Religion
For most of the members of our family the only recorded contact with religious institutions are when they were baptised, married or buried. Before July 1837 the only place to get married and buried in England and Wales was the Church of England, the Established Church, except for Quakers and Jews. A marriage or burial in the Church of England did not necessarily indicate that they followed that faith. Baptisms could be celebrated in any church or chapel and are more indicative of the religion followed. We have found the religious denominations recorded on Canadian censuses, marriages and death certificates but not on for those of England and Wales.
The Poor Law and other welfare was administered by the church before being taken over by government. Our discoveries in the parish chest are therefore put in its own section.
We have found family members who have been employed as Parish Clerks and Sextons, have held the office of church warden and overseers in parishes and become clergy in the Church of England.
Outside the Church of England we have Bible Christians in Devon, Baptists in Devon and Canada and Congregationalist in Canada among others.
Three families converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, Mormons. They emigrated to the Utah and other places in the USA.
In this section we will explore the lives of ancestors who have been found to hold offices within their particular denomination.
“IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE THERE ARE MANY MANSIONS” St John's Gospel 14 :2
Religion plays an important part in the lives of everyone. When you look at old settlements often the oldest building remaining in good repair is the village church or chapel. In at least two villages of family interest, Holt and Coity, the church lies side by side with its contemporary castle, and in both cases the house of prayer has survived the ravages of time while its neighbouring house of defence and aggression, has crumbled, a clear indication of which building the people had more respect for. The documents used to trace ancestors pre useful censuses (1841) and pre civil registration (1837) are mainly parish records, along with newspapers, wills, and property deeds when such documents have survived.
We have found the religious practices of people not only affected their spiritual life but could influence their politics, their employment, and even their education. For example it was well known that the principle employer in Ogmore Vale in the early twentieth century chose members of his chapel and their families over people who worshipped in any other way. Many parishes of the established Church were still in the gift of local benefactors, and their own beliefs influenced the type of clergy man who served in that area. For example Lord Dunraven held the benefice of several parishes in Glamorgan. Lady Dunraven was a friend of Selina Countess of Huntingdon. The Countess was the first female principal of a men's college in Brconshire (Trifecca College, for the education of Methodist ministers). She financed the building of 64 chapels in England and Wales, she promoted the evangelical movement within the Church and so Lady Dunraven introduced three evangelical priests to the neighbouring parishes of Coity, Coychurch and Llangan. All three lectured regularly at Trefecca, each covering each others absences from their parishes. One of the three in particular, David Jones of Llangan, often went on open air preaching tours throughout Wales All three also accompanied the Countess when she opened some of her 64 new chapels. Politically it is well known that the Methodist were more likely to support Whig candidates and Church men followed Tories. As the earliest schools were provided by the churches, the education children received was also influenced by religion
The records we have found show the ancestors had many different convictions, gradually the various denominations are grouping together realising the similarities outweigh the differences in their beliefs. In the case of the Methodists the Bible Christians, Primitive and Wesleyan Churches have successfully combined as one Methodist Union.
In some regions people have found it easy to share a building so different congregations use the same church at different times, coming together on occasions for special united services. In Chertsey there is the wonderful collaboration known as Christ Church with St Philip Anglican -
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