Griffin/Saunders Family of Knocknaboley Wicklow

As was common on Irish Estates, the Coolatin Estate had a formal, traditional system to grant leases to tenants. Before 1800, most of the leases appeared to be for 'middle class' tenants who sublet the properties to poorer, probably less educated undertenants. Knocknaboley had only 2 tenants for many years in the 1700s and only 3 tenants for the years 1770 through 1800. About that time some of the land, mainly the Coates lease, were split up and assigned to new tenants with smaller plots. One of the new lessees was Andrew Saunders who had been an undertenant on the Coates farm before that.

The lease is important in that it states that the lease was based on the life of James Saunders, Andrews oldest son, and it gives his age as 14.

Andrew Saunders' name remained in the Rental Book long after he died. From 1845 to 1855 his entry was labeled 'Andrew Saunders Exors'. In 1855 the entry still read 'Saunders, Andrew Exors now John Griffin taken out for part of the lands of Knocknaboley..\" (MS 6109)