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This is a guest post from CGS Member and Volunteer Maureen Hanlon, our eNews Editor.
Martin J Hanlon
16 Jan 1911- 18 Apr 2001
(born and died in San Francisco, CA)
“Tax Season” Memory and Tax Record Resources
Growing up, January through April in our house was “tax season.” We saw very little of my dad, a Certified Public Accountant whose workdays stretched into evenings and weekends as he prepared returns for corporate and private clients. For us kids, his absence also meant a temporary suspension of our usual, somewhat formal dinnertime rituals. My mom would serve things he didn’t care for—treats to us, like canned fruit cocktail or the rare and thrilling TV dinner. What we didn’t understand then was the real nature of tax season: the arcane rules, endless details, and the maze of complex, often contradictory instructions and forms that consumed his days. And also how much tax records can reveal about a life.
Dad retired in the 1970’s and passed away on April 18, 2001, largely missing the information age and the transformation from pens, receipts, and ledgers to computers and online programs. Many of the records he grew up with and those for his parents and their parents are available, waiting to reveal facts and context for an earlier time.
Would you like to know more about what tax records can tell you about your ancestors? There are many online resources that spell out what can be found and where. If your own returns are filed, maybe you’re ready to take explore “tax season” (minus the fruit cocktail) for your family and see what you can find.
Allen County Library videos
Using Tax Records in Genealogical Research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-0_IWplg-w
Using Tax Records to Add Context to Your Family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH_2-g-83cw&t=39s
Articles
Family Tree Magazine: The Genealogists Guide to Tax Records https://familytreemagazine.com/records/other/tax-records-genealogy-guide/
Ancestry Family Learning Hub: Historical Tax Lists https://www.ancestry.com/c/family-history-learning-hub/tax-records#:~:text=What%20Information%20Can%20Be%20Found,%E2%80%9D%20instead%20of%20%E2%80%9CJohn%20Elliott%E2%80%9D
Family Locket: Back to the Basics with Tax Records Part I https://familylocket.com/back-to-the-basics-with-tax-records-part-1/#:~:text=As%20genealogists%2C%20we%20rely%20on,%2C%20inheritance%2C%20or%20other%20information.
Helpful Links
Events: https://www.californiaancestors.org/events-and-education/
Special Interest Groups: https://www.californiaancestors.org/special-interest-groups-for-members/
Calendar view: https://www.californiaancestors.org/cgs_calendar/
Tips & Talk: Oakland FamilySearch Center Family History Classes: https://www.familysearch.org/en/centers/oakland_california/classes
APR
2026