Why does it appear that all taxable lands lie on waterways?
“On the waters of” is a recurrent category in tax digests. The phrase does not mean that the land in question necessarily bordered on a specific waterway, but that water draining from that land eventually entered that creek or river. In other words, the land was located on the watershed of the specific waterway. These references are further compounded by the fact that early tax collectors often referred to only the major watersheds. Over time, minor waterways received their own name. Early tax references may indicate that the land is on a major waterway; later references may indicate a tributary that had since been differentiated by its own name. This practice gives rise to confusion for the researcher who may assume that the taxpayer has moved.
