The Tithe Applotment Books provide a special insight into the amount of tax landowners had to pay to the Church of Ireland. They served as a census of Ireland before the Great Famine, with nearly 2,000 handwritten books documenting the land survey results. Genealogists commonly refer to this source as the Tithe Applotment Books. The database focuses on the counties that now make up Northern Ireland, including Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.
Initially, the details of each landowner’s townland, holding size, land quality, and the crops they cultivated were recorded. Using this information and the average price of wheat and oats from 1816 to 1823, a specific amount of tithe was required from each landowner.