lot size; and amount owed for each year. Entries for which the arrears were later paid or cancelled are dated and struck out. Some of these cancellations date to as late as 1949.