This work lists the names of the taxpayers resident in about half of the North Carolina counties formed before 1786. Most of the data came from tax lists microfilmed at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh, and they are supplemented with names from the periodical North Carolina Genealogy, which includes persons owning headrights and landrights. The names of the taxpayers are listed alphabetically with the county of residence and date, and in some cases additional data is supplied. In all there are about 28,000 names.

The following are the counties covered: Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Bute, Caswell, Chowan, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dobbs, Edgecombe, Franklin-Warren-Vance, Gates, Granville, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pasquatank, Perquimans, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Tryon, and Tyrrell.