This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/DYC.2ACE/1337.1 Message Board Post: Hello Frances, I found a listing for a man named Adair Magee in an Irish property tax record called Griffiths Valuation. The Griffiths entry shows that Adair had leased property in the townland of Dundrod, Civil Parish of Tullyrusk, County Antrim. Because of the unique name, I believe this Adair Magee may possibly be the person you are seeking, or perhaps the father or even grandfather of your Adair Magee. Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The enumeration for County Antrim took place between 1861 and 1862. Griffiths only enumerated the heads of households and not family members the way a census does, which means you cannot tell what family members, if any, were living with Adair when the enumerators came by his leasehold in the early 1860s. However, if your Adair Magee had married Mary Hannah and had children in the 1890s, the person in the Griffiths record would more likely be his ancestor. I'm just not sure however. Then too, there is always the possibility that the Adair Magee I found in Griffiths valuation was not the Adair Magee in your family's pedigree. More research will be needed to find out. I had done a blind search in the Griffiths record for Adair. That is, I only typed in his first and last names and did not list a county for the search. One entry came up for all of Ireland, and that was for the Adair in Dundrod, Tullyrusk, Antrim. I found Adair Magee in the Griffiths Valuation at the subscription website called Origins.net Below is the text version of the Griffiths entry for Adair Magee: No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 20 Occupier: Adair Magee Lessor: Marquis of Hertford County: ANTRIM Poor Law Union: LISBURN Barony: MASSEREENE, UPPER Parish: TULLYRUSK Townland: DUNDROD Description of Tenement: House, Offices, & Land Area of Land: 23 Acres, 2 Roods, 5 Perches Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 19 Pounds, 5 Shillings Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 2 Pounds Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 21 Pounds, 5 Shillings The Griffiths Valuation entry for Adair Magee shows that he leased over 23 acres of land, a house, and outbuildings from the Marquis of Hertford. The land that Adair leased was worth 19 pounds and 5 shillings, while the house and outbuildings on the property were worth 2 pounds. The total value of Adair's leasehold for valuation purposes was 21 pounds and 5 shillings. In the category for Description of Tenement, you'll notice the term "offices." An office in a Griffiths entry could be any outbuilding such as a stable, blacksmith shop, barn, etc. That Adair leased over 23 acres is an indication that he was indeed a farmer, as you had stated in your query to the Ancestry message boards. Because it doesn't appear that the marriage date of Adair and Mary Hannah is known, I'd suggest a search of the parish registers for their religious denomination, to see if a marriage entry is recorded. You did not mention the religious denomination of Adair and Mary Hannah. But knowing their religious affiliation will be important in order to search the correct church parish registers. A book by Brian Mitchell called "A Guide To Irish Parish Registers," shows that no Church of Ireland registers are available for the 1800s for the Civil Parish of Tullyrusk. But the book does show that the Catholic Church Parish of Gleneavy & Killead, has registers that commence in 1848, while the Dundrod Presbyterian Church registers begin in 1829. If you can let me know what their religious denomination was, I'll see if I can find the name and address for the priest or minister for that denomination so that you can write for information contained in the parish registers. With information from the church registers concerning marriage and baptisms, you may then be able to send away for civil marriage and birth certificates from the General Register Office (GRO) in Belfast. Ireland began civil registration of marriages for Protestants on 1 April 1845. This means if Adair and Mary belonged to say the Presbyterian Church, the GRO should have their marriage record on file. Full civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations in Ireland however, did not begin until 1864. If Adair and Mary Hannah had children after 1863, the birth records of these children should also be on file in the GRO. If Adair and Mary Hannah were Roman Catholic and married after 1863, their marriage record should also be on file in the GRO. The church registers for their denomination should provide you with dates of marriage and baptisms, provided of course Adair and Hannah were married and had children within the Tullyrusk Civil Parish. As mentioned earlier it's also possible that the Adair Magee in the Griffiths record could have been the father or even grandfather of the Adair Magee who married Mary Hannah. Either way, the Griffiths Valuation record can be used as a finding aid to further research, as it pinpoints that a man named Adair Magee had lived in the townland of Dundrod, Civil Parish of Tullyrusk, during the mid-19th century. In addition to the Griffiths record, I found two index entries of marriage for an Adair Magee, and a James Adair Magee in a free search of the Ulster Historical Foundation site at http://www.ancestryireland.com/index.php These index entries pertain to a civil record of marriage for Adair Magee as well as a church record of marriage for James Adair Magee, a but give very little information except for the names of the grooms and year of the record. The name of the bride is not provided. See the index below: Civil Marriages: MAGEE ADAIR 1885 Marriages: MAGEE ADAIR JAMES 1886 You can access the full marriage records for Adair Magee at the UHF website without being a member. You will need to buy a credit for 6 Pounds Sterling (roughly $12 U.S.) to view the records. You can view a total of five records for the 6 Pounds and you have up to 48 hours to view the records. I also found another record for an Adair Magee at the UHF site. This record is an Index to Printed Irish Will Calendars 1878-1900. You could view this record along with the marriage records for the same 6 Pound fee. You may be able to clear up some questions about Adair Magee by accessing these records from the UHF. One of the advantages of searching this way is that you won't have to wait for the record to be mailed to you. Best of Luck Frances, Dave Boylan