Landed Estate Identification Assistance - Patrick Molony - Limerick, Shanid, Kilmoylan, Modernagh

Cathleen,

If your cousin located him in those land records, then the landlord's name is in the records. Can you attach them here? There are two town lands, Shanid Lower and Shanid Upper, Kilmoylan; but I did not see any Molonys at all in either Griffith's record. On the paid site, Roots Ireland, Mary O'Neill's residence is given as Shanagolden on their marriage record...I am unsure whether that refers to the RC parish or more specifically that town land of Shanagolden which is in the RC parish of Shanagolden. It is also curious to me why they married in the RC parish of Monagea which is a bit of a distance South from Shanagolden. Typically, a couple married in the bride's parish. Another scenario is that that is a different Patrick Molony and Mary O'Neill from the one you are searching for. I saw that marriage record on your Ancestry tree BTW.

Regards,

Hello Cathleen,

Concerning Patrick’s wife Mary, it will be a challenge to know why she left Ireland when she did circa 1854-1855, without further documentation. 

It’s possible her husband Patrick had died before she left Ireland. Unfortunately, civil registration death records were not recorded by the Irish government until 1864. 

The other possibility is that Patrick left for America sometime before Mary, so that he could find employment and a house to live in for his family.

Did you check the 1860 U.S. census for the townland where Mary lived in up-state New York, to see if Patrick is recorded in the household with her?

Do you think it’s possible that Patrick could have died in the U.S. either before or after his wife Mary arrived in New York?

LANDED ESTATE RECORDS IN IRELAND

Based on the information in your message to Ireland Reaching Out, it took a little digging to locate Patrick and James Molony in the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffiths Valuation.

Both land records show that Patrick and James leased property in the townland of Mohernagh, rather than Moderna.

Land divisions show that Mohernagh, County Limerick, was in the Barony of Shanid, Civil Parish of Kilmoylan, PLU (Poor Law Union) of Glin, and Province of Munster. See the IreAtlas Townland Data Base: https://tinyurl.com/4jy75wt5

The Tithe Applotment Books do not reference an Immediate Lessor for the property held by James and Patrick Molony in Mohernagh. See: 
https://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004625684/0…

 But, Griffiths Valuation does. The Immediate Lessor, who was likely the owner of their property, was John Blennerhassett. 

Attached to this reply is the hand-written Griffiths Valuation page for Mohernagh. The green arrows I added point to the leases of James and Patrick Molony.

The printing date for the valuation was 1852.

James’s lease is at map reference 10a. Patrick’s lease is at map reference 11a. The map references pertain to the location of James and Patrick’s properties on a Griffiths Valuation Map for Mohernagh. The map is attached to this reply. 

The green arrows I added show where map references 10a and 11a are located.

You’ll see tiny gray oblong boxes at each map location. These represent the houses and outbuildings leased by James and Patrick Molony.

Outbuildings in Griffiths Valuation were called “Offices.” An office could be a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc.

Griffiths Valuation and Valuation maps can be searched at the free Ask About Ireland website: https://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

John Blennerhassett would have been a member of the “junior” branch of the Blennerhassett family, who owned large holding of land in County Kerry. 

The landedestates.ie website has this to say about John Blennerhassett, of Rockfield County Limerick:

Blennerhassett (Rockfield)
This family was a junior branch of the Blennerhassett of Riddlestown family, parish of Doondonnell, barony of Connello Lower, county Limerick. In the mid 19th century the main part of John Brooke Blennerhassett’s estate was in the parish of Kilmoylan, barony of Shanid, but he also held land in the parish of Ballycahane, barony of Smallcounty. In the 1870s he owned 1,829 acres in county Limerick.
See: https://landedestates.ie/estate/2224

Also, go to the following link which explains that Rockfield House was situated on the estate of Edward C. Villiers: https://landedestates.ie/property/2341

Here is the home page for Landed Estates website: https://landedestates.ie/

Attached to this reply is the Griffiths Valuation entry for John B. Blennerhassett in Rockfield, County Limerick. He is recorded at map reference 1a. The printing date for the Valuation was December 1850.

Notice that Edward C. Villiers, Esq., is the Immediate Lessor.

Also attached to this reply is a Griffiths Valuation map for the townland of Rockfield. The map shows that the John Blennerhassett’s property at map reference 1a, was called “Rock View,” located in the upper-center portion of the map.

The National Archives of Ireland in Dublin, “holds a number of significant estate collections. Many more are held in the National Library of Ireland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast.” See the National Archives of Ireland link, “Guide to family & landed estate collections” https://tinyurl.com/2y7d72v5

The free FamilySearch website has a database you where can search Ireland Landed Estate Court Files indexes for the years 1850-1885: https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2040586

I found two index entries for a John Blennerhassett in the FamilySearch Landed Estate Court Files for the years1850 and 1863 in County Limerick. These are probate records. They would not refer to John Brooks Blennerhassett, as the Landed Estates website shows that in the 1870s, John Brooks Blennerhassett owned 1,829 acres in county Limerick.

Also, one of the index entries (1863) shows that John’s middle name is Hurley, not Brooke.

See the two index entries below:

John Blennerhassett
Land • Ireland Landed Estate Court Files, 1850-1885

Name John Blennerhassett
Event Type Probate
Event Date 1850
Event Place Limerick, Ireland
Event Place (Original)    Limerick, Ireland
Volume Number 002
Affiliate Name Eneclann LTD, www.findmypast.ie
"Ireland Landed Estate Court Files, 1850-1885", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCFH-1WG : Wed Aug 21 17:28:17 UTC 2024), Entry for John Blennerhassett, 1850.

John Hurley Blennerhassett
Land • Ireland Landed Estate Court Files, 1850-1885

Name John Hurley Blennerhassett
Event Type Probate
Event Date 1863
Event Place Limerick, Ireland
Event Place (Original)    Limerick, Ireland
Volume Number 070
Affiliate Name Eneclann LTD, www.findmypast.ie

"Ireland Landed Estate Court Files, 1850-1885", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCFP-HJG : Wed Aug 21 18:50:15 UTC 2024), Entry for John Hurley Blennerhassett, 1863.
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In both indexes above, FamilySearch references two companies where more information may be able to be found about landed estate records if you cannot do the research yourself at the National Archives of Ireland, or National Library of Ireland. 

These companies are the fee-based Eneclann and Find My Past.

See Eneclann’s “House & Site Histories” page at: https://tinyurl.com/4kh99zfp

Contact information for Eneclann can be found at: https://www.eneclann.ie/contact/

For the Eneclann homepage, see: https://www.eneclann.ie/

If you do contact Eneclann, ask if they search the Griffiths Valuation  Revision Books to see who took over the property in Mohernagh after Patrick and James Molony left.  More on the Griffiths Valuation  Revision Books a little later.

The two indexes for John Blennerhassett in the FamilySearch Ireland Landed Estate Court Files, 1850-1885, also reference Find My Past for more information about land records in Ireland.

Find My Past is a subscription website, but you can access indexes for free after establishing an account.

I uncovered four indexes at Find My Past for John B. Blennerhassett. One is for a record called, “Ireland, Return Of Owners Of Land 1876
Limerick, Ireland.” 

The other three indexes are called, “Ireland, Land Commission Advances, 1891-1920 Limerick.

See below:
 
Blennerhassett, John B
Ireland, Return Of Owners Of Land 1876
Limerick, Ireland

Blennerhassett, John B
Ireland, Land Commission Advances, 1891-1920
Limerick

Blennerhassett, John B
Ireland, Land Commission Advances, 1891-1920
Limerick

Blennerhassett, J B
Ireland, Land Commission Advances, 1891-1920
Limerick

Source: Find My Past.
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You can access a 7 day free trial at Find My Past to search the full land records noted in the above indexes for John B. Blennerhassett in County Limerick. See: https://tinyurl.com/2bjntatw

GRIFFITHS VALUATION REVISION BOOKS

Earlier I had mentioned Griffiths Valuation Revision Books. These books recorded any changes of the Occupier or Immediate Lessor of property an ancestor had formerly held. 

Unfortunately, the Griffiths Valuation Revision Books are not available online, but can be searched at the Valuation Office, Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.

The Griffiths Valuation Revision Books are known alternatively as the “Cancelled Books” and “Current Land Books.”

I believe that Eneclann, mentioned earlier in this reply, will have access to these revision books at the Valuation Office in Dublin, as Eneclann is based out of 5 Whitefriars, Aungier Street, Dublin 2.

Or, if you plan to go to Ireland in the future, you can search the Griffiths Valuation Revision Books at the Valuation Office yourself.

For more information about the Griffiths Valuation Revision Books, see the Irish Genealogy Toolkit website link at: https://tinyurl.com/2ewrcxvc

After learning that John B. Blennerhassett lived in Rockfield, I wanted to see how far Rockfield was from Mohernagh, where Patrick and James Molony leased property from him. 

A Google Map shows that Rockfield, by the shortest route, is 12.5 miles east of Mohernagh: https://tinyurl.com/4x9mu2d5

Here is a Google Street View of a narrow road just outside of Mohernagh: https://tinyurl.com/3kw45xja

This is a Google Street View of Rockfield: https://tinyurl.com/m6tbddr

Best of Luck with your research Cathleen,

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

National Archives of Ireland: Tithe Applotment Books
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation and Griffiths Valuation Maps
IreAtlas Townland Data Base: https://thecore.com/seanruad/
landedestates.ie 
FamilySearch: Ireland Landed Estate Court Files, 1850-1885: https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2040586
Eneclann: House & Site Histories: https://tinyurl.com/4kh99zfp
Find My Past: https://www.findmypast.com/home 
Valuation Office, Dublin
Irish Genealogy Toolkit: Griffiths Valuation Revision Books: https://tinyurl.com/2ewrcxvc