Green County, Kentucky Tax Books and the Long Hunters

A big challenge when researching the Long Hunter Skaggs is the lack of 1790 and 1800 census records. These records were burned by the British when they invaded Washington during the War of 1812 (thanks guys). Tax records can help during this time period in establishing where someone was in a given year. I've noticed that FamilySearch has unlocked the tax records for Green County, Kentucky and it's a gold mine for Skaggs Long Hunter research. 

For example, the 1795 Green County, KY Tax Book looks like this for the Skaggs:

29 June 1795 Sarah Skaggs, 3 horses, 20 cattle. 29 June 1795 Archibald Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 3 horses, 16 cattle. 22 June 1795 David Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 4 horses, 7 cattle. 22 June 1795 Solomon Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 1 total blacks, 1 black <16, 4 horses, 9 cattle. 22 June 1795 Henry Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 5 total blacks, 2 blacks <16, 3 horses, 26 cattle. 22 June 1795 James Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 3 horses, 4 cattle. 25 June 1795 Shadrach Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 1 horse, 4 cattle. 26 June 1795 John Skaggs, 1 white male 16-20, 5 horses, 11 cattle. 26 June 1795 Henry Skaggs, 1 white make 21+, 1 white male 16-20, 3 horses, 8 cattle. 26 June 1795 James Skaggs, 1 white make 21+, 9 horses, 14 cattle. 27 June 1795 Frederick Skaggs, 1 white make 21+, 5 horses, 9 cattle. 19 June 1795 William Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 3 total blacks, 2 blacks <16, 7 horses, 17 cattle. 08 June 1795 Henry R C Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 3 horses, 27 cattle. 30 June 1795 Benjamin Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 1 horse. 30 June 1795 Richard Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 1 white male 16-20, 3 horses, 8 cattle. 11 June 1795 Jeremiah Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 5 horses, 10 cattle. 11 June 1795 Charles Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 1 white male 16-20, 6 horses, 30 cattle. 11 June 1795 Thomas Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 2 horses, 18 cattle. 16 July 1795 Moses Skaggs, 1 white male 21+, 2 total blacks, 1 black <16, 3 horses, 13 cattle.

Sorting through all this is like unwinding a bowl of spaghetti, but here's what I get for 1795:

• Sarah Skaggs was the widow of Meshack (son of Richard the Long Hunter) who was killed by Indians that year.
• Archibald was eldest son of Charles the Long Hunter.
• David, Solomon and James were sons of Henry the Long Hunter who was the rich guy with five black slaves.
• Frederick was son of Charles the Long Hunter.
• William was eldest son of James "Longman" Skaggs.
• The guy labeled Henry R C Skaggs was son of James "Longman" Skaggs (who had disappeared by this time with the neighbor's wife)
• Benjamin was son of Richard the Long Hunter who follows him in the list.
• Jeremiah was son of James "Longman" Skaggs.
• Charles the Long Hunter was the guy with 6 horses and 30 cattle.
• Thomas was son of Charles the Long Hunter.
• Moses was the famous Long Hunter brother with the estate lawsuit. He's still alive in 1795 but I think he dies at about this time. His widow appears in the 1796 tax list.

There are many more years of tax lists for Green County to unravel to determine who was where and when. For you Skaggs researchers working on the Long Hunters and their descendants...good luck. Keep us posted in the comments.