This is an exhaustive survey of the population lists, estimates, and statistics that were produced in the American colonies before the first federal census of 1790. The population lists, which are of paramount importance to the genealogist, include poll lists, tax lists, taxables, militia lists, and censuses, and were originally drawn up for purposes of taxation and local defense. Gleaned from archives in Britain and the U.S. and from a wide range of published sources, their itemization in this work puts colonial population records in a handy framework for research, much like Ann Lainhart's work on post-colonial population records below. Coverage, by the way, isn't confined merely to the original thirteen colonies, but includes population lists from territories such as the Illinois Country, Kentucky and Tennessee, and the northern and southern Indian Departments.
