Ulster Genealogy and Local History Blog

Tithe applotment books parish of Templemore, Co. Derry 1772-1793 Tithes were payments made to the Established Church of Ireland and were paid irrespective of religious affiliation (therefore resented by Catholic and Presbyterians who felt coerced into supporting the minority Church of Ireland). Very few tithe records exist pre-1823 when the Tithe Composition Act was formally introduced to regulate payments. It is fortunate that tithe applotment books have survived for the civil parish of Templemore (the city of Derry and Liberties). The records effectively record all tithe payers in the barony of the North West Liberties (to distinguish from the North East Liberties in Coleraine). Copies of the original tithe applotment documents can be found amongst the records of St Columb's Church of Ireland at PRONI reference MIC/1/291 Volume 24 = 1772-1778 Volume 25 = 1778-1884 Volume 26 = 1786-1793 These volumes contain the names of thousands of tithe payers in and around the city in the peri

 DERRY CORPORATION MINUTES, 1673-1901 (A GOOD SOURCE OF NAMES) Corporation minute books are useful for those who can trace their ancestry to the city and also give a useful insight into the running of an early embryonic council. The minutes are a gold mine for the local historian and shine a light into the development of the city over a 220 year period. Each minute book begins with the date of the meeting of the Common Council and a list of those members in attendance, the aldermen and burgesses of the city.  In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the city’s business life consisted of merchants and craftsmen such as butchers and bakers, tailors and shoemakers, smiths and saddlers, joiners and coopers. The minutes contain the names of many merchants and craftsmen who were granted freemen status. The jurisdiction and liberties of Derry city extended 3 miles in every direction (including the River Foyle east bank). Liberties meant the freedom to exercise one's craft or trade. No one cou

 Ballygowan is a townland of some 424 acres in the parish of Drumragh in Co Tyrone - It is locates south-west of Omagh on the main road to Irvinestown: In 1851 the whole townland was in the possession of Lady Charlotte Burgoyne (formerly Head) - she was the widow of Sir John James Burgoyne and she was his second wife. Sir John James Burgoyne died on 23 May 1838 in his 58th year after a short illness at his seat at Strabane. He had been agent of the Abercorn estate and provost of Strabane. The Land was put up for sale through the recently established Encumbered estates court. Establishment of the Land Courts By the mid-19th Century many of the large Irish estates in Ireland were in serious financial difficulty. Land owners found themselves legally obliged to pay out annuities and charges on their land, mainly to pay mortgages or ‘portions’ to family members contracted by marriage settlements and/or wills of previous generations. All of these payments had to be met, before the owner/ occ