Townland: Letterdife
Civil Parish: Moyrus
Barony: Ballynahinch
Church Parish: Roundstone
District Electoral Division: Roundstone
Area: 1610.32 acres / 1610 acres, 1 rood, 10 perches
Baptism and Marriage records for Roundstone R.C. Parish 1872-1881
NUI Galway Digital Collections for Letterdife (no records)
1911 Census for Letterdife
Overview of Letterdife in 1911
There were just 3 houses in the townland of Letterdife in 1911 and 2 of those were occupied with house 2 left vacant. Both were listed as being private dwellings with Henry A. Robinson being the landholder of both houses. Both were constructed of stone, brick or concrete walls and house 1 had a slate, iron or tiled roof while house 3 had only thatch, wood or other perishable materials for roofing. House 1 was a 1st class dwelling and house 3 was a 2nd class. House 1 had 13 rooms and 7 windows in the front and house 3 had 3 rooms and 3 windows. There were 20 out buildings in the townland consisting of 4 stables, a coach house, a harness room, 3 cow houses, 2 calf houses, a dairy, a piggery, a fowl house, a boiling house, a turf house, 2 sheds, a store and a laundry. There were 19 people in Letterdife at that time, 9 males and 10 females. 15 were Roman Catholic and 4 were Church of Ireland. The enumerator for the area was Const. Francis McGlynn.
Robinson (additional surnames: Faherty and Keane)
Henry Arthur (61) was listed as the head of this household and he had been married to Anna Margret (48) for 23 years and they had had 4 children, all of whom had survived. They shared the house with 2 of those children, George [sic] Doris (23) and Olive Muriel (18) and also in the house were 2 servants, Mary Agnes Faherty (19) and Mary Keane (19). The Robinson’s were all Church of Ireland and Mary Agnes and May were both Roman Catholic. Henry Arthur was born in Co. Sligo, Anna Margret was born in Co. Tipperary, George [sic] Doris and Olive Muriel were born in Co. Dublin, Mary Agnes was born in America and Mary was born in Co. Galway. Both Mary Agnes and Mary spoke Irish and English and all could read and write. Henry Arthur was a magistrate and land agent and Mary Agnes and Mary were domestic servants. The house was a 1st class dwelling with 13 rooms and they had 3 stables, a coach house, a harness room, 2 cow houses, a calf house, a dairy, a piggery, a fowl house, a boiling house, a turf house, 2 sheds, a store and a laundry. The landholder was Henry A. Robinson.
House 2 was unoccupied.
There 13 members of this family and Thomas (52) was the head and had been married to Mary (48) for 29 years and they had had 11 children, Patrick (27), Thomas (21), Michael (18), John (14), Barbara (12), Maggie (10), Kathleen (7), Stephen (6), Norah (6), Peter (4) and Joseph (3 weeks). They were all born in Co. Galway and were Roman Catholic. Stephen, Norah, Peter and Joseph were listed as speaking only English and all the others spoke Irish and English. Mary could read only and Patrick, Thomas, Michael, John, Barbara and Maggie could read and write. Thomas was a shepherd, Patrick was a coachman, Thomas and Michael were shepherd’s sons and John, Barbara, Maggie, Kathleen and Stephen were scholars. The house was a 2nd class dwelling with 7 rooms and they had a stable, a cow house and a calf house. The landholder was Henry A. Robinson.
1901 Census for Letterdife
Overview of Letterdife in 1901
There were 3 houses in the townland in 1901 and they were all occupied and were listed as being private dwellings. They were all constructed of stone, brick or concrete walls and houses 1 and 2 had slate, iron or tiles for roofing while house 3 had thatch, wood or other perishable materials for roofing. House 1 was a 1st class dwelling, house 2 was a 3rd class dwelling and house 3 was a 2nd class. House 1 had 14 rooms and 7 windows in the front, house 2 had 1 room and 2 windows and house 3 had 3 rooms and 4 windows in the front. There were a total of 19 people in the townland at that time, 8 males and 11 females. The enumerator for the area was Const. John Ryan.
Robinson (additional surnames: Frampton, Cook and Vaughan)
Henry A. was the head of the first family in Letterdife and he was married to Annie M. (39) and they lived with 3 of their children, Doris (13), Ireny [sic] Maud (11) and Olive (8). Also in the house at that time were a governess, Alice Frampton (23) and 2 servants, Barbara Cook (24) and Annie Vaughan (20). Barbara and Annie were Roman Catholic and all the others were Church of Ireland. Henry A. was born in Co. Sligo, Annie M. was born in Co. Tipperary, the 3 daughters were born in Dublin City, Alice was born in England and both Barbara and Annie were born in Co. Galway and they could speak both Irish and English. All of the household could read and write. Henry A. was a land agent, the daughters were all scholars, Alice was a governess, Barbara was a cook domestic servant and Annie was a parlour maid domestic servant. The house was a 1st class dwelling with 14 rooms and the landholder was Henry A. Robinson.
The only occupant of house 2 was James (26) and he was a Roman Catholic and was born in Co. Mayo. He could read and write and was listed as being a coachman domestic servant. The house was a 3rd class dwelling with 1 room and the landholder was Henry A. Robinson.
Thomas (40) was the head of this family and he was married to Mary (35) and they shared the house with 8 of their children, Patt (16), Mary (15), Martin (14), Thomas (13), Angus (12), Michael (9), John (4) and Barbara (2). They were all born in Co. Galway and were Roman Catholic. All of the family could speak both Irish and English. Thomas (40), Mary (35), John and Barbara could not read, Thomas (13), Angus and Michael could read only and all the others could read and write. Thomas (40) and Patt were shepherds, Mary (35) as a shepherd’s wife, Mary (15) was a shepherd’s daughter, Martin was a shepherd’s son and Thomas (13) Angus and Michael were scholars. The house was a 2nd class dwelling with 3 rooms and the landholder was Henry A. Robinson.
Old Pension Census (1841-1851) for Letterdife
Thomas Bolton – Application No. C/17 2866. Ref No. Cen S/11/404. The application was received on 4th April 1917 with an address at that time of Mr. Patrick J. Bolton, Errisbeg, Roundstone, Co. Galway. Thomas’ parents were listed as James, who was a farmer, and Mary Bolton (Grimes). The address for the search was given as Letterdife, in the Parish of Moyrus, in the Barony of Ballynahinch, Co. Galway. The search was returned on 5th April 1917.
Griffith’s Valuation (1847-1864) for Letterdife
The Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. leased 1366 acres, 1 rood and 29 perches of mountain land in plot 1 and they were the immediate lessor unless otherwise stated.
Plot 1
Michael King (Bryan) paid £1 for land
Michael Flaherty paid £1 7s for land
John Lydon paid £1 7s for land
Christopher Payne paid £2 for land
James Bolton paid £1 for land
John Lydon (Roundstone) paid £1 18s for land
James Mellett paid 6s for land to Myles King.
John O’Brien paid 6s for land
Patrick Kelly paid 6s for land
Michael King paid 10s for land
Bridget Grimes paid 10s to James Bolton for land.
John Grimes paid 5s to Bridget Grimes for land
The Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. had land in fee (for themselves) that had an annual ratable valuation of £4 12s.
Plot 2: Bridget King leased a house on 2 acres, 2 roods and 34 perches of land from John Lydon (Roundstone) for 3s for the land and 5s for the house.
Plot 3 consisted of 90 acres, 3 roods and 27 perches of land and had 8 tenements.
Plot 3a: Thomas Rich leased a house and a share of the land from Michael King (Bryan) for 10s for the share of the land and 3s for the house.
Plot 3b: Michael King (Bryan) leased a house and land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for £5 5s for the land and 15s for the house.
Plot 3c: James Mellet leased a house and land from Myles King for £1 4s for the share of land and 3s for the house.
Plot 3d: Michael Flaherty leased a house, office and land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for £5 15s for the share of land and £1
Plot 3e: John O’Brien leased a house and land from Myles King for £1 4s for the land and 3s for the house.
Plot 3f: Patrick Kelly leased a house and land from Myles King for £1 4s for the land and 5s for the house.
Plot 3g: John Lydon leased a house, office and land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for £5 15s for the land and £1 5s for the buildings.
Plot 3h: Michael King leased a house, office and land from Myles King for £2 2s for the land and 15s for the buildings.
Plot 4: The Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. had, in fee (for themselves) 24 acres. 1 rood and 5 perches of land that had an annual ratable valuation of £6.
Plot 5A: James Bolton leased 3 roods and 20 perches of land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for 10s.
Plot 5B: James Bolton leased a house and 5 acres, 3 roods and 10 perches of land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for £1 5s for the land and 5s for the house.
Plot 6A: John Lydon (Roundstone) paid 8s for 3 roods of land to the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.
Plot 6B: John Lydon (Roundstone) paid £4 for 8 acres, 3 roods and 10 perches of land to the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.
Plot 6C: John Lydon (Roundstone) leased 2 acres and 14 perches for £1 from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.
Plot 6D: John Lydon leased 3 roods and 20 perches of land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for 6s.
Plot 7Db: John Lydon leased a garden of 35 perches from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for 2s.
Plot 8Ac: John Lydon paid 2s for a garden of 26 perches to the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.
Plot 6ca: Thomas Manroe [sic] leased a house and garden of 26 perches from John Lydon (Roundstone) for 2s.
Plot 7A: John Grimes leased a share of 1 acre, 1 rood and 10 perches of land for 5s from Bridget Grimes for 5s.
Plot 7A: Bridget Grimes leased a share of 1 acre, 1 rood and 10 perches of land from James Bolton for 10s.
Plot 7B: John Grimes leased a share of 1 acre and 1 rood of land from Bridget Grimes for 1s.
Plot 7B: Bridget Grimes leased a share of 1 acre and 1 rood of land from James Bolton for 2s.
Plot 7C: John Grimes paid 4s to Bridget Grimes for a share of 1 acre, 1 rood and 20 perches of land.
Plot 7C: Bridget Grimes leased a share of 1acre, 1 rood and 20 perches of land from James Bolton for 8s.
Plot 7Da: John Grimes leased a share of 3 acres, 2 roods and 5 perches of land for 12s from Bridget Grimes.
Plot 7Da: Bridget Grimes paid £1 14s for a share of 3 acres, 2 roods and 5 perches of land and 10s for a house and office to James Bolton.
Plot 8Aa: Christopher J. Payne leased a herd’s house and 13 acres and 36 perches of land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for £6 10s for the land and 3s for the herd’s house.
Plot 8B: Christopher J. Payne paid £1 17s for 5 acres, 3 roods and 33 perches of land to the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co.
Plot 8b: Christopher J. Payne had vacant offices that had an annual ratable valuation of £1 10s.
Plot 9: Thomas McCullagh leased 1 acre and 1 rood of land from the Directors of the Law Life Assurance Co. for 2s.
There were also 58 acres, 2 roods and 23 perches of water in the townland.
1670 Down Survey for Letterdife
The Down Survey name for this area was Litterdeharta. In 1641 (Pre Cromwell), the owner was the Catholic Murragh O’Flaharty and in 1670 (Post Cromwell) the owner was listed as being Richard Marin, also a Catholic. There were 749 plantation acres of unprofitable land, 39 plantation acres of profitable land and those were forfeited.
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