I have found on PRONI a reference D236/9 for James Wiggins in 1750 a Lease for land from May 1 1750 for three lives or 31 years of 31 acres. between Thomas Verner at 10 pounds 1.6p.a. and fees.
How might I find out who James Wiggins had in his family at that time, their names, ages, where they lived, all data? This I believe is Samuel Wiggins, father, my 5th removed grandfather.
TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS / GRIFFTH?S VALUATION You could try checking the land records calledthe Tithe Applotment Books (1823-38) http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp or the later Griffith's Valuation (1848-64) http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/ or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) https://familysearch.org/ The Tithe Applotment List might be of use to you, or at least interesting for you. These listsconstitute the only nationwide survey for the period, and are valuable because the heaviest burdenof the tithes to the Established Church, the Church of Ireland, fell on the poorest, for whom fewother records survive. The information in the Tithes is quite basic, typically consisting of townlandname, landholder's name, area of land and tithes payable. Many Books also record the landlord'sname and an assessment of the economic productivity of the land. The tax payable was based on SURNAME SEARCH You can check for information about the frequency of the name in the mid-19thcentury and any other variant spellings of the name here: http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/ VALUATIONS OFFICE Valuations office in Dublin (http://www.valoff.ie) will have a record of the landregistry from 1855 to modern times. This will assist in seeing what happened to (name) and whathappened to his land (as it usually passed on to a relation).