I have found a Jeremiah Bell on the County Monaghan 1824 Tithe Applotment records. The townland is Figevly(now Feegavla). I think this My gg grandfather as I have a DNA match from a Bell family living on a nearby townland and his 1836 marriage record at St. Finbar's in Carrickmacross. My question is this. He could only be about 17 or 18 years old in 1824. Could he have entered into a lease agreement at that age?
thanks,
Murray Bell
Murray,
My understanding of the law at that time is that a person was a minor till they were 21. I am not sure whether that precluded them signing a lease but I’d say it was fairly unlikely. A farmer usually left his farm to his eldest son. If he died young the widow usually had a life interest and appears as tenant in the tithes and other estate records, replaced at her death by the son.
In Griffiths Valuation you do see the odd landowner where the records say something like “John Smith (in Chancery).” That usually indicates that a minor had inherited property, and that his finances were being controlled by the court till he became an adult. But I have only seen that for a landlord, not for a tenant.
I’d say it was pretty unusual for someone aged 17 to have been a leaseholder but I can’t say it never happened.
I was thinking you would have to be 21 but how would they know, public records being what they were back then. If a 18 year old said he was 21, would the Landlord question it? I think not.
I agree they probably wouldn’t know your age but I still think it would be fairly unusual for a 17 year old to have a lease then. If he inherited it, it could have happened but the average 17 year old wouldn’t have had the capital to start a farm from scratch. There was some expenditure involved and most wouldn’t have the necessary capital at that age.
Elwyn,
Thank you for the response. In looking at the tithe record for Jeremiah Bell, the numbers are on the low side compared to other inhabitants of that townland so he likely had only a small plot. I do think that you are correct in saying it would be unusual for a 17 year old to have a lease. But, I still can't help thinking that this is my Jeremiah Bell. Bell was not a common name in that area and Jermiah is not a common given name for Bells. There was another Bell family in close proximity and my YDNA matches to a descendant of that family. And I know my Jeremiah was in the area in 1835 as I found his marriage record. I can't definitely prove it but I think there is enough corraborating evidence to conclude that the Jeremiah on the tithes is my ancestor.
Thank you again as you have given me something to think about.
murray