New Info Found in Tax Lists for my Kentucky Ancestor, Henry Bolen

1816 Wayne County, KY Tax List

This spring I was able to find and rent a microfilm from the Family History Library for some early Tax Lists for Wayne County, Kentucky. I had a lot of gaps that I wanted to fill in on some of my mother's line. Most of my mom's side came from Wayne and Clinton County. On mom's side I have Guffeys, Smiths, Adams, Pierce, and Bell that I have been particularly interested in to get more info. Also, there are two lines from my father's side that went through Wayne County on their way from North Carolina to Indiana, the Lovells and the Bolens. Taking the advice I learned from the blogger, "Brickwall Protocol," I made my timelines and have been trying to fill in some of the gaps on my dad's Bolens. (See my blog post on Henry Bolen for background.) The only evidence that I had on Henry Bolen in Wayne County was from my previous data collection. He had signed as Bondsman on his two daughters' marriage bonds. There were no land transactions in his name. Other than that I wasn't even sure he actually stayed any time at all in Wayne County. I was convinced that getting these tax lists I could at least prove to myself that he actually existed.

I was right. I was actually able to find Henry Bolen in Wayne county as a poll tax payer. It showed that he only paid tax as a 'male over 21' for the years 1816 to 1821. I just knew he had to be there, but why didn't he show up in the 1820 census. I'll probably never know the answer to that one. Then I found another curious entry, in one of the years he was listed with an Ezekial Bolen - a new name! This might be worth pursuing, he could be a son or a brother or a cousin. That's why I just love these tax lists, I always find some little tidbit of information that could prove very valuable. At least I was able to fill in five years of Henry Bolen's life. In the 1820 census both daughters were married by then and had moved into Pulaski County. I still need to fill in several years in between 1821 until his wife is found living in Jefferson County, Indiana in 1830 next to her two married daughters. Somewhere along the timeline we lost Henry Bolen between 1821 to 1830. It could be a long, winding road, but I'm going to keep plugging away at Henry Bolen, my brickwall!