No:
51 |
May 2010
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News
May
Seminars
2: Genealogy on the Web West Torrens Public
Library 1:30 to 3:00pm
6: Introduction to FH Burnside Library Family
History Group 6:30pm
9:Family History on the Web WEA Centre Adelaide
10:00am to 1:00pm
12: Introduction to FH research WEA Centre Adelaide
8:00 to 9:30pm over 7 weeks
14: Genealogy on the Web Payneham Library
10:30am to 12 noon
23: Coming to grips with FamilySearch WEA
Centre Adelaide 10:00am to 1:00pm
28: Tracing your Scottish ancestors WEA
Centre Adelaide 6:30 to 9:30pm
June Seminars
29: Tracing your English ancestors Mt Barker
Library 1:30 to 4:30pm
See the seminar program
for more details and bookings.
Chelsea Pensioners' service records
You can now search and download Chelsea Pensioners' service records
from 1883 to 1900 at findmypast.co.uk.
These records include servicemen born in the UK and throughout the
world, including many soldiers born in India and the Caribbean. Remember
SAGHS members can access this site at the library at no cost.
English
parish records—non parochial & non conformist
Non
parochial records are those generated by the Church of England outside
the parish structure. These include extra-parochial areas such as
cathedrals and royal chapels as well as other facilities operated
or serviced by the church such as workhouses and hospitals. These
records are normally housed with the conventional parish records in
the appropriate record office as outlined in the previous newsletter.
There are three other repositories worth checking for these records.
For London look at the holdings of the Guildhall Library. For Middlesex
check the London Metropolitan Archives. The National Archives also
holds some of this material in series RG 4,5,6,7 & 8 along with
non-conformist registers.
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In
this issue:
News
May
seminars
June seminars
Chelsea Pensioner records
Feature article
English
parish records—non parochial & non conformist
|
Graham Jaunay
Glandore SA 5037
Australia
genealogy@jaunay.com
Breaking news:
Services
• Drafting charts
• Locating documents
• Seminar presentations
• SA lookup service
Graham Jaunay uses
The
Genealogist - for UK census, BMD indexes and more online simply because it contains quality data checked by experts.
Proformat News acknowledges the support by
AWE
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A
non-conformist church is technically any denomination other than the
Church of England although some exclude Roman Catholics and Hebrew
congregations from this grouping. When considering Protestant non
conformist ancestors one needs to be aware that many such families
were not that particular about which denomination they followed and
some subscribed to other denominations for a short period only. Further
more many registers for such churches have not survived. Indeed surviving
Catholic Registers are few in number simply because it was illegal
to be a Roman catholic priest and they could be subjected to severe
penalties if caught. The Catholic relief Acts of 1778 and 1791 that
allowed Catholics to establish chapels also saw the beginnings of
many Catholic Registers.
Many
early non-conformist chapel did not keep registers and those that
did were not always careful about preservation of the material. However,
after the introduction of the Hardwicke Marriage Act 1754, all marriages
with a couple of exceptions (Quakers and Jews) had to take place in
a Church of England Church until the introduction of civil registration
in mid-1837 when other marriage venues became possible. Some such
marriages can also be found in non conformist registers as the couple
complied with the law and ensured their marriage was legally recognised,
but also had a service in their own chapel. Also from 1695 to 1706
priests of the Church of England were required by the Marriage Duty
Act 1695 to record all births in the parish whether the child was
baptised or not. When it comes to burials, many non conformists were
buried in church graveyards but they had to endure the Church of England
burial service. There was nothing preventing non conformists from
purchasing land and establishing their own burial grounds and many
larger congregations did. Bunhill Fields was the main burying place
for non conformist Protestants in and around London from the mid 17th
century.
Pictured: Barrack Street New Meeting Place Bridport
DOR. See for
the register.
As previously mentioned The National Archives holds non conformist
registers. These were deposited as the result of the Non-parochial
Register Act 1840 that requested the deposition of all registers with
the GRO except those of Hebrew congregations. As a result some 10,000
registers were deposited. An excellent listing outlining the location
of registers for all churches, Anglican and non-conformist has been
published by the Society of Genealogists. This comprised
a set of orange booklets county by county known as the National
index of parish registers. Locating a copy can be quite difficult
but most larger FHS hold some of the set. The Society of Genealogists
has also published guides to help you search for nonconformist ancestors:
My Ancestors Were Congregationalists.
My Ancestors Were Baptists.
My Ancestors Were English Presbyterians/Unitarians.
My Ancestors Were Methodists.
My Ancestors Were Jewish.
My Ancestors Were Quakers.
The Federation of Family History Societies and its members (listed
online), county and district family history societies in
England extract and index records, including church records, and have
collections of research done by their members and others. Individual
societies are worth approaching to see what material they hold and
what assistance they can give.
The Federation also publishes research guides, compiled sources, and
journals and periodicals containing compiled information. Most of
these are available for purchase and may be found in some libraries.
The LDS Church's Family History Library has a large collection of
microfilmed non conformist church records, including the pre-1837
collection of The National Archives. Many of these records have been
indexed in the International Genealogical Index (IGI). The Library's
collection is listed in the Family History Library online
catalogue. Select the place search and look for nonconformist
church records on the country, county, and town or parish levels.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) founded in the 17th century
by George Fox maintained their own registers of birth (not baptism),
marriage and death from 1656 and these were surrendered to the GRO
in 1840 and 1857 and are held in RG 6. The few predating 1837 not
surrendered may be located in CROs and/or the Friends'
House Library on Euston Road, London.
The Catholic
Record Society has published much material relating to Catholic
records and these are listed on their web site. The National Archives
has an online
leaflet about records it holds pertaining to Catholics.
Dr Williams Library
and CROs are the main repositories for any surviving material generated
by the Independents of the Commonwealth period and Congregationalists.
The ARCHON Directory will provide
contact details for many repositories.
Presbyterianism in England within the Church of England found favour
during the Commonwealth and it became the norm during this period.
At the restoration many were ejected from their churches. The 1689
Act of Toleration allowed them to establish their own chapels and
burial grounds and they became widely known as Unitarians. They surrendered
their registers in 1840 but these have just recently found their way
to The National Archives with the closure of the GRO's Family Record
Centre in late 2007. They can be found online in the IGI.
The Baptist Church has been subjected to a number of schisms since
emerging in the 17th century. Most registers were surrendered and
are now in RG 4 (also in the IGI)
and 8. Baptist records not surrendered may still be with surviving
chapels, at CROs, Baptist theological colleges, with Baptist associations
or in the following locations: Regents
Park College, The
Strict Baptist Historical Society, or The
Gospel Standard Baptist Library.
Methodism founded by John Wesley in 1740 was originally a missionary
movement within the Church of England and like the Baptists split
into many differing groups. The surrendered registers are in RG 4
and other material from the Metropolitan Wesleyan Registry is in RG
5.
The Salvation Army grew from the Methodist Church in 1865 and therefore
its membership's vital records should be covered by civil registration
records.
A
significant group were the Huguenots, Protestants, mainly from France
who fled persecution from the 16th century. They enjoyed a unique
level of tolerance due to their circumstances when they settled mainly
in Soho, Spitalfields, Bristol, Southampton, Canterbury and Norwich.
There records can be found in RG 4 and many records have been published
by the Huguenot Society.
Many Huguenots adopted the Church of England. The Huguenots were not
alone in migrating into England and establishing their church. Dutch
communities were established in London, Norwich and Colchester, Swiss
in Soho, and Germanic people in London to mention a few. Their registers
can be found at The National Archives, local archive offices and with
the churches themselves. If the reader can access Family Tree
Magazine for Dec 1989, Feb 1990 and June 1990 they will find
a detailed article by S Pearl on this specialised subject.
Pictured: Huguenot Church Soho Square London
Jews had a rough time in England prior to 1655 and faced discrimination
after that time too. Unlike Christian denominations Hebrew congregations
were not asked to surrender their registers in 1840. To access material
the reader should consider an approach to The
Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain.
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