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Databases
compiled from Seventeenth-Century Census Substitutes
1622
& 1630 Muster Rolls
During
the early seventeenth century when British colonists
were settling in Ulster under the Plantation of Ulster,
landed estates were required to muster tenants for
defence when areas were under threat from the native
Irish. Early musters simply stated the number of men
on estates bearing arms. The best Muster Rolls were
drawn up c.1630 [PRONI: D/1759/3C/3] and these contain
the names of adult males bearing or capable of bearing
arms.
Within
the newly formed county of Londonderry there are lists
of names for all of the companies except the Skinners'
and the Salters' companies. The
names for the Goldsmiths' company are included with
those for the City of Londonderry. 1931 adult males
were listed for the entire county and are listed in
the database below. The muster rolls show that at
this time many of the tenants on estates within the
county were English or Welsh. The greatest concentration
of Scots was to be found on the Haberdashers' and
Clothworkers' estates in the north of the county and
also in the City of Londonderry - read
more.
Although
Co. Antrim was not part of the official Plantation
landlords there were expected to muster tenants for
defence. North Antrim (baronies of Cary, Dunluce and
Kilconway) was owned by the MacDonnells whose chief
had become the Earl of Antrim. Within the Barony of
Toome there are Muster Rolls for the Adair Estate
held by the Adair family and the Galgorm Estate held,
at that time by a Mr Edmonston who also held lands
in South Antrim..
The
Adair and Edmonston Estates in the Barony of Toome
were dominated by lowland Scots. Within the Earl of
Antrim's estate the three baronies were regarded as
different kinds of areas. Cary barony was described
in the Muster Rolls as Native Lands i.e. an area set
aside mainly for Highland Scots who were loyal to
the MacDonnells. Dunluce barony was an area set aside
mainly for English and Lowland Scots who had been
encouraged to settle there by the Earl of Antrim.
Kilconway barony was an area set aside for servitors
and the Irish. The
number of names listed in each barony reflect the
predominance of loyal British tenants in the Barony
of Dunluce. Of the total 849 names listed for the
four baronies - 520 were located in the barony of
Dunluce, 88 were located in Cary, 79 in Kilconway
and 162 in Toome. These
are included in the database below.
| 1622
Muster Rolls for the City & Liberties of Londonderry,
Town & Liberties of Coleraine & Vintners'
Estate, Bellaghy |
Excel |
PDF |
| 1630
Muster Rolls for the Baronies of Cary, Dunluce,
Kilconway and Toome, Co. Antrim |
Excel |
PDF |
| 1630
Muster Rolls for the County of Londonderry |
Excel |
PDF |
1660s
Hearth Money Rolls
The
Hearth Tax was introduced to Ireland in 1662. Arranged
by county, parish and, usually, townland, the Hearth
Money Rolls list the names of householders who were
liable to pay tax at the rate of two shillings on
every hearth or fireplace they had. Some people were
exempt* from the tax and, of course, others managed
to evade paying it. This means that the lists are
not a complete record of householders in a townland.
The tax was collected over areas known as "Walks"
which were based on towns. For example, the "Dunluce
Walk" in County Antrim was centred on the town
of Dunluce which was just outside the castle. It covered
the baronies of Cary, Dunluce and Kilconway in North
Antrim as well as the baronies of Coleraine and North
East Liberties in County Londonderry.
*
Persons living on alms, or persons not able to work,
or persons who had a house or lands worth less than
eight pounds per annum and with property valued at
less than four pounds.
The
original Hearth Money Rolls were destroyed by fire
in the Four Courts, Dublin in 1922. However, the Presbyterian
Historical Society of Ireland had made copies of the
Rolls and these were lent to PRONI in the mid-1920s
for copying. I have used the PRONI type-written copies
to compile the Hearth Money databases for Co. Londonderry
and North and Mid Antrim. Remember then that these
databases are a transcription of a transcription of
a transcription of an original source. This clearly
must have implications for the spelling of both personal
names and townland names in the database. Click
here to see a copy of a page from PRONI: T307
relating to the Parish of Artrea in the Barony of
Loughinsholin, Co. Derry and a page from the Parish
of Ballymoney in the Barony of Dunluce Upper in Co.
Antrim.
| 1669
Hearth Money Rolls for North and Mid Antrim |
Excel |
PDF |
| 1663
Hearth Money Rolls for Co. Londonderry |
Excel |
PDF |
My
thanks to Adrian Stevenson, Genealogy Research in
Ireland, for the following informationre a townland
in the 1663 Hearth Money Rolls for Co. Londonderry.
I note that you have "Mogrewie" as an
unidentified townland in the parish of Banagher.This
is undoubtedly the area named Mogarve/Mograve/Magerrif/Mugruff
(from Irish magh garb), which after 1831 was taken
into the northern part of the townland of Gallany
(and possibly some into the southern part of the the
townland of Knockan - there is an odd straight-line
length of boundary which appears to ignore field-divisions).
The name was preserved by our family as a fieldname.
Alas that field has been sold, so the name may have
disappeared altogether.
Below
is a database containing names and places from the
Hearth Money Rolls [T307] for the counties of Antrim
[1669], Londonderry [1663], Tyrone [1666] and Donegal
[Baronies of Inishowen and Raphoe] 1665 - read
more.
1660s
Subsidy Rolls.
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