Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864

This data set, an index to one of Ireland's premier genealogical resources, Griffith's Valuation, references approximately one million individuals who occupied property in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. The Griffith's Valuation, or Primary Valuation of Ireland, was executed under the direction of Sir Richard Griffith to determine the amount of tax each person should pay towards the support of the poor within their poor law union. This involved determining the value of all privately held lands and buildings in rural as well as urban areas to figure the rate at which each unit of property could be rented year after year. The resulting survey was arranged by barony and civil parish with an index to the townlands appearing in each volume. The original volumes of the survey are held in the National Archives, Dublin and Public Record Office, Belfast.

Griffith's Valuation is an invaluable reference for family historians with ancestors in Ireland. It is a record of extreme importance since no census material of the nineteenth century has survived. In effect, Griffith's Valuation can be used as a census substitute for the years before, during, and after the Great Famine. While it represents an impressive undertaking in terms of property survey, Griffith's Valuation is also an important record of valuable social and economic data. For those seeking information on their Irish ancestors, it provides more than just names and locations of residences. Griffith's Valuation is, effectively, the only detailed guide to where in Ireland people lived in the mid-nineteenth century and what property they possessed. In addition to providing the name of the householder, Griffith's Valuation provides a map reference number to help you identify and perhaps locate property.

Few other records can be used to identify an immigrant ancestor's exact place of origin, and only Griffith's Valuation links an individual to a specific townland and civil parish. This information is of extreme importance since the first step in Irish genealogical research is to identify an ancestor's townland and civil parish. This information can lead you to ecclesiastical parish records of births and marriages.

Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland, 1848-1864

While browsing through this data set or viewing search results, you will find basic information about an individual. Initially, you will find the following information listed:

1. Name - This is the individual's given name and surname, as well as any titles that were included in the original index.

Surnames are the most obvious keys for any researcher and you should note that many variants exist of practically every Irish surname. For instance, "O'Neill" may be listed as "ONeill" or "O Neill." Because a surname could be listed a number of different ways, you should search for your ancestors in the Index under more than one spelling. Names with the prefix "Mc" or "Mac" should also be searched in the same manner. An Irish surname may change over time and from generation to generation. For this reason, if you were searching for the surname "Donald," you would want to search under "O'Donald," "McDonald," "MacDonald," "M'Donald," etc. This is particularly important if your Irish ancestors later lived in the United States, because in some cases surname prefixes were dropped at the time of immigration.

You may have difficulty locating some names for the following reasons:

• Some given names have been abbreviated. For example, "Robert" may appear as "Robt," and "Elizabeth" as "Eliz."
• Some given names are misspelled, contain typos, or may be spelled unusually.
• Some given and middle names are truncated. Specifically, this happens when the name, including the spaces between the given name, middle name, and last name, is longer than twenty-three characters. For example, "McCormack, Annabelle Margaret" would be listed as "McCormack, Annabelle Mar."

If you are unable to locate a particular given name and surname, try switching the given name to an initial, abbreviation, or possible misspelling. If the surname is not common, you may want to search only on the surname.

Also, if your ancestor is listed as "Rep." (for example, "Kennedy, Rep. Markus,") it typically means that the individual owned land but was represented by someone else in the survey.

2. County - The county listed here is where the individual resided at the time of the survey.

3. Parish - This describes more specifically where the individual resided at the time of the survey.

Griffith's Valuation

Once you find your ancestor in this data set, it is easy to find additional information about that person in a microfilm or microfiche copy of Griffith's Valuation. Apart from townland address and householder's name, you may also determine the following information about your ancestor: name of the person from whom the property was leased, description of property, acreage, and valuation.

Please note that the index included in this data set was generated from the microfiche version of the Griffith's Valuation. When you find an ancestor in this data set, you can determine more information about that individual by referencing the microfiche or microfilm copies of Griffith's Valuation. The microfiche version may be easier to reference since each microfiche is numbered and organized by county and includes a list of all of the parishes within that county. If you are using this data set and referencing the microfilm version of Griffith's Valuation, it will be necessary for you determine which microfilm roll your ancestor's parish is on. Resources at places such as the Family History Library can help you determine this information.

About Griffith's Valuation and Heritage World

Information in this data set was compiled by Heritage World Family History Services and provided by the Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. Introductory material for this data set was provided in part by William O'Kane, Publications Officer for Heritage World Family Services, one of Ireland's foremost genealogy research companies. With over ten million computerized records and researchers in Belfast and Dublin, Heritage World Family History Services offers fast and efficient service to individuals with ancestors in Ireland. A member of both the Irish Family History Foundation and the Irish Genealogy Project, Heritage World will undertake ancestral research for any county in Ireland. In addition to research, Heritage World offers a full range of customized family history products including family coats of arms, keyrings, name scrolls, publications on aspects of Irish history, folklore, and culture. For more information about the family history services provided by Heritage World, please contact:

The Heritage Centre
26 Market Square, Dungannon
Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland BT70 1AB

Or, visit: http://www.iol.ie/irishworld