Cabell Tax Lists 1809-1831

Note:

The second white male above 16 listed for James Jordan Sr. is probably his son Jonathan, born circa 1789, who is listed in his own right in the 1810 tax list (as James Sr.’s count goes back to one male over 16)

Notes:

Charles is not part of the James Jordan family.

James Jordan Senior appears to have sold or given away his horses and, for the remaining years that he appears on the tax lists (until 1816), no longer keeps any. This may indicate that he has retired from farming.

Note:

Columns on the original 1813 and 1814 lists but not included here-“Ordinary Licens,” “Stud Horses,” and “Rates of Covering”-were nil for all Jordans.

Note:

Columns on the original 1815 list but not included here were nil for all Jordans-“2-wheel riding carriages,” “Phaetons & Stage Wagons”, “Publick Stages,” All other 4-wheeled riding carriages,” “Mills,” “Toll Bridge & Ferries,” “Tan Yards,” Free male negroes above 16,” “Gelt, Silver or Pinchback,” “Single-cased gold,” “Double-cased Gold,” Livery stables number of stalls or spaces sufficient for accommodation of 1 horse,” “Houses exceeding $500 value,” “Ice houses for private use; from which ice is sold,” “Clocks: wood w/o case, wood with case, metal, value between $50-100, value above $100,” “Coal pits,” Printers and annual subscr to papers.”

Notes:

The second white male above 16 charged for William Jordan is probably his son, James, who was born circa 1796.

It’s possible that the William Junr listed here may be William N. Jordan, son of John Jordan; although he would only have been around 16 years old at the time.

Note:

James Jordan, the patriarch of the family, is no longer found in the tax lists, although he was clearly still alive–he continued to sell land (1817, 1820) and can be found in the 1820 census. His absence from the tax lists after 1816 could be explained in one of three ways:

(1) James may have reached an age at which he was no longer obliged to pay tax. Some jurisdictions stopped collecting tax from men who had reached a certain age, although I haven’t yet been able to find evidence that Cabell County had such a law. If this were the case, it would indicate James’ year of birth, e.g., he might have turned 70 in 1816 or 1817, placing his year of birth around 1746.

(2) James may have become infirmed and thus was no longer required to pay the tax. Since he had had no taxable assets since 1811, either of the first two reasons (old or infirmed) would have meant–with no assets and not being required to pay a poll for himself–that there was no need to include James in the tax lists.

(3) James may have moved in with a child and was no longer the head of his own household. Since there are no increases in “males above 16” for any of his sons from 1816 to 1817, this could mean that he moved in with a daughter.

Notes:

(1) The parenthetical elaboration “4 people” following Charles Jordan’s name appears that way in the tax list.

(2) The second white male above 16 listed for William Jordan is probably his son James; the third is probably his son John, who was born in December 1798.

Notes:

William Jordan should be charged with 3 white males above 16 (himself and his sons James and John). This entry appears to be an error, which is corrected in the 1820 tax list.

Notes:

(1) The fourth white male charged to William Jordan is probably his son, William, who was born in December 1803. This entry is consistent with the 1820 census data for William Jordan.

(2) The entry for Jonathan Jordan is consistent with the 1820 census data for him.

(3) The second white male charged to James Jordan is unknown, but is also mentioned in the 1820 census as being of age 16 to 18. Perhaps he was an unrelated hired hand; he doesn’t appear in later tax lists. It is notable that James is listed as James Jnr even though there are no other James Jordans mentioned on the 1820 tax list. This adds to the evidence that James Jordan Senior was still alive as of 1820. The 1820 census lists a James Jordan Senr in addition to this James Jordan.

(4) The entry for Andrew Jordan is not consistent with the 1820 census data, which indicates he has a male aged 16-18 living in his household at this time as well as himself. This inconsistency is corrected in the 1821 tax list.

(5) The entry for John Jordan is not consistent with the 1820 census data, which indicates he has two males aged 26-45 living in his household at this time as well as himself.

Notes:

(1) The four male adults in William Jordan‘s household at this time are William and his three sons James, John and William.

(2) The two male adults in Andrew Jordan‘s household at this time are Andrew and his son Jonathan, born in 1804.

(3) William Jordan Junr. may be William N. Jordan, son of John Jordan

Note:

Although William Jordan loses one male adult in this year’s accounting, his son (John) doesn’t appear in his own right until 1823.

Notes:

(1) Andrew Jordan is missing from this tax list.

(2) As the grandchildren of James Jordan Senr come of age and appear on the tax lists in their own right, it becomes more difficult to distinguish men with the same names. One of the John Jordans listed (most likely the John with one horse) may be the son of William Jordan.

(3) It is unclear who William Jordan Junr and the last listed William Jordan are. One of them may be William N. Jordan, the son of John Jordan.

Note:

The final two Jordans (James and John) are probably the elder sons of William Jordan, the antepenult on the list.

The 1825 list provides sufficient detail to identify each taxpayer:

(1) Jordan John (of Wm) is John Jordan, born circa 1798, son of William (2) and grandson of the patriarch of the family, James Jordan.

(2) Jordan William Sr is William Jordan, born circa 1772, the father of John (1) and son of the patriarch of the family, James Jordan. The second male over 16 charged to him is his son, William Jordan.

(3) Jordan James is James Jordan, born circa 1796, the son of William (2) and the brother of John (1).

(4) Jordan James Y. is James Y. Jordan, born circa 1804, the son of John (10) and his first wife, Elizabeth Newman.

(5) Jordan William N. is William Newman Jordan, born in 1800, brother of James Y. (4) and son of John (10) and his first wife, Elizabeth Newman.

(6) Jordan Jonathan Sr. is Jonathan Jordan, born circa 1789, brother of William (2) and son of the patriarch of the family, James Jordan.

(7) Jordan Andrew is Andrew Jordan, born 1784/5, brother of Jonathan (6) and William (2) and son of the patriarch of the family, James Jordan. The second male over 16 charged to him is his son James, born in 1807.

(8) Jordan James Sr. is James Jordan, born 1768, brother of Andrew (7), Jonathan (6) and William (2) and son of the patriarch of the family, James Jordan.

(9) Jordan Jonathan Jr. is Jonathan Jordan, son of Andrew (7).

(10) Jordan John is John Jordan, born circa 1775, brother of James (8), Andrew (7), Jonathan (6) and William (2); father of James Y. (4) and William N. (5); and son of the patriarch of the family, James Jordan.

Note:

See notes for 1825 tax list for a description of who’s who. The only addition for 1826 is William’s son, William Jordan, born in 1803.

Notes:

(1) See notes for 1825 for a complete description.

(2) John Y Jordan – this listing is in error and should be “James Y. Jordan,” which explains the later parenthetical elaboration counting four James Jordans.

(3) Jordan James (the 4th) – probably James Jordan, the son of Andrew Jordan.

(3) Jonathan Jordan, brother to James, William, John, and Andrew, moved with his family to Sangamon County, Illinois in 1826 and is no longer on the Cabell tax list. The Jonathan listed here is the eldest son of Andrew Jordan.

Notes:

(1) William Jordan and his sons James, John and William moved with their families to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, in the autumn of 1827 and are no longer on the Cabell tax lists.

(2) William Jordan listed here is probably William N. Jordan.

Notes:

(1) The entry for John is not consistent with the 1830 census data for John Jordan, which states that he has two males above 16 in his household.

(2) The entry for Andrew is consistent with the 1830 census data for Andrew Jordan.

(3) The entry for James is consistent with the 1830 census data for James Jordan. The second male over 16 charged to James Jordan-between 15 and 20 according to the census-is probably his son Thomas Lee Jordan, born circa 1815.

(4) Jonathan Jordan and James L. Jordan (sons of Andrew) and James Y. Jordan (son of John) have moved to Mason County, Virginia, and are found living there in the 1830 census.

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