Not appearing in the tax lists can also mean that they had been exempted from paying taxes by the county court because of infirmity, disability, or old age. Check the county court order books or minute books for such exemptions by court order. Disappearing from the tax lists doesn't necessarily mean death or a move out of town. Some county copies of the tax records do indeed appear in courthouses -- the originals for the late 18th and early 19th century in Fairfax County, for example, resided in the Virginia Room of the county library system when I worked there until they were transferred to the county archives in the late 1980s. There can be missing pages in either copy, so if something appears to missing in one place checking for the second copy (if they exist) is a good thing to do. Transcription errors and names being skipped by the scribe did happen. Eric Grundset ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html