Help interpret this sequence of occupiers

[NewHudsonRyans]

I've been tracing the history of the Lynch family in the townland of Foilnamuck in Tipperary, perhaps 8 miles SE of the town of Nenagh.

I ordered a number of records from the Valuation Office for this townland and I'm puzzled by the sequence of events.  I have generally understood that the person listed in a rate book was the person responsible for paying the taxes on the property, but there probably were others living in the house.

For this parcel, starting with the August 1847 House Book, here's what I found:

1846-1847:  Nelly or Michael Lynch
1852:  Ellen Lynch
1852-1862:  Thomas Lynch first, then Michael Lynch
1862-1863:  Anne Lynch
1864-1869:  first William Lynch, then Anne Lynch
1870-1883:  Patrick Ryan
1884-1892:  Anne Ryan (was formerly Anne Lynch)
1893-1907:  Martin Lynch
1908-1933:  Margaret Lynch

What's the meaning of "Nelly or Michael Lynch"?  I assume "Nelly" is a shorthand for "Ellen", but why is one OR the other listed as the taxpayer?

What conclusions can I draw from the fact that the responsible party changed so frequently?  If this is my Lynch family, it makes some sense.  For example my g-grandmother's brother Thomas married in England in 1855, and his appearance in the tax records may indicate that he left Ireland between 1852 and 1855.  In 1852 he would have been fairly young, about 20 years old.

[Wexflyer]

You can conclude that people died young, and/or emigrated.

For example, TB swept away whole families, typically in their 20s and 30s.

There were cholera outbreaks, the Great Famine, and on and on.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Death certificates started in 1864, so for those who disappear after that year, you can search for a death. If there isn’t one, then they probably had moved away from the area.

A death certificate may help identify the relationship to some of the others in your list. When a woman appears in Griffiths records she is frequently a widow. Not always though, and you shouldn’t assume that without some other evidence.

Anne Lynch may have married Patrick Ryan. Worth looking for a marriage certificate for that around 1883. He may have died around 1892. Look for a death for that.

The Griffiths clerks re-checked properties about every 2 years or so, and so some of their dates can frequently be out by several years.

[NewHudsonRyans]

Death certificates started in 1864, so for those who disappear after that year, you can search for a death. If there isn’t one, then they probably had moved away from the area.

A death certificate may help identify the relationship to some of the others in your list. When a woman appears in Griffiths records she is frequently a widow. Not always though, and you shouldn’t assume that without some other evidence.

Anne Lynch may have married Patrick Ryan. Worth looking for a marriage certificate for that around 1883. He may have died around 1892. Look for a death for that.

The Griffiths clerks re-checked properties about every 2 years or so, and so some of their dates can frequently be out by several years.

You're right, Anne married Patrick Ryan after her first husband's death.  I've been tracking this family for some time, trying to correlate the taxpayer names against my g-grandmother's known family members.

The key thing that puzzles me is why the clerk recorded "Nelly or Michael" Lynch in 1847.  If she was a widow, could he have been her brother?  Why wouldn't one specific person's name be recorded?

[Sinann]

Hardly her brother if she was a widow her brother wouldn't be Lynch, could be father in law, brother in law or son

[Elwyn Soutter]

The key thing that puzzles me is why the clerk recorded "Nelly or Michael" Lynch in 1847.  If she was a widow, could he have been her brother?  Why wouldn't one specific person's name be recorded?
[/quote]

No idea. I haven't seen that before. Presumably there was some uncertainty that the Griffiths Clerk couldn't resolve, and this was his way of recording that.

[Wexflyer]

Why wouldn't one specific person's name be recorded?

There was no requirement to show just one. Joint tenants, tenants in common, etc.