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Archiver > IRL-WESTMEATH > 2007-01 > 1169514304


From: Eilís OHara <>
Subject: Re: [IRL-WESTMEATH] RYLAND FAMILY-- HELP, PLEASE!
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:05:04 +0000 (GMT)
In-Reply-To: <45B5274D.9070205@livingonline.com>


Hello Kathy,

Whenever you want to search Griffiths Valuation you need to use the detailed Griffiths, not the online Index. The reason is the online Index can be very deceptive about the people listed. For example, the two George Rylands listed might be the same George, occupying land in two different places. People occupied land just for farming and may have lived in either one or neither of those places. Same with the two Josephs. Griffiths Valuation was a property valuation so that it's value could be assessed to pay the Poor Law Tax. Griffiths then was for property tax. Not everyone was listed in Griffiths. Many properties were exempted from the valuation because their inclusion was appealed and the property owner won. Many other properties weren't of high enough value for the English Government to bother recording or keeping records of them because the taxes wouldn't be worth the record keeping. So Griffiths wasn't a census. It doesn't list any personal information, that
is, age, date of birth, family relationships, etc.

If you want to use Griffiths Valuation as a research source you need to look at the detailed Griffiths Property Valuation sheets through the online website http://www.irishorigins.com or look at the microfilms on order through LDS. The detailed Griffiths includes the following information: The detailed Griffiths includes, among other things, the names of the property lessor and occupier, description of the property, value of the property and map coordinates of the property. The property can be vacant land used by the occupiers for farming and they may not have lived there. It could be an office or shop and again no one lived there. Or it could be a dwelling. The lessors weren't automatically the owners. They might have had the responsibility for actually renting or leasing the property for the owner and not even lived anywhere locally. Also Griffiths is a picture in time. People listed in Griffiths often had a one year lease or sometimes no lease at all.

1) So step 1 is to get the detail from Griffiths. See if any of them were actually living on the property that was valued.

2) Have you found Nelson John Ryland, Peter and Jonathan's parents names from their civil and church records in the US? Dates of birth? What was their religious denomination?

3) Do you have records for them or their children in the US that indicates they were born in County Westmeath? The records would include each of their civil and church marriage and death records, cemetery records, tombstones, wills, obituaries, US Naturalisation records, church history? Their children's records would include their civil and church birth, baptism, marriage and death records, obituaries that might include where their fathers were born. Have you looked for ships passenger lists for their travel to the US?

Regards.
Eilis O'Hara



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