A privately compiled list of tax payers appearing in the tax lists of all Kentucky counties which were established at the time of the first federal census.

Among the many historic documents that were lost when the British burned the Capitol in Washington during the War of 1812 were the first two censuses of Kentucky, the earliest one compiled while Kentucky was still a part of Virginia. Owing to the destruction of these census records, genealogists doing research in Kentucky have been obliged to reconstruct the lost data from a number of related records, particularly tax records. Those printed here represent all the tax lists ever published in "The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society" and are among the earliest Kentucky tax records in existence. In a few cases these tax records date from a period either immediately before or after the 1790 and 1800 enumerations, and show, by comparison with the reconstructed census records for 1790 and 1800, published by Charles B. Heinemann and G. Glenn Clift respectively, the movement of early Kentuckians from one county to another. In other cases the records serve both as an adjunct and a corrective to the Heinemann and Clift works, though the vast majority of these tax lists--giving the names of about 12,000 taxpayers, their counties of residence, and the number of persons and chattels attached to their households--do not appear in either work.

Genealogists and other historical researchers have valued the first two editions of this work, often referred to as the genealogist's bible."" The new edition continues that tradition. Intended as a handbook and a guide to selecting, locating, and using appropriate primary and secondary resources, The Source also functions as an instructional tool for novice genealogists and a refresher course for experienced researchers. More than 30 experts in this field--genealogists, historians, librarians, and archivists--prepared the 20 signed chapters, which are well written, easy to read, and include many helpful hints for getting the most out of whatever information is acquired. Each chapter ends with an extensive bibliography and is further enriched by tables, black-and-white illustrations, and examples of documents. Eight appendixes include the expected contact information for groups and institutions that persons studying genealogy and history need to find. ""