Checking Griffith’s Valuation ( 1851 – 1853)

Griffiths Valuation was an attempt to give a rateable valuation for every property in Ireland , the precise location of the property and the name (s) of those considered liable to pay.

Noel Farrell has produced a lovely little book,  in 2001,  which gives a print out of the section on Youghal – it is called ” Youghal  Family Roots”. There is a copy in the Tourist Office, and another copy in the Library. If interested, you can also purchase a copy directly from Noel Farrell himself. You can also directly access the Griffiths Valuation free of charge on the internet .

The sections shown here are for the North Main Street – as you can see each house is numbered –  you then go to the printed page sections and check the number for that house and you can see the owner/ occupier and also the neighbours. Neighbours are very important as some may still have relatives or memories of other neighbours.

You cannot rely on present day house numbers –  get your bearings from other side streets – in this case number one is across from the Gaol Steps ( near the Clock Gate). Numbers were changes regularly so this map, combined with the text gives us a better idea of who was where.  Updates to this section are posted on our Facebook page. Make sure you subscribe!cgs501 cgs502 cgs503 cgs504 cgs505 cgs506 cgs507 cgs508

Youghal Quakers

Michael Ahern , writing in the Cork Historical and Archaeological Journal has an article called “The Quakers of Youghal”  which details the various families from the outset to the 20th century. Initially two English women preached at the Market Square in Youghal (  today near the Post Office there would have been a Cross and north of it was North Cross Lane which still exists). The two brave ladies were Elizabeth Fletcher and Elizabeth Smith. Some of the soldiers who hear them became interested – in particular Captain James Sicklemore and Lieutenant Robert Sandham.

Sandham married a local girl, Deborah Baker. both officers got land at Fermoy but Sandham sold his and returned to Youghal where he lived on the Main Street and his house was used as the first Meeting House.

IMG_2787The authorities were not happy and posted sentries on the door to prevent men entering the premises for a “meeting”.  At that stage some Quakers left the town –  six men and women and nine children were given money to help them leave.

One of the others convinced was Edward Laundy. We hear of him in a few places – Dinely view of ExThomas Dinely mentions that he erected an additional wharf etc.

William Penn mentions concern about him and tries to meet with him.

We also hear of him going into St. Mary’s Collegiate Church to harangue the congregation. They clearly did not appreciate his intervention, he was manhandled out of the church and physically abused by the congregation with both sticks and stones. Deborah Sandham was equally unwelcome when she went into St. Mary ‘s and also the church of the Independents ( Chapel Lane) and Robert Sandham was jailed in 1661 for refusing to serve on a jury, and his horse taken from him.

Youghal Roots

  1. Searching for family roots is a rewarding , if often frustrating, piece of work. This section is to help you if you think you may have family roots in Youghal. There are a number of “pay per view” websites but –  initially – we will look at what is available free of charge.  This page will grow and grow in the coming months – but we would love to hear from you, in the meantime,  if you are looking for Youghal roots.

If this is a subject that interests you there are several courses both on line and on campus  which will help you develop an expertise .

Best suggestion –  email/snail mail/ phone the Tourist Office, tell them what you want to find out, when you might be visiting –  they are very helpful and can set things up for you – site of family home, possible contacts etc. This avoids wasting your time. No point in reinventing the wheel – they have been down your road many times and know the way!

Local libraries are PHENOMENALLY HELPFUL!  Just ask!

Free Services   –  Just Google the reference!

There are Census records for 1901 and 1911.  ( Census.ie)

There is the Griffith’s Valuation for the late 1850s.  (AskaboutIreland.ie)

There are lists of land owners .

There are several trade directories – Slaters, Pigotts, Guys.

Here is one of them : Just click on the 1881 -2 link and it downloads for you.

Youghal1881 2

There is the Lewis Topographical Directory.

There are some Electoral Registers ( men only!)

For the record – FamilySearch.org  is a website which offers free listing of names of births marriages and deaths all over the world It will not give you an original facsimile of a document but you do get a reference to help you get the document. This site is getting bigger and bigger – so check back from time to time, there may be new features.

Starting Off 

In the Irish Roots magazine , no.102, 2017, Sean J.Murphy offers excellent advice on searching the new Online Deeds Facility in the Registry of Deeds. He also offers a free PDF version of  A_Primer_in_Irish_Genealogy_2017_Edition  which is very helpful. He includes blank charts etc.

First of all you need to do a bit of work yourself –  start with you , your parents – maybe your mother’s maiden name, your uncles, aunts, grandparents ( again adding maiden names if available). If you know any years associated with these names, write them down. If you know any places associated with these names write them down. Birthdays, death days. Nicknames, anecdotes, heirlooms.

We have some  ( not all)  School records from the Christian Brothers School in Youghal. If you have a date of birth you might be lucky!

For Youghal people  – you might also consider possible Waterford connections and , as it happens, there is a beautiful, FREE, booklet called “Sources for Family History in Waterford County” -it explains the lot – census records, civil records, church records, Tithe applotment books, valuation records, burials, estate papers, workhouse records, local authority records etc. Lots to get you going and it is FREE !

Census Documents 

In Ireland there are two census years available to search, free of charge. 1901, 1911.

You can select either. If you have a family name, a place name, a street name – anything like that can be selected. If it is easy to search. You can look at original documents , you can see a certain amount of detail, find out who the neighbours were etc. Sometimes , even if your family moved away, a neighbouring family can still  be  there with insights you might appreciate!

Be careful with house numbers – they change from year to year!

Books to help you research your Youghal roots:

One vital piece of information for searchers is that street names change , numbers of houses change, and some smaller lanes and streets disappear. There is a wonderful book “the Historic Town Atlas of Youghal”, published May 2015 by the Royal Irish Academy which gives all this information, the development of the town, the changes, the names. It also lists all the sources where you can find information. Start there ! It costs €30 but EVERYTHING you need to know about Youghal is probably mentioned there or details in the INDEX of where to find the information. In family searches planning is vital, time saving and helpful.

There are three books to help you find your roots :

“Youghal Family Roots, Exploring Family Origins in Youghal” by Noel Farrell is a privately published book but it is available from the publisher!

Noel Farrell has several other towns in the series. He has to be contacted directly at Park Road, Longford. There are copies of this book in the Youghal Library, the Tourist Office so …. visit or write. The book does contain the Griffiths Valuation Map of Youghal in 1851 in A3 size – but a lot of the information is freely available already ( the Census lists, Griffiths etc.). If you are not “into computers” then this has the 1901 and 1911 census lists in a street by street format.

“Tracing your Irish Ancestors” by John Grenham, now in its 4th Edition is THE BIBLE  for family search, easily available and quite comprehensive. A bit dear but worth it. John Grenham also has a television series and does a weekly column in the Irish Times.

“Tracing your Cork Ancestors” by Tony McCarthy and Tim Cadogan is probably half way between the first two books, easily available, readable and about half the price of Grenham’s book.

“Byrne’s Dictionary of Irish Local History” by Joseph Byrne explains words which might not be obvious to us any more. So if you see “tithe fish” in a book and do not know what it means Byrne is your man!

Youghal  History  – some general readers

The Council Book of the Corporation of Youghal is available on line. FREE

This is the link : http://www.archive.org/stream/councilbookcorp01caulgoog#page/n138/mode/2up

Canon Haymen also has a book called the “Annals of Youghal” .

Michael Hackett has, we think, 17 books on the history of Youghal.

Tom FitzGerald has a little book called “An A to Z of Youghal”.

Alicia Saint Leger has a little booklet “Youghal – Historic Walled Port” , beautifully illustrated, concise information.

Kieran Groeger has “Youghal Heritage Trail ” – free on iPads but the print version can be bought from the Tourist Office. This is called “The Little Book of Youghal”.  There is also “Youghal in old photographs” by the same author, printed by the HistoryPress,

Quaker Records

The Quakers kept reasonably detailed records of births, marriages and deaths. For those who are interested there are microfilm copies of the registers available. Nearest to Youghal is the Cork County Archive Centre in Blackpool, Cork. There is a good, easy to navigate website which details what is available – Minute books, Registers etc.

The records go back to 1671 for births, marriages and deaths. There are occasional comments about people being disunited or disowned.

Francis Malone, of Youghal, “took to wife” Ann Hillary of Waterford in 1756. For some reason he was “disowned” and disappears from the records.  Ann however “remained” in the system and later died in Waterford.

Looking through the records you see many, very short lives as infant mortality was a significant feature of life then – even for wealthy families like the Harveys.

The Quaker method of writing dates is different to what is normally used elsewhere in Ireland – it is in the format Month – Day – Year ( just as was accepted in the United States).