Bladen County was formed from New Hanover Precinct in 1734. At this time it existed as a precinct of Bath County. In 1800 and 1893, courthouse fires destroyed most of Bladen's court records and some of the land deeds. The devastation of Bladen County's records by these fires has created a void for historians and genealogist alike. These early tax lists provide information and insight into many of the early families that would have otherwise been lost to posterity. Several of the lists give the names of sons and servants and, in some cases, they list the names of other relatives. Many of the wives are listed in free mixed blood families and a myriad of slave's names abound throughout the lists.