St. Croix, Danish West Indies, Denmark, Slave Plantation and Town Head Tax Lists, 1772-1821

This database contains images of plantation and town head tax lists from the island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies (today the U.S. Virgin Islands) from 1772-1821.

Head tax lists were generally compiled on a yearly basis for every plantation or slave owning property. These lists were used for tax purposes and listed the name of each person, both slave and free, who lived on the estate.

These lists are similar to censuses and can essentially serve the same purpose in your research. They allow you to pinpoint an individual in a particular place and time, as well as track them over a span of years. For slaves, usually only their first name was listed. However, since the movement of slaves was restricted, you can usually find individuals living on the same estates or plantations for several years.

Some of these records have been indexed and are searchable by name. The rest of the images are available for browsing by year range and year.