Because the Irish census records prior to 1901 were destroyed, Griffith’s Valuation is often used as a census substitute. For general information about this Irish householders survey, why it was taken, what it covered and where to access the records, read What is Griffith’s Valuation.
While it doesn’t list members of a household as a census would, it can do more than just state where a person lived.
Griffith’s Valuation Leads to Other Irish Genealogical Records
The information listed in Griffith’s seems like simple details on the surface, but reading between the lines can lead to other records.
Examine the size and value of the acreage. A person with only a house, but no acreage, was quite poor. A person with less than five acres was considered a cottier and would have had an annual lease, but the landlord would still have had to go to court to change the tenant. A small farmer held five to thirty acres, and a large farmer had more than thirty. The value of the acreage will reveal the quality of the land. These farmers may have had leases which covered several people’s lifetimes, and the change in lease names can be traced through land records at the Valuation Office.
Look for householders who are also landlords. Tenants were allowed to subdivide their acreage and lease land and/or houses to others. If the last names are the same, they may be related. If not, there is always the possibility of in-laws.
Look for occupiers whose land did not include a house. Farms were (and still are) often split across townlands, and a person renting in one townland but not living there will have his town of residence listed after his name. However, if there is no other residence listed, where does he live? Look for possible relatives – someone close by with the same last name, or someone else renting a house on his land. Note: holdings were often recorded in the order listed by the tenant, and may not be next to each other. Researchers will need to use the Ordnance Map references to plot the actual property.
Look for groups who rented land together. There is no guarantee that they are related, but it’s worth examining church records to find siblings and in-laws.
Look for an agnomen, an additional identifying name. Examples of agnomens are listed in "What is Griffith's Valuation?" (click on the link above)
Tracing Pre-1847 Immigrant Irish Ancestors
Griffith’s Valuation was published between 1847 and 1864, depending on the county. While ancestors who left Ireland before 1847 won’t be listed, their relatives might. There are several ways to link immigrants to their home county in Ireland:
- Use letters and family bibles to locate parents’, siblings’ and cousins’ names.
- In the U.S., look for Irish immigrants in the Emigrant Savings Bank records to see who they were sending money to.
- Search church records for the baptism of these immigrant ancestors’ children, and note the names of the godparents. There’s a good chance that the parents and godparents came from the same area, so researchers can look for the surnames together in the same Irish location.
Genealogists with this information may be able to find the relatives in Griffith’s, and trace the family tree back from there.
When You Can’t Find Your Irish Ancestors
There are several reasons why ancestors living in Ireland in the 1840s and 1850s can’t be found in Griffith’s Valuation. Remember, it was not meant as a population census.
- Ancestors who lived in a house but were not named on the lease would not have been listed.
- If a farmer gave partial use of a farmhouse on his land to his parents, it was not counted as a “distinct tenement” and would not have been listed. If the parents turned the lease over to a son, but kept the right to live in the house, they would not be listed.
- Shepherd’s huts and other small outbuildings were not considered dwellings, but when there was a large amount of pasturage, someone may have been living there to watch over the livestock. They would not have been listed.
While it will never replace the missing Irish census records, Griffith’s Valuation provides many clues to help trace a family tree if researchers will look beyond the name and number of acres.
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