So, I've had a little surprise this morning, in discovering that Pen and Sword has brought forward by ten days the publication of my next book, Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, which is now available for sale at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Ancestors-Through-Land-Records-Paperback/p/19283. Here's the back cover blurb!
The history of Ireland is one that was long dominated by the question of land ownership, with complex and often distressing tales over the centuries of dispossession and colonisation, religious tensions, absentee landlordism, subsistence farming, and considerably more to sadden the heart. Yet with the destruction of much of Ireland's historic record during the Irish Civil War, and with the discriminatory Penal Laws in place in earlier times, it is often within land records that we can find evidence of our ancestors' existence, in some cases the only evidence, where the relevant vital records for an area may never have been kept or may not have survived.
In Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, genealogist and best-selling author Chris Paton explores how the surviving records can help with our ancestral research, but also tell the stories of the communities from within which our ancestors emerged. He explores the often controversial history of ownership of land across the island, the rights granted to those who held estates and the plights of the dispossessed, and identifies the various surviving records which can help to tease out the stories of many of Ireland's forgotten generations.
Along the way Chris Paton identifies the various ways to access the records, whether in Ireland's many archives, local and national, and increasingly through a variety of online platforms.
The following are the chapter headings:
Contents
Introduction
Timeline
1. The Lie of the Land
National Archives of Ireland
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
The National Archives (UK)
National Library of Ireland
Local archives, libraries and museums
Valuation Office
Property Registration Authority
Land and Property Services
Irish Manuscripts Commission
Irish Architectural Archive
Other heritage services
Place-names
Gateway websites
Commercial websites
Family history and local studies societies
Professional genealogists
Ye don’t ask, ye don’t get!
2. A Brief History
Gaels, Vikings and the Old English
The Tudor Conquest
The Plantations of Ulster
A war in three kingdoms
Rebellion, union and more rebellion
The Land War and reform
The partitioned island
Terminology
3. Boundaries and Administration
The island of Ireland
Provinces and counties
Counties corporate and county boroughs
Charter towns and boroughs
Baronies and civil parishes
Townlands
Other historic land divisions
Poor Law Unions and District Electoral Divisions
Civil registration
Converting administrative units
Religious parishes, dioceses and ecclesiastical provinces
Manors and demesnes
Grand Juries
Units of measurement
4. Where Were They?
Vital records
The 1813 census
Decennial census records (1821-1851)
Census extracts for Old Age Pension applications
Decennial census records (1861-1891)
Decennial census records (1901-1911)
Subsequent censuses
Census reports
1939 National Identity Register (Northern Ireland)
Earlier censuses
Early taxation
Ecclesiastical censuses
Street directories
Electoral records
Newspapers
5. Valuation Surveys
The Down Survey of Ireland
Tithe records
Townland Valuation
Valuation field work
Tenement Valuation (Griffith's Valuation)
Valuation appeals
Valuation Revision Books / Cancelled Land Books
6. Tenancy and Ownership
Estate records
Freeholders
Leases
Rental records
Estate maps
The Quit Rent Office
Manorial records
Inheritance laws
Probate records
Finding Pre-1858 probate records
Post-1857 probate records
The Registry of Deeds
Landowners in Ireland 1876
Irish Land Commission
The Land Registry
Church land commissions
7. A Sense of Place
Irish Historic Towns Atlas
Ordnance Survey maps
Ordnance Survey Memoirs
Gazetteers, journals and parish histories
8. Further Reading
9. Index
Just for good measure, Pen and Sword has also just posted the book's first review, which is short and sweet, but to the point!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
What a wonderful, well-researched resource for anyone wanting to trace your Irish roots! Chris Paton’s Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is a wealth of information all in one place! A book I will return to again and again to help me on my journey to find my Irish ancestors!
NetGalley, Jamie Lovett
I've enjoyed writing this, and it also marks a personal milestone for me, in that this is my twentieth publication over the last decade. I sincerely hope it helps with your Irish research. Due to the pandemic, this title was actually pulled forward, as I had enough material to hand to write this during the various lockdowns - the next title I will be working on, which was pushed back in my schedule, will also concentrate on Ireland, specifically Northern Ireland, and one of the greatest cities on Earth - but more on that in due course!
Enjoy!
Chris
My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.
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