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Along with Griffith's Primary Valuation of Ireland, compiled between 1848 and 1864, the most important body of Irish land records are the Tithe Applotment Books of 1823-1838, preceding Griffith's Valuation by a full generation and naming hundreds of thousands of Irish landholders--owners and tenants alike. Both surveys pre-date the official registration of births, marriages, and deaths, which didn't commence until 1864, and therefore are immensely important in terms of constructing not just an image of a particular family line but of wider social conditions in Ireland. Together they are the greatest of all Irish genealogical resources.

Tithe surveys were undertaken in order to calculate the amount of tax payable by the landholders of Ireland for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland. Following the Composition Act of 1823, which decreed that tithes be paid in money rather than in kind, a valuation survey was carried out in every civil parish in Ireland to determine how much each landholder should pay. Over the ensuing fifteen years this survey listed all landholders in a given parish.

The applotment surveys identified every landholder with details such as name of townland, size of holding, land quality, and types of crops, all laid out in large volumes known as Tithe Applotment Books. In the absence of census data for this period of time, these particular records constitute the nearest to a census of pre-Famine Ireland that exists.

This Family Archive CD, based on data compiled by Heritage World Family History Services of County Tyrone and licensed by the Genealogical Publishing Company, contains an electronic index to the Tithe Applotment Books for the six counties that constitute present-day Northern Ireland--Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone. Encompassing something in the region of 200,000 entries, data provided includes the landholder's surname and forename as well as his townland, parish, and county of residence (all critical geographical entry points for further genealogical research). In all, 233 parishes are covered.

For its subject matter, ease of use, speed, and accessibility, this CD is an immensely important breakthrough in Irish genealogical research. No reference tool in existence contains such extensive data on the pre-Famine Irish.

System Requirements: You must have a CD-ROM drive, and in order to read the CD you must use either the Family Archive Viewer (version 4.0 or higher), which is available as a free download at http://www.genealogical.com/content/dlfav6.html, or Family Tree Maker for Windows, version 4.0 or higher (Family Tree Maker software can be ordered from www.FamilyTreeMaker.com).

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using the Family Archive Viewer:

1. Install the Family Archive Viewer CD or download it from http://www.genealogy.com/dlfav6.html.
2. Start the Viewer if it is not already running
3. Insert the CD you wish to view into the CD-ROM drive. If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.
4. The CD should open automatically, but users of later versions of the Family Archive Viewer must click the CD/magnifying glass icon in the top toolbar (above the template in some versions) to read the CD.
5. When the screen entitled “About this Family Archive� appears, click OK where prompted.

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using Family Tree Maker:

1. Start your Family Tree Maker and open a Family File. (If the program is already running, skip to Step 2.)
2. Insert the CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive. (If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.)
3. From the View menu, select Family Finder, or select the Family Finder icon from the toolbar.
4. For FTM 2005, FTM 2006, or Version 16 or later: From the View menu, select Data CD, then View CD.

To search the CD for names, select the Search Expert button in the top right of your screen, then select "Search this archive for someone NOT from your Family File." You can also search for names by using the Index.

Note: If a window opens that contains a list of files on the CD, simply close it.