Clare Past Forum

This is the day that a new evictions database is first available as a donated transcription in the genealogy section of the Library's website. 731 tenants are listed, and the outcomes of their cases are shown. The time period was 1827-33, and those who filed the cases in court are listed. Be wary of the surname spellings, because it seemed like the typesetter who used a handwritten text was not familiar with Clare names. Here are some examples:

Lynchy - is this Lynch or Hinchy ?
Cnome - is this Crowe ?
Garney - seems like it should be Carney
Connudane - maybe Considine

Only two placenames were really badly misspelled. Since I repeated the spellings as they were in the original, be aware that Feakle is spelled twice as Teacle. Feenagh is listed as Phenagh. I think the other misspellings are not too misleading.

The Library has kindly provided two versions of this database: one arranged by civil parish and one by surname:

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... parish.htm

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... rnames.htm

So, off you go - have at it. With this, plus the Tithe Applotment records of 1825/26 and David Kenny's huge donated database of the 1829 Freeholders, there is a greater chance that you can pinpoint fathers of people listed in the 1855 Griffiths Valuation. The 1827-33 eviction cases should help because the vast majority of the involved property was land, and it seemed to me that what was primarily involved were those little pieces of land not associated with the tenants'
homes, where they were either growing some more potatoes or harvesting peat. What puzzled me were the many instances in which the person seeking to oust the tenant had the same surname as the tenant. The only conclusion I can
draw is that the landlord had rented to a relative and then grew tired of not getting the promised rent payment. Note,
though, how many times the court denied an award of ejectment in such cases, at least in this time period.

You will also see that, after a denial of judgment, some landlords came back into court to again seek authority to evict,
sometimes later in the same year and often the next year. Usually the named defendant was exactly the same in the second case, even when cases involved a group of defendants (perhaps the named tenant had sub-tenants?). The underlying Parliamentary report for this database did not provide the names of defendants in a group. However, those names are available. By happy coincidence, a posting appeared on the Internet in which the indefatigable Jean Rice (who also provided so many lists of the 1873 landowners in various Irish counties) reported having found one of these Clare cases. That appears below, as an example of what further research can yield. However, I have consulted the same set of ejectment records at the National Archives for other years, and those did not provide this kind of full information (see my
other donated eviction database on the Library's website, from NA folder 1D-40-16, 1816 - 1824).

If you need another source to check regarding the landlords' names and circumstances, here is an online database of Limerick freeholders of this time period:
http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/ ... emence.txt

Sharon Carberry USA



Jean Rice's posting 22 Oct 1999 Rootsweb Clare mailing list
[for ejectment action of 15 defendants]

The Ejectment Books are a little-known resource, but they contain much information. There are 17 Co. Clare ejectment books (including two that are missing) for the period 1816-1850. There are another 28 books for the years 1850-1914. Co. Clare has the largest number of surviving ejectment books as they were not at the Four Courts when it burned in 1922. Also surviving are the Civil Bills of the Circuit Court.

Per "Irish Roots" article:
Ennis Sessions, Tuesday, March 26th, 1833
Case #5
Extract from County Clare Ejectment Book 1D 40 21

Ennis Sessions, Tuesday, March 26th, 1833 - Case #5
M. Greene was the attorney for the plantiffs.
Wm. Causabon Purdon Esq., a prominent East Clare landlord, was the plantiff.
James Touhy and Michl. Ryan are listed and presumed to be legal officers, perhaps process servers or baliffs.

Tenants who are listed as defendants include:
Owen Toohy
Anne Toohy alias Finaun
Rose Hogan
Dominick Hogan
Michael Sheedy
Wm. Melody
Thos. Sheedy
Michl. Hourigan
Michl. Dea
Michl. Brady
Daniel Brady
Daniel Quigley
Thos. Farrell
Martin Coffee
John St. Laurence

The reason for the proposed eviction was as follows:
For non-payment of rent of all That and Those that farm in Belkelly formerly in the possession of Dominick Hogan and Peter Hogan, since decd., and now in the poss'ion of said Defts. (defendants). Bounded viz on the North and East sides by Patk. Kelly's farm and by James Barry's and Mathew Ryan's farms; on the South by the part of Doctor MacNamara's farm called Behernagh. Situated in the Parish of Ogonnelloe and Barony of Tulla. Yearly rent 35 pounds late Irish currency. Sum due 135 pounds Sterling present currency.

You can compare this list of the names of tenants being ejected in 1833 with the list of tenants assessed for tithes in 1825 in the tithe applotment book for Belkelly (Purdon) 1825:

James O'Dea, John St. Lawrence, Owen Tuohy, Michael Hourigan, Thos. Sheedy, and Patrick Coffee. Notice spelling variations from record to record. (Info. from article in "Irish Roots" genealogy periodical, 1997.)

The verdict of the court in this case was "Possession Decreed."

Anne Toohy alias Finaun

I have a feeling Anne could be my gggrandmother, but finding others with the name 'Finaun' is very difficult. Can anyone suggest alternative spellings?

The "alias" surname was handwritten so Finaun was my best guestimate. The actual surname might be Finan, also spelled Finnan. That's not a Clare surname, although in 1901 there were two Catholic constables of those spellings in different parts of Clare, but born in other counties. The closest East Clare surname would be Tynan, also spelled Tinon. The letters "t" and "f" as upper-case letters in handwriting can be confusing.

You might find it fruitful to see if your Ann has a connection to Owen Toohey of that same location (Belkelly, Ogonelloe). What leads you to see that Ann as a possibility for your family ? I have a Tuohy file and try to keep track of the East Clare ones, so there is a possibility that something I already have might help your research.

Note that, years after I contributed my research notes that made up the evictions database, Nicole Jennings devoted time at the National Archives to transcribing all the evictions in a certain time span, which are now another Library database much more extensive than my earlier one. Her version of that alias surname is something like "Tunpaun."

SMC

Thanks for that explanation, Sharon!

I wrote that post late at night having just found the link, and overlooked the date, thinking I had the right Anne, but Owen would be more likely to be the connection. If you see what I mean?

My father's family were from Belkelly Purdon. My GGrandmother was Anne Tohey (married name) b. about 1895?. I can't find who her husband was, but two of her children were named Mary and John.

Ah, the wrong decade. There is a degree of precision that is necessary to have confidence in research results. Finding family is exciting but focus is needed. I have an inkling of who might be your Anne b.c. 1895 but you really need to determine which Touhy she married. That will be done in whatever country the marriage took place. If you don't want to disclose further details in this public forum, then send me a private message and I can suggest some databases.

SMC