Ireland Presbyterian Church Records: Difference between revisions

''[[Ireland Genealogy|Ireland]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] [[Ireland Church Records]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]'' '''Presbyterian Church Records'''  

=== Baptism Records  ===

These give the name of child, names of parents, usually the mother’s maiden name, date of birth, names of sponsors and the address (townland) of the parents. In the Presbyterian Church, the baptisms did not always closely follow the birth. This may have been due to a lack of diligence on the part of the minister or it may have reflected a lack of money to have the ceremony performed.  

=== Marriage Records  ===

These list the name of the bride and groom, usually at least the father of the bride and sometimes the groom, date of marriage. After 1819, the names of two witnesses and the congregation of residence for the bride and groom were also required. The Presbyterian Church required prior notice of the intended marriage so some record of the event may appear in the Kirk Session Minute book even though the marriage registers may not exist. Although all marriages were to be performed in the church, it was common practice among the Presbyterians to marry in the bride’s home with the payment of a fee to the minister. Marriage in the home may have also generated a Marriage License Bond, the indexes of which still exist. Researchers should also check the Church of Ireland registers prior to 1782 on in instances where a Presbyterian married a member of the Church of Ireland prior to 1845. After the Marriage Act of 1844, marriages were to be performed with “open doors” before a district registrar. The completeness of the marriage records greatly increases.  

=== Burial Records  ===

These usually list only the name of the deceased and sometimes an age are recorded. In the more complete registers you may find the names of parents for a child and/or a townland of residence and occupation. Many Presbyterians are buried in Church of Ireland graveyards since the laws prevented non Church of Ireland congregations from maintaining their own graveyards. Prior to the 19th century, dissenting ministers were not allowed to perform burials unless a Church of Ireland rector was present.

There are a number of lists of individuals who received communion at each Sabbath meeting. In some instances, remarks about births, marriages, or deaths may be included.  

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) at http://www.proni.gov.uk/ has microfilm or paper copies of most of the Presbyterian registers for Northern Ireland and for the counties of Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan. For a list of PRONI's collection of Presbyterian records, see James G. Ryan, ed., ''Irish Church Records'' referenced above. A list of the records on microfilm is found in PRONI's online 'Presbyterian Church Index.'  

#Scroll down to'''Film Notes''' to find the film numbers.