Missouri, Daviess County Tax Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists digital images of Daviess County tax records filmed at the Missouri State Archives in Jefferson City, Missouri. The collection covers the years 1861 to 1896. Tax records are based on the property owned by people. Only the person who owned the taxable property was listed on the tax record; other residents, living on the property, were not listed. Tax records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the county clerk in the local courthouse, who usually recorded the event at or very near the time it occurred. The information given in town land records is generally reliable, although there may be errors made in transcribing the town’s copy from the original deed.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Information in tax records includes:
 * Legal description of real and personal property
 * Names and ages of property owners and possible relationships
 * Time periods when families resided in Ohio
 * Occupation of the property owner
 * Places of residence
 * Names of other relatives
 * Additional information associated with the property

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Tax assessments identify the name and residence of the taxpayer. This information can help you locate land records and census records.
 * The description of the real estate, number of acres owned, types of buildings, identifiable personal property, and the farm animals can help you determine an occupation: someone living at a church is probably a minister; someone with several acres of land or many farm animals is probably a farmer; someone living on the same property as the school may be a teacher; someone living above or behind a store is probably a merchant.
 * Known occupations can lead you to other types of records such as employment, school, or church records.
 * Following an ancestor through the assessment rolls can help you establish a family migration pattern or identify the year an individual moved into an area or left the area.
 * The assessment rolls can also indicate that an individual died. Use the last known tax year as an approximate death year. Use the death year and residence to locate death or probate records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Missouri, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Missouri Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Missouri.
 * Missouri Guided Research
 * Missouri Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing this Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.