Tithe Applotment Books of Co Donegal
This page has come about because I, and probably quite a few of you, can't get to State or National Libraries/Archives or LDS Family History Centre's without a lot of fuss - those of us with young children, or who have transport or mobility problems often have to rely on friends or strangers to help us out. The best option is to be able to access the information we need through the Internet, but there has not been much available - so I've started collecting Tithe Applotment Books and bit by bit, I'm adding them to this site. I've been using MS Excel, which allows me to enter the data in any order, then to sort by Surname, and finally, build a webpage with a table displaying all the information.
What the Tithe Applotment Books are
Tithes were an income tax on farming - usually about one tenth of the annual income. These were used for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland and were paid from the time of the Reformation. Before the Composition Act of 1823 it was possible to pay them in kind in stead of money. From the time of the Composition Act they were supposed to be paid in cash and Tithe surveys were carried out in each Parish to assess what the income for that parish would be. Two people were appointed by each parish to carry out this assessment.
Both Catholics and Protestants resented this tax - tax was not payable on all land, and there was even variation on the types of land from place to place. From 1736 grazing land had an exemption - this was usually land held by landlords. Certain crops were taxable, others weren't. Potatoes could be taxable in one parish and not in the one next door.
Tithe books are not comprehensive, people who did not hold land are not listed and some types of land were passed over absolutely. Towns and cities were usually not assessed.
They are arranged by Townland and usually give the acreage held by each farmer. However, note here that the measurement used was the plantation or Irish acre which differs in size from the imperial or English acre used in the Griffith's Valuation.
The information you get from the Tithe Books is simple, townland name; landholders name; area of land and tithes paid. Some will list the landlords name as well. The original tithe books for the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland are held in the National Archives in Dublin.
(the above text was provided by Jane O'Brien, with her permission)
Online Indexes to various Tithe Applotment Books
Parish of Culdaff, recorded in 1829
Parish of Gartan, recorded in 1833
Parish of Inishmacsaint, recorded in 1833
Parishes of Killybegs Upper and Lower, recorded in 1834
Parish of Lettermacaward, recorded in 1834
Parish of Templecrone, recorded in 1828
Parish of Tullaghobegly, recorded in 1830
Parish of Tullyaughnish, recorded in 1834
Laconnell East, Laconnell West, & Meentashesk, Inishkeel parish, recorded in 1833
Letterkenny, Conwal parish, recorded in 1838
Ramelton, Aughnish parish, recorded in 1830
Tromaty, Muff parish, recorded in 1837
Tromaty, Moville Upper parish, recorded 1826
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