England Nonconformists Moravians - International Institute

Moravians

History and Beliefs

The Moravians or United Brethren were a European group which took root in London in 1741 and in Oxford in the mid-19th century following a mission by Count von Zinzendorf in 1823. Their early ministers were German but there was no sizable immigrant influx, almost all baptisms being of English people. The Moravians were an early influence on the Wesley brothers and they were the only Nonconformist group to do missionary work abroad until the 19th century. They were not far removed doctrinally from the Church of England and included bishops in their hierarchy. They were the only Nonconformist group whose headquarters was abroad.

Moravian Records

The Moravians were a small denomination, with a little over 20 congregations in England and less than 5,000 members at the end of the 18th century. Their Church Books are particularly detailed, giving each member’s date of admission and cessation. Shorney (Protestant Nonconformity and Roman Catholicism. A Guide to Sources in the Public Record Office. PRO Publications, 1996) gives more details on the contents of the registers and other records, and Steel (Sources for Nonconformist Genealogy and Family History. Vol 2 of National Index of Parish Registers. Society of Genealogists, 1973) has a useful section.

Many national and local Moravian records are at the John Rylands Library, but some are still with local congregations. Moravian Church House Archive should be contacted for information on location of records not available on microfilm. They hold much of the surviving archives of closed churches, correspondence and copies of memoirs and minutes of the Provincial Synod. There is no national society but the Moravian Historical Society of Pennsylvania has published articles on the British Church’s history.

Moravian Registers

Their registers were well-maintained, date from the 1740s and cover a wide-ranging area from Yorkshire to Devon. Most, which is over 20, are in the RG 4 series at the PRO are microfilmed and on the IGI, but some original registers were lost during the blitz. Extant examples include:

East Tytherton, Wiltshire church records 1735-1878 on FS Library film 1239284. Shorney shows an illustration of the burial ground plan and named plots for this church.

Devonport, Devon christenings 1785-1834 are indexed on film 0,883,88 taken from the originals on FS Library film 0590689.

A page of the burial register for Fulneck, West Yorkshire is depicted in Shorney (Protestant Nonconformity and Roman Catholicism. A Guide to Sources in the Public Record Office. PRO Publications, 1996) giving names, marital status or age of child and abode, days of departure and burial, where interred and which plot, as well as the minister’s name. Monumental inscriptions are also available for this church on FS Library film 0098522.

Other Moravian Records

Moravians were very conscientious record keepers who kept membership lists (few of which survive) but also a Congregation or Church Book on which were listed:

Names of members and their children in order of admission.

Married status.
Occupation.
Name of former denomination.
Date of cessation of membership.

Minute Books may be in German, and diaries of congregations, elders’ minutes and other administrative papers are all available.

History and Records of Moravian Clergy
Some records of the history of certain Moravian churches have been written, and information on ministers can also be found. An example is Titterington’s Historical sketch of the Moravian church in Dukinfield, [Cheshire]: with biographical notes of the ministers who have served the present chapel which is on FS Library film 1656922.

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Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course English: Non-Anglican Church Records offered by The International Institute of Genealogical Studies. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at wiki@genealogicalstudies.com

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The original content for this article was contributed by The International Institute of Genealogical Studies in June 2012. It is an excerpt from their course English: Non-Anglican Church Records by Dr. Penelope Christensen. The Institute offers over 200 comprehensive genealogy courses for a fee ($).