Ireland Landed Estate Court Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

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Collection Time Period
This collection covers records for the years 1850 to 1885.

How to Use the Records
Use these records to establish a place of residence. The residence could lead you to other records such as tax records (which help to establish a length of residence) and church, emigration or probate records (which may include names and information on other family members.) These records sometimes list female tenants, which may indicate that the husband is deceased.

Record Description
These records consist of maps, which are hand-drawn, and tenant lists which are typed on preprinted forms. The records are divided by county and lot.

Record Content
The lot maps include the following information: 

• Estate owner and title

• Parish

• County

• Surveyor’s name and address

• Ordinance sheet number

The tenant lists include the following information:

• Tenant’s full name

• Number on the map

• Quantity of land

• Irish plantation rents

• Annual rent

• Gale days (the day on which rent is due)

• Tennant tenure

Record History
During the 1840s, Ireland suffered a massive famine. Many tenants died, and others emigrated, hoping to find relief. As a result, landlords lost their major source of income, and their estates went into debt, culminating in a high number of foreclosures. It is estimated that between the years 1850 and 1858 around 8,000 estate foreclosures were handled.

In 1849, an act was passed which established the Encumbered Estates Court. This court handled the sale and accounting of bankrupted estates. In 1858, the Landed Estates Court was established. This court handled both unencumbered and encumbered estates.

Why This Collection Was Created?
These records were created to provide a detailed accounting of bankrupted estate sales.

Record Reliability
These records are very reliable.

Related Web Sites
Ireland National Archives

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Related Wiki Articles
Ireland Court Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections

Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above. Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

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Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages

Sources of Information for This Collection:
“Ireland, Landed Estate Court - 1850-1885,” database, FamilySearch Record Search (https://www.familysearch.org/recordsearch); 2009, from General Register Office. Landed Estate Court Records. Ireland, General Register Office, Belfast. FHL microfilm, 67 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections