In a previous article, we discussed the use of church records in researching family history. However, to access church records you will usually need to know where in Ireland an ancestor lived. Making this connection is often the main problem faced by Irish-Americans attempting to trace their roots back to Ireland. Whereas many root-seekers will know that their ancestor was from a particular county, a large proportion will not know in which part of the county they lived. Indeed, some do not even know the county of origin. Land records can be invaluable in making the connection to a particular part of Ireland, mainly the Griffith Valuation Survey, and the Tithe Applottment Records.
The Griffith Valuation is a comprehensive survey of all occupiers of land, which was conducted, county by county, between 1848 and 1864, for the purpose of levying a “rate” or local tax. It lists every land-holder and householder; their precise address (by townland in rural areas and by street in the towns); type and size of land-holding; name of landlord; and the ratable valuation.
The entire survey has been indexed by family name by the National Library of Ireland, and this index is available in many libraries. There are also full-name indexes to the survey for some counties available on microfiche from private sources. The indexes will show how many persons of a given family name held property in each county. Each of these will eventually lead back to an original record which will typically state, e.g., that Daniel Kelly leased a house and five acres of land in the townland of Cloon, Parish of Dunmore, from Isaac Purefoy and that the valuation was 1 pound, 5s, 6d.
The valuation will rarely provide any information regarding the relationship of the landholder to others. Its main value in family history is in locating a name within a county, or even in locating the precise part of Ireland from which an ancestor came. This, however, is usually only possible where the name is uncommon, or where there are two family names (e.g., a husband and wife) which can be correlated.
In many cases names are so common that the Griffith Valuation Survey is of no value. For instance, it is pointless to try to locate an O’Sullivan in Kerry or a Ryan in Tipperary. Even in cases where the ancestor was not a landholder, or where the ancestor left Ireland before the time of the Valuation, the survey can be useful in establishing the part of a county in which a particular name was common.
Many Irish names are confined to certain areas and may be rare elsewhere. The Griffith Survey can show the distribution of such names within each county, barony and parish. This can be a significant advantage in family history. For instance, the name Gately is not common in Ireland. However, in certain parishes in East Galway it is the predominant name in the local records. In researching a name, it can be obviously useful to start the search in an area where it is known that the name was prevalent.
The Griffith Survey is particularly useful for people who left Ireland in the mid-19th century. For those who left Ireland earlier, there is a further survey of possible value. This is the Tithe Applottment Survey, which was also conducted for taxation purposes. In this case the tax, or tithe, was that payable to the Church of Ireland for its upkeep. The survey was conducted from 1823 until tithes were abolished in 1838. It was a highly controversial tax since it was mainly paid by Catholics who didn’t belong to the Church of Ireland. The tithe was only paid on certain types of land and is far from comprehensive. Nevertheless, it was conducted before a major period of emigration, and is therefore particularly valuable in locating families within counties. This survey is also indexed by the National Library, within the same volumes as the Griffith Valuation Survey.
Other sources of information on land ownership are Deeds, which date back to 1708. These are legal agreements between individuals, but almost all of them relate to land sale or lease. Deeds were mainly executed by wealthier people, but not exclusively. They are located in the Registry of Deeds in Dublin and, although not easy to use, they are worth a look, particularly for ancestors from the 18th century.
For town dwellers, the main records of property occupiers are the many commercial directories which were published in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. These are particularly useful for Dublin, which has annual directories of gentry, merchants and traders from the 1740’s. Other Irish towns are covered by less frequent directories such as Pigot’s Commercial Directory of Ireland in 1820.
Full information on the above sources are detailed in Irish Records — Sources for Family and Local History, by James G Ryan, available from Ancestry Inc. P.O. Box 476, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the January/February 1995 issue of Irish America. The mailing address provided may be out of service or outdated. ⬥
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