Hi all, Since, there has been little activity on this list I thought
that I would try to contribute to help maintain interest in a great
list. During my research, especially in Fauquier Co., VA I have found a
great wealth of information in the Personal Property Tax Lists (FPPT)
that many people discard because they are not interested in horses,
cattle, etc. Those people are throwing away vital information. I don't
know if all counties have  tax lists that are as informative as Fauquier

Co. or not. I researched the FPPT in Fauquier from 1782 through 1850. In

general, I have found:

1. There are 3 microfilmed lists for each year (not always microfilmed
in the same order). I determined that the three lists were for NW
Fauquier, NE Fauquier, and Southern Fauquier Co. It is necessary to copy

the surnames of interest from each list, putting the lists in the same
order for analysis reasons.
2. There is a published book for Fauquier that lists the enumerators by
year for each of the three lists and area. This is a help in putting the

lists in order.
3. Make sure to record the date the information was received from the
taxpayer or the date the household was visited. This may point out
neighbors or relatives that were visited on the same day, but you need
to research the same lists again, this time by date +/- a day or two.
4. Names of males between 16 and 21 (tithes) showed up in some of the
years identifying children's names.
5. When names disappear from the list, the people either moved, one of
the list was not microfilmed, or they left for another reason. For
instance, One of my ancestors disappeared in 1812 along with his 5 sons,

and reappeared in 1814 (not all of them). Where were they? I found them
in the pension roles for the war of 1812.
6. Sometimes, a notation was recorded by the name of the person
responsible for the tax. e.g.. Grove, for Grove Baptist Church or the
area around Goldvein in Southern Fauquier. On the church roles I found
some ancestors. Other, James of Wm. and John of James. This denotes that

James was the son of William and John was the son of James. 3
Generations identified.  People, grouped adjacently on the list were
probably related. These notations were done by the enumerator to help
identify all of the James, Johns, Williams, etc. that were so prevalent
in the early days. It seems that in those days the eldest was always
named John.
7. Having analyzed, these lists, I then took Mr. Scheel's map and
divided it up into 7 sections, with all the locations that he
highlighted and other prominent names (such as Colvin Graveyard). Using
this in conjunction with the FPPT I identified a lineage of German
descent with my surname of interest that located in a 6 mile stretch
from Palmer's Crossroad to Orleans. This helped separate out some
people,
making my lineage a little clearer.

If anyone needs some help, please contact me. My surnames of interest
are Heflin, Hefflin, Hefferlin, Heffling, Heffernon, Hefflinger, Haflin,

Hafling, Heaflon, Heflon, and any other variations. If you have any of
these in your tree. I have a lot of information to share. Regards
Phyllis.

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