Nature of Source
Records of Presbyterian baptism/birth, marriage and burial/death. During the 17th and 18th centuries many Presbyterian (Protestant) migrants from Scotland and England settled in Ulster. The persecution of Presbyterians (followers of the doctrines of John Calvin) in the 18th century meant that some Presbyterian baptisms, marriages and burials will be found in the registers of the Church of Ireland. Most Presbyterians lived in the North of Ireland and many Presbyterians migrated to North America to escape the persecution.
Unfortunately Presbyterian congregations displayed great laxity in keeping parish registers despite a Synod ruling of 1819 that ministers should do so. Generally, ministers in urban areas were better record keepers than their colleagues in rural areas. Other possible records of interest include membership registers which sometimes give details of a member’s marriage, death or emigration as well as baptisms of member’s children, session minutes which might contain personal information on a member and transfer certificates which provide details on a member moving to a different congregation or abroad.
The 18th century saw many schisms develop within the Presbyterian church but in 1840 the General Synod of Ulster and the Secession Synod (Seceders) both agreed to subscribe to the Westminster Confession, leading to the formation of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
Look for the Charleton Trust Fund Marriage certificates which were issued between 1795 and 1862. The scheme was established to encourage the Protestant labouring classes to marry by the use of small payments. Those wishing to qualify had to submit a certificate and these are now in the National Archives of Ireland with indexes. The areas covered by the Fund were mainly in the counties of Meath and Longford with some coverage in the counties of Cavan, King’s (Offaly), Louth, Westmeath and Dublin city.
Until 1869, the established church in Ireland was the Anglican Church of Ireland, a Protestant denomination. The Irish Church Act passed in 1869 (implemented in 1871) disestablished the Church of Ireland as the state church. During the 19th century, about 85 percent of the Irish population was Roman Catholic, roughly 10 percent belonged to various nonconformist denominations including Quakers, with only about 5 per cent Protestant (mainly Church of Ireland).
Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland parishes often had distinct names and covered different geographical areas. Use Lewis’ Topographical Dictionary to locate and identify a particular parish which is available online at Library Ireland. Additionally, John Grenham’s Irish Placenames provides a summary of research sources available for a particular parish including church records.
Where Found
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
PRONI holds registers of baptisms, marriages and burials from the majority of individual Presbyterian congregations in Ulster, mostly on microfilm. Other material includes Session Minute Books which record advance notices of marriages and Presbytery meeting minutes and congregational censuses.
Presbyterian Historical Society
The society, founded in 1907 and located in Belfast, holds a wide range of records and materials related to the history of Presbyterianism in Ireland. This includes copies of most PRONI microfilms, congregational, synod, and presbytery records, private papers of ministers and missionaries, sermons, printed books and pamphlets, journals, photographs, congregational histories, and microfilm copies of the newspaper ‘The Witness’. The collections also contain biographical information on Presbyterian ministers, resources for congregational history, and other archival materials.
National Archives of Ireland
The archives holds limited copies of Presbyterian baptism, marriage and some burial registers as well as Session Minute Books which include kirk session marriage notices. Most registers are held by local congregations, the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast and local archives.
Local Presbyterian Congregations
Local congregations may still hold some pre-1900 registers including baptism and marriage registers and very early Session Minute Books.
Heritage and Genealogy Centres
Irish Family History Foundation. The Foundation coordinates 34 centres across Ireland and Northern Ireland. The centres hold a range of indexed and transcribed baptism, marriage and burial parish registers as well as many civil records, census returns and gravestone inscriptions.
Period Covered
1820 – Onwards
Genealogical Value
Baptism
Name of the child, place and date of baptism and occasionally the date of birth, father’s name and occupation, mother’s name.
Marriage
Date of marriage, names of the bride and groom, occasionally the address and the name of the father of each party, names of witnesses.
Burial
Name of the deceased, burial date, occasionally the occupation and age of the deceased.
Further References
Parish Specific
- Burn, John Southerden. The History of Parish Registers in England: Also of the Registers of Scotland, Ireland, the East and West Indies: J.R. Smith, 1862 (Available to view online or download at the Internet Archive. Also available to buy on CD at GenFair)
- Farrar, Henry. Irish Marriages: Being an Index to the Marriages in Walker’s Hibernian Magazine, 1771 to 1812: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001 (1897) (Details all the marriage entries in Walker’s Hibernian Magazine 1771-1812 plus appendix by Sir Arthur Vicars of the births, deaths and marriages recorded in the magazine Anthologia Hibernica 1793-94)
- Grundy, Joan. A Dictionary of Medical & Related Terms for the Family Historian: Swansong Publications, 2006
- Historical Society of Ireland. Roll of Honour of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland: Naval & Military Press, 2009 (1922) (Lists of members of the Irish Presbyterian church, arranged under congregation, who served in WWI)
- Killen, Rev W.D. A History of Congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland: Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, 1982 (1886) (Available to search online at the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland. Also available to read online or download at the Internet Archive)
- Mitchell, Brian. A Guide to Irish Parish Registers: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009 (Limited preview at Google Books)
- Mitchell, Brian. A Guide to Irish Churches and Graveyards: Genealogical Publishing Co, 2010
- Reid, Noel (ed). A Table of Church of Ireland Parochial Records and Copies: Irish Family History Society, 1994
- Reid, James Seaton. History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland: Whittaker, 1853. (Available to read online or download at the Internet Archive or Hathi Trust)
- Roulston, William. Researching Presbyterian Ancestors in Ireland: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2020
- Ryan, James G. Irish Church Records: Their History, Availability and Use in Family and Local History Research: Flyleaf Press, 2001 (The book contains chapters by experts on the records of the eight major Irish churches including: Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist, Quaker, Huguenot, Jewish and Baptist)
- Smyrl, Steven. Dictionary of Dublin Dissent-Dublin’s Protestant Dissenting Meeting Houses 1660-1920: A & A Farmar, 2009
Family History Guides
- Adolph, Anthony. Collins Tracing Your Irish Family History: HarperCollins, 2007
- Begley, Donal. Handbook on Irish Genealogy: How to Trace Your Ancestors and Relatives: Heraldic Artists, 1984
- Connell, Gretta. Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Corrigan, Mario & Durney, James & Kiely, Karel. Tracing your Kildare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2014
- Davis, Bill. Irish Ancestry – A Beginner’s Guide: FFHS, 2001
- Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scottish-Irish Ancestral Research: GPC, 1981 (1962)
- Franklin, Margaret. Tracing your Limerick Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Grenham, John. Irish Ancestors, A Pocket Guide to Your Family History: Gill & Macmillan, 2004
- Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: Gill & Macmillan, 2011
- Hamrock, John. Tracing your Roscommon Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2007
- Kinealy, Christine. Tracing Your Irish Roots: Appletree Press, 2009
- McCarthy, Tony. The Irish Roots Guide. Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1991
- McCarthy, Tony & Cadogan, Tim. Tracing Your Cork Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Ancestors in Northern Ireland: A Guide to Ancestry Research in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland: Stationery Office, 1997
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Armagh Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Down Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. How To Trace Your Irish Ancestors: How To Books, 2009
- Maxwell, Ian. Your Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2008
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Northern Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2010
- Meehan, Helen & Duffy, Godfrey. Tracing Your Donegal Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2008
- Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Basic Guide to Irish Records for Family History: Clearfield Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Tracing Derry-Londonderry Roots: Clearfield Company, 2014
- Mitchell, Brian. NEW Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy Paperback: Clearfield, 2020
- O’Connor, Michael H. Tracing your Kerry Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 1994
- O’Dowd, Peadar. Tracing your Galway Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Ouimette, David. Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide: Ancestry.com, 2005
- Paton, Chris. Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
- Prochaska, Alice, Irish History from 1700: A Guide to Sources in the Public Record Office: British Records Association, 1986
- Raymond, Stuart. Irish Family History on the Web: The Family History Partnership, 2007
- Roulston, William. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2005
- Ryan, James. Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local History: Flyleaf Press, 1997
- Ryan, James & Smith, Brian. Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2009
- Ryan, James. Tracing your Sligo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Smith, Brian. Tracing your Mayo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Smith, Brian & Kennedy, Gerry. Tracing Your Clare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2013
- Stewart, Alan. My Ancestor Was Irish: A Guide to Sources for Family Historians: Society of Genealogists, 2012
Other
- Bradshaw’s Railway Map Great Britain and Ireland 1852: Mapseeker Publishing, 2013
- Connolly, S.J. The Oxford Companion to Irish History: Oxford University Press, 2007
- Coogan, Tim, Pat. The Famine Plot: England’s Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
- Dickson, R.J. Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-1775: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1976
- Grenham, John. The Little Book of Irish Clans and Tartans: Book Sales, 1995
- Robinson, Philip. Plantation of Ulster: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Smith, Paul & Turner, Keith. Railway Atlas of Ireland Then & Now: Ian Allan Publishing, 2014
Websites
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Guide to Church Records. This guide is an easy way to identify what churches are in a parish, what records exist for each church, the covering dates for each series of records (for example baptisms) and their PRONI reference number. Denominations included are Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Non-Subscribing Presbyterian, Reformed Presbyterian, Methodist, Moravian, Congregational, Baptist and Religious Society of Friends’ (Quakers’).
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
How to trace ancestral records of Irish Presbyterians.
Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland
Presbyterian Historical Society
Founded in 1907, the object of the Society is to explore and promote an understanding of the history of Presbyterianism in Ireland. This is achieved by various means, including the collection and preservation of historic materials and records of these churches. Members of the Society can search the congregations database for information on over 600 congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. A list of the Congregations in the database is freely available.
Presbyterian Historical Society
Guide to Congregational Records. The guide provides a summary of the types, content and sources of records held by Presbyterian congregations and gives practical advice for locating and accessing them.
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
Congregational Records. The guide highlights the range of different Presbyterian records and where they might be found. These records include registers of baptisms, marriages, session and committee minutes, annual financial reports, and communicants’ registers.
John Grenham
Irish Church records: Presbyterian Records.
Discover Ulster-Scots
The Story of the Presbyterians in Ulster.
Irish Family Roots
Were Your Ancestors Presbyterians?
Irish Genealogical Research Society
The Society, founded in 1936, is dedicated to promoting the study of Irish genealogy and preserving genealogical materials, particularly those compiled before the loss of many documents in the 1922 Public Record Office fire in Dublin. The Society manages an extensive reference library of printed and manuscript genealogical materials, considered the most important private collection of Irish genealogical resources globally. Details on how to access these materials are available on their website, along with specifics about their contents. The society offers guidance to family historians through its publications and various other resources.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Start Your Research: Church Records. The guide covers how to use church records for Irish research. It explains the survival and starting dates of church records in Ireland and covers all major denominations in Ireland including Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland (Anglican), Presbyterian, Methodist and other Protestant groups, such as Quakers and Baptists.
FamilySearch Research Wiki
Ireland Presbyterian Church Records
LISBURN.COM
Short History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, by Prof. John M. Barkley.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. This encyclopedia covers extensive information about Presbyterianism and its history.
John Grenham
Dublin City Library and Archive Dublin Records: Dublin Graveyards Directory. The directory provides a searchable listing of all graveyards in the Dublin area and gives information on the location, contact details, titles of published gravestone transcripts, links to on-line gravestone transcripts, location of surviving burial records and other information.
Townland Resources
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Index of Townlands, 1901. The site offers access to the Index of Townlands from 1901. The index, published in 1904 by the Commissioners of Census, was created as an aid in processing the returns for the 1901 census of Ireland. The index provides an alphabetical listing of townlands and towns in Ireland, along with various administrative divisions such as parishes and electoral divisions.
Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer
Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey Ireland). The service allows users to view historical and townland boundaries and features for the island of Ireland on interactive maps. Enables fast search and pinpointing of particular Irish townlands, names and boundary features.
The IreAtlas
Townland database. Search of the IreAtlas Townland database. The results of a county or townland search show all the townlands within the requested county together with the barony and parish.
nidirect
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. In this section you can access lists of townlands arranged in the following different ways by county, by parish, within the estates of major landowners and alphabetically.
Irish Homelands
The website offers a tool for exploring Irish townlands. Users can access a detailed list of townlands and search by parish or county if you’re unsure of the townland name.
John Grenham
Irish Placenames. 1851 General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, parishes and Baronies of Ireland. Search the entire Index, together with street listings from Dublin, Cork and Belfast cities, more than 65,000 entries in all.
Irish Genealogy
Family Research 2016: Placenames. This article explains and explores how townlands and parishes got their names with links to useful resources.
Online Databases
Roots Ireland
Irish Family History Foundation. The site offers a unique database of more than 22 million Irish records from 34 county genealogy centres on the island of Ireland. The main sources on the site are Irish Catholic and other church records of baptisms, marriages and deaths. The site also features Census Records, Gravestone Inscriptions, Griffith’s Valuation for Ireland, Irish Ship Passenger Lists and Census Substitutes for Ireland.
Findmypast
The collection includes:
- Down, Anaghlone Presbyterian Registers, 1839-1913.
- Down, Ballyroney Presbyterian Registers, 1819-1913.
- Registers of the French Non-Conformist Churches Dublin 1701-1831, published by the Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1901.
- Limerick non-conformist baptisms. A collection of registers of births and baptisms provided by Joint Presbyterian and Methodist Congregation of Christ Church, Limerick.
Ulster Historical Foundation
The Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1956, dedicated to those researching the history and genealogy of Ulster and its families. The site offers access to over 2 million searchable records including:
- First Antrim Presbyterian Church Baptisms, 1677-1733.
- Baptism Records for Doagh, Co. Antrim, Doagh Methodist Church and Kilbride Presbyterian Church.
- Register of First Antrim Presbyterian Church, Marriages from 1675-1736.
- Westbourne Presbyterian Church, Marriages, 1917-1930
- First Derry Presbyterian Church Financial Statement, 1883
- Dissenting Voices.
- Profiles of 300 Progressive Presbyterians over Four Centuries.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Datasets Include:
- Early Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes. The transcribed indexes cover the period 1660 to 1863 for the period before civil registration was fully implemented in Ireland in 1864. The sources used include newspaper announcements, Registry of Deeds in Dublin, Chancery Bill extracts, family bibles, Memorial Inscriptions, military records, old age pension claims and many others.
- Clanchy Marriage Index. Search an extensive Card Index of marriages gleaned from some of the Society’s unique manuscript collection and pedigree files. The index covers the entire island of Ireland.
- Index to The Dublin Presbyterian Colporteur’s Notebook, 1875. Database of scanned images from the Dublin Presbyterian Colporteur’s Notebook. The rare Notebook was compiled during January to October 1875 by William Malone who jotted biographical notes on approximately 10,000 inner-city Dublin Protestants.
Ancestry
Belfast, Northern Ireland, The Belfast Newsletter (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1738-1925. Notices were primarily from Protestant denominations, particularly Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist families. Catholic notices appeared in later years.
Emerald Ancestors
Northern Ireland Ancestor Search. Emerald Ancestors provides instant access to one of the largest collections of Northern Ireland genealogy records available, containing birth, marriage, death, church registers and census records for over 1.5 million Irish ancestors. Datasets include:
- Markethill Second Presbyterian Church, County Armagh, Baptisms 1820-1919.
- Ballyeaston First Presbyterian Church, County Antrim. Baptisms 1820-1865.
- Moneymore First Presbyterian Church, Co. Londonderry, Baptisms 1844-1865.
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
Name Search: Datasets include:
- 1740 Protestant Householders Census. Surviving fragments of census of Protestant heads of households relating to the Hearth Tax returns in 1740 in parts of counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Donegal, Londonderry, and Tyrone.
- 1766 Religious Census Returns Listing of heads of households of Protestant and Roman Catholic families in over 30 parishes in Ulster and other parts of Ireland.
- 1775 Dissenters’ Petitions. Petitions from Protestant dissenters (mainly Presbyterians and Roman Catholics) seeking legal rights from discriminations under Penal Laws.
Ancestry
Irish Records Index, 1500-1920. This database is an index containing a wide range of Irish historical records held at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The index includes details such as name, date, residence and item numbers drawn from Farrar’s Index to Irish Marriages 1771-1812 as found in Walker’s Hibernian Magazine, first issued in 1771 and discontinued in 1812, histories, pedigrees, parish registers, probates, and orphan’s court records.
Dublin Cemeteries Trust
Search fully transcribed and digitised burial registers covering Dublin’s Glasnevin cemetery, the largest nondenominational cemetery in Ireland, opened in 1832. Also covered the cemeteries Goldenbridge, Palmerstown, Dardistown, or Newlands Cross from 1828 to the present day.
Interment.net
Search transcribed entries from the Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, containing graves of over 1.2 million people. It opened in 1832 and is the largest nondenominational cemetery in Ireland, originally named Prospect Cemetery. More transcripts with headstone photos can be found at the Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives.
