Tax Records
The National Society Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) recognizes not only the services of those who bore arms in the Revolution, but those who rendered service in civil capacities and provided other support, material or verbal. Material support included the payment of taxes that were in support of the War, or honored requests of the Continental Congress to the States. These (qualifying) taxes provided evidence of Patriotic Service for an ancestor for membership of a descendant in the SAR.
Overview of the Delaware Revolutionary War Tax Lists
The Delaware Revolutionary War Tax Lists are arranged by county/district/hundred. Researchers may use them to discover distant ancestors. SAR members and prospective members may use them as supporting evidence of Patriotic Service for new and supplemental applications. We suggest that anyone exploring these lists first read the Overview document. This will provide a general sense of the Acts/Statutes that resulted in the tax collections and the qualifying circumstances for these listed.
Supply tax records of paying a supply tax can be used as an individual proof of an ancestor's "Public Service" as means of entrance into the Sons of the American Revolution. The Delaware Archives has a complete set of records that can be used for this process. That are as follows:
- The Laws of Delaware (Vols 1 and 2) - available on film, RG 1325.147 - Use these records to find a reference to the supply tax for that year and note that amount to be gathered. This has been done for the years of 1777-1781. See "Delaware Tax Laws" PDF
- Tax Records - on film they are divided by county and then hundred:
RGs - 2535 - New Castle County
RGs - 3535 - Kent County
RGs - 4535 - Sussex County
Note: You must look at the front of the first hundred for a year to ensure that the amount
noted matches the reference from Delaware Laws; then search the hundreds for the
individual one is searching
- Levy Courts - As an alternative, levy court records show similar records
The Delaware Society Sons of the American Revolution would like to thank the Delaware Public Archives and the NSSAR Subcommittee on Revolutionary Taxes. Without the work of both partied, these records would not be available to use.
National Society Sons of the American Revolution Terms of Use:
Although all original tax records are public domain and availability courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives, the PDF files are copyrighted NSSAR 2013 - All Rights Reserved. This includes the explanatory text.
Duplication and/or distribution for commerical purposes are not authorized.
Individual researchers may download/copy/print any file for personal use only.
Publication without prior permission is not authorized. In all cases where permission is granted, both the National Society Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR) and the Delaware Public Archives shall be credited.
