Church records

Where the Spirits Paint: Camp Chesterfield, Indiana

26 Aug By Dwight

On August 12, 2015, I had the privilege of visiting Camp Chesterfield, Indiana. The night before, I presented two lectures at the Ohio History Connection (the state archive) in Columbus which took me to the Mid-West anyway.

For years, my friends have heard me ask if they would take me to Camp Chesterfield. This year they graciously agreed!

My cohorts in crime were Russ Pollitt, Jayne Davis and her husband Denny. Russ is the head of the Genealogy Department at the Columbus Metropolitan Library and a vice president of the Ohio Genealogical Society. Jayne is a professional genealogist and president elect of the Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society in the Columbus area. Denny was along to support and torment us when he wasn’t looking up obituaries or volunteering in the Archaeological Department of Ohio State University.

To say the least, this was not a bad group in which to go exploring, whether old records or the inner-journey.

Camp Chesterfield is the home of the Indiana Association of Spiritualists, founded in 1888. Located near Anderson, Indiana, it has quite a history with all things relating to the physical mediumship within Spiritualists. During our tour of the art museum we saw spirit precipitated paintings from the late 1800s and early 1900s. In addition, there were examples of spirit chalk writing on slate boards, spirit trumpets, spirit photography and trance mediumship. Portraits of spirit guides who have helped the mediums and look after Camp Chesterfield and old photos of the early Spiritualists of the camp were on display. We were treated to a discussion on ectoplasm secreted from the medium’s body while in a trance state.

It was a smorgasbord of the spirit. Physical mediumship is alive and well at Camp Chesterfield. Spiritualism with New Age and Eastern Religion practices have also found a home there.

The focus of the museum was on the history and personalities that made Camp Chesterfield – well, Camp Chesterfield!

The medium who gave us the tour warned me that she better not see any of the museum pictures on the Internet. I understood; these were originals we were seeing. Flash photography was definitely out! In order to preserve the historic collections, artifacts and old records, Camp Chesterfield has received a grant. Their museum items and documents are being scanned and will be placed online.

20150812_140544(1) — Spiritualist Chapel

For a genealogist, the trip to the “cemetery” was amazing. Small plaques marked the cremated remains of the mediums who have been interred over the years. Not only did these mediums live at Camp Chesterfield, but they then became part of its very soil.

Houses with signs advertising the abilities of the occupant

Please take time to view my photographs of the grounds of this community. Camp Chesterfield is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was an amazing trip and I applaud them for their record preservation. I wonder what else is hidden in the byways and side streets of America?

Dwight Radford

Trail of Religion with busts of the founders of world relgions — Trail of Religion with busts of the founders of world religions

Camp Chesterfield Hotel with Russ Pollitt of the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the Ohio Genealogical Society

Who Joined New Religions?

21 Aug By Dwight

Who Joined New Religions?

Sometimes we forget that every newly created church or religion had to start somewhere, at some time, with some group of people. It is the group of people I would like to explore to demonstrate some genealogy principles. I want to detail who the early memberships were for some historically important movements.

Throughout history, new religious movements rise to reform, revitalize, or even replace older ones. Putting dissatisfied people in the right place at the right time, under the right social conditions and entirely new movements are created.

Below you will find a very short discussion of some key movements. From a genealogy perspective, knowing what kind of people merged into a new movement, clues you into what records you should be exploring to uncover more about these earliest converts.

Adventists: The Millerites would spread from the last revival fires in Upstate New York. Millerites would separate from local Baptist, Christian Connexion, Congregational, Methodist and other denominations in 1843/44 in expectation of Christ’s Second Coming. After the “Great Disappointment” of 1844, the post-Millerite Adventists would separate into Sunday and Sabbath keeping denominations. The emerging Seventh-day Adventist Church, organized in 1863, would attract many post-Millerite Adventists who had already transitioned, and stabilized, with the Shakers and Spiritualism.

Disciples or Christians: Although rooted in the Cane Creek, Kentucky Great Revival of 1801, the Disciples and Christians of the movement would unite as one force in 1832. Scholars refer to them as the Stone-Campbell Movement. Their message of restoring the ancient church as described in the pages of the New Testament found fertile ground on the American Frontier of the Mid-West and South. It drew from all Protestant denominations, especially the Baptists. In the 1830s, a good percentage of the Baptist congregations in Kentucky and many in Tennessee would switch over to become a congregation known as the Disciples of Christ, Christian Church or Church of Christ. The name was more of a description than a church name.

Latter Day Saints: Founded in 1830 in Upstate New York, the early membership was drawn from seekers caught up in the last revival fires of the Second Great Awakening. Early Mormon membership would attract former Baptists, Universalists, Unitarians, Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterian and Congregationalists. They would also attract those involved in frontier folk-religion and folk-magic from the period. Although there were Mormon missions in Ireland since 1840, most Irish converts would join in Scotland and England, where they had already immigrated. They were of Protestant background.

Methodists: The Methodist would officially emerge out of the Church of England in 1795 and Church of Ireland in 1817. They had been functioning as study groups. In Ireland, some study groups had also been functioning within the Presbyterian Church. The first independent Irish Methodist congregations were in North America.

Plymouth Brethren: More appropriately called the Christian Brethren, Gospel Hall Brethren or just Christians, this Irish-born movement, provided a systematic approach to doctrines which are now associated with fundamentalist Protestantism. Their earliest membership, from the 1830s would draw from the Church of Ireland. They would later draw from conservative Protestants of all denominations, especially in Ulster.

Society of Friends: Drawing its early membership from the Church of England, Quakerism would spread to Ireland by the 1650s. There, English settlers would convert to the new radical faith. While strongly English, the Irish Quaker records do have many Gaelic and Scottish names on the membership rolls. The Quakers have a long history of immigration to North America.

Spiritualists: Officially recognized as a new religion in 1848, this new Upstate New York faith would draw from the reform minded people. In this aspect, they were similar to the early Millerites. This would include New England Transcendentalists, Congregationalist, Universalists, Shakers, post-Millerite Adventists, dissident Quakers, Suffrage and Abolitionist, and later reform-minded Utah Mormons.

If you would like help with your genealogy please call 385-214-0925.

Genealogy in Black and White

17 Feb By Dwight

In researching a mixed-race nineteenth century family in Barbados, my goal was to trace the Afro-Caribbean and European lines. My difficulty was in determining the race of the people in the Anglican (Church of England) parish registers.

The church registers are indexed and scanned. Using the online indexes exclusively actually confused my understanding of the records. After reviewing the Anglican parish registers page-by-page and doing some historical research, I developed a context of the society and its records.

The Historical Context

The slaves were freed in Barbados in 1834. The Anglican registers did not list race. A transitional apprenticeship program for a few years was introduced at that time. In 1838 it became illegal to discriminate against people of color.

The Complexities of the Records

From 1834, many adults, who had been slaves, were baptized into this particular parish. No parents were listed. Prior to 1834 there were special Slave Registers of parish members. My assumption would be the main register was reserved for all free persons, white or black.

From 1834 former slaves were having children baptized. Surnames of these children, if there were any, were not mentioned. Afro-Caribbeans families had to be traced by first name only. These were recorded on the same pages as people with first and last names. My assumption was if there was no last name then they were former slaves. If surnames were given, then the family could be white or black. I further narrowed this by assuming those who signed with an “X” were either poor illiterate blacks or whites. That helped separate families further by economics. If they signed, then I assumed they were more educated whites.

After emancipation, the number of mothers having children christened with no fathers listed was staggering. Were these illegitimate births without surnames? My conclusion was not necessarily. I noticed that around 1842, most families listed last names and the name of the father was recorded. Perhaps the Anglican priest did not consider the father’s name or surname important. Perhaps he simply didn’t care. Possibly by around 1842 the priest was conforming to the new anti-discrimination law (1838).

Lessons Learned

The lesson learned was, had I relied only on the index to the parish registers I would have missed a great deal of important information. I would have confused the white, poor white, free person of color, emancipated slave and those without surnames from at least 1834 to about 1842. My conclusion was that there was a several year process that merged the Afro-Caribbean membership and the white membership into one parish. The process was so complex, that an accurate online index could not do the subject justice.

If you are seeking professional assistance with your genealogical research you may call us at 385-214-0925.

Lessons From a Mixed-Up Parish

22 Jan By Dwight

St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Chatham, Northumberland County, New Brunswick, may be the most ethnically and religiously mixed-up parish I have ever researched for an Irish family. Known as “Chatham Parish,” its records (1838-1899) are indexed and digitized as part of the “Acadia, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1670-1946,” on Ancestry.com. The lessons I learned from a page-by-page search for my targeted Irish family both amazed and confused me.

Chatham drew varied ethnic groups, with the Irish and French Canadians being among the largest. It was tough to rely on the index as the originals were complex. There were smaller pieces of paper inserted in the binding to reflect dispensations to marry, notices signed by non-Catholic spouses concerning their children’s religious upbringing, and of people requesting proof of their baptism so they could be married elsewhere.

Then there were the records of people converting to Catholicism; the assumption being in preparation for marriage. In most cases, they were absolved from heresy and conditionally rebaptized. The exception seemed to be the Lutherans from Scandinavian countries. They were absolved from heresy and received on a profession of faith.

So what did I learn? Religion was not necessarily clear-cut in these areas of diverse immigration. Sometimes who was the Catholic party was not always clear-cut. The fluid nature of church membership was not confined to the Catholic parish. It also occurred in the Protestant denominations.

For example, my targeted husband and wife were listed as Catholic on their marriage. They were married by a Baptist minister, with the witnesses being Presbyterian. Depending on the censuses, the wife was listed as Catholic or Presbyterian. I finally proved she and her husband were at least from Catholic families, and they had one child christened by the Chatham Parish priest. The rest was up for grabs. Her second marriage was to an Anglican in the Anglican Parish. For the wife, the censuses revealed her father was born in England and her mother in Ireland. Perhaps another mixed-marriage!

My most important lesson was to be very careful with church records and always look at original registers rather than relying on an index. If I had only relied on the index, then I would have missed the entire context of what the Chatham Parish was all about.

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Reconstructing the Membership of a Congregation

9 Jan By Dwight

Often we find the church records we need were destroyed, never kept, or begin late. There are ways around this difficulty, but you have to think in terms of documenting and reconstructing membership from other sources. It is not that much different than creating a “census substitute” for an area, knowing the first complete census was 1901.

I recently did this with a small congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon) which met from 1850 to 1854 in Gorteen Townland, Geashill Civil Parish, County Offaly (King’s County). In 1854 they all emigrated. Here was my approach:

In early Mormonism, converts were expected to gather with the main body of the Saints to help build the Kingdom of God; known as Zion. From 1847 Zion was the Mormon colonies in the Rocky Mountain with Salt Lake City as its capitol. By understanding the historical context, this further opens up other records to help you. It also explains why all the Gorteen Townland Mormons were gone by 1854.

The Dublin Conference of the LDS British Mission has membership records 1850-57, and these provide the residence of the member; when they were baptized (adult baptism is practiced); removed elsewhere or emigrated. From these chronological records, I could identify all members from my targeted geographic area around Tullamore, County Offaly.

I then utilized records at the Family History Library, Church History Library and the Daughters of Utah Pioneer Library, all within walking distance of the other in Salt Lake City. I looked for journals, histories, newspaper accounts and acquired originals from references I found online.

In the end, I could reconstruct the membership and what happened to them upon immigrating, crossing the Great Plains and what they found upon entering the Mormon Zion.

I have used similar approaches with the Plymouth Brethren (Christian Brethren) to reconstruct membership for particular congregations in Ulster. I utilized the 1901 and 1911 censuses as my foundation as these do ask religious affiliation. Then I could compare my reconstructed congregation with Brethren directories and other sources.

The rule of thumb here is to not give up. When your records are scarce, be very creative and definitely “think outside the box.” You may be surprised what you discover!

If you would like professional help with your family history call us at: 385-214-0925.

Liverpool, England Catholic Registers Online

30 May By Dwight Leave a Comment

The Liverpool, England Catholic registers are online at Ancestry.com. However, they are easy to miss! It’s important to realize that on most databases for English records, when the term “parish” is used, it typically refers to the Protestant Church of England parish system. Although there were English Catholics who survived the Protestant Reformation, they met quietly, often in houses, and were considered non-conformists, just like any number of other churches. Prior to World War I, Catholic churches would have been considered a “chapel” rather than a parish.

The Church of England, which is part of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, became the state religion in 1559. Until 1829, when the Catholic Relief Act was passed, Catholics faced discrimination.

The Liverpool Catholic Records Collections

The collections, which are indexed and connected with the scanned images can be found in four Ancestry collections:

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Baptisms, 1802-1906”

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Confirmations, 1813-1920”

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Marriages, 1754-1921”

“Liverpool, England, Catholic Burials, 1813-1988”

The Liverpool Diocese was established in 1850, and most of the christenings, marriages and burials in these database would date from that time. It’s important to remember, it was the Irish Catholics flooding into the city, which would create huge parishes. The indexes can be searched by name and even by parent’s names if you know them. Also keep in mind that burial is not a sacrament in the Catholic Church, so parishes did not have to keep them. However, baptism and marriages were sacraments.

Importance of the Liverpool Databases

Liverpool was a major drawing place for ships leaving Ireland. Often passengers would disembark and either board another vessel, or they would stay for a while prior to moving elsewhere. This makes the Liverpool collections very important in your quest to document Irish ancestors.

Although Liverpool had one of the largest Catholic populations in England, it’s important to remember, that Catholics tended to register births, marriages and deaths less often with the government. Registration with the government became mandatory in 1874. The sketchy nature of Catholic registration with the government makes these Catholic databases a viable substitute. These are major databases for Irish immigrant research.

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Old Things Made New – Restorationism (Part 2)

18 Mar By Dwight Leave a Comment

In Part 2 of my discussion on Restorationism, I will focus on select traditions. I will briefly note what they consider to be their contributions to the Christian faith. For the deeper currents of thought, I have included at least one reference work.

Forms of Restoration Belief

Adventists: The post-Millerite Seventh-day Adventist Church is rooted in the “Great Disappointment” of 22 October 1844, when Christ’s Second Coming did not physically occur. They see themselves as a “reformation of the Reformation.” Restored ideas would include Saturday Sabbathkeeping, the gift of prophecy (through Ellen G. White), the correct interpretation of prophetic biblical writings, sleep-state of the dead, and the pre-Advent Judgment. Their status within the evangelical community is debated. For the deeper currents of mainline Adventist thought, consult the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (2000) edited by Raoul Dederen. For the life of Mrs. White, see The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia (2014) by Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon.

Baptists: Expressed from several directions, there is no one Baptist Church. Most would consider themselves evangelical. Others would see themselves as exclusive. Landmarkism is an example of Baptist Restorationism. Restoration ideas include believer’s baptism by full immersion after salvation, congregational government and the personal authority of the believer to interpret the Bible. Some denominations would add footwashing, Saturday Sabbathkeeping and a free-will theology. For a full discussion of the development of Baptist Thought, see James Leo Garrett’s Baptist Theology: a Four-Century Study (2009).

Christians (Disciples): Arising on the American Frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement called for Christian unity. This was to be accomplished through restoring the primitive New Testament church. By 1860, they had become the fifth largest church in the United States. Variations are extreme, ranging from Liberal Protestant ecumenical thought to strictly exclusive with no compromises. Historic Restorationist ideas include believer’s baptism for the remission of sins, congregational autonomy and using no denominational names – simply Christian or Disciple. Some would add forbidding instrumental music and choirs in worship; others admit them. For all expressions of this movement consult The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (2004), edited by Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant and D. Newell Williams. For some conservative theology consult Jack Cottrell’s The Faith Once for All: Bible Doctrine for Today (2002)

Holiness: Rooted as far back as the 1830s, a distinct evangelical holiness movement emerged out of North American and UK Methodism by the 1860s. Their emphasis was on John Wesley’s doctrine of Christian Perfection, termed Entire Sanctification. This constitutes a secondary experience and completes the process of salvation begun at conversion. Two excellent texts for discussing this specific concept is Diane Leclerc’s Discovering Christian Holiness: the Heart of Wesleyan-Holiness Theology (2010) and J. Kenneth Grider’s Entire Sanctification: The Distinctive Doctrine of Wesleyanism (1980).

Pentecostals: Rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement at the turn of the twentieth century United States, most Pentecostals would see themselves as evangelicals. Some scholars consider Pentecostals a new branch of Christianity. They see their mission is to restore the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to the world and usher in the Second Coming of Jesus. Currently, they are the second largest branch of Christianity worldwide with some half billion adherents. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (2002) edited by Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. Van Der Maas covers major movements, trends and theology.

Plymouth Brethren: Rooted in Dublin in 1827-8. Its largest impact has been in the UK, Ireland and in British Commonwealth countries. They see themselves as a restoration of the New Testament Church, with some Brethren seeing themselves as the only true church. There are varieties of “Open Brethren” and “Closed (Exclusive) Brethren.” They see their contribution as helping to restore and develop the Rapture Theology. A standard history is A History of the Brethren Movement: Its Origins, Its Worldwide Development and Its Significance for the Present Day (2001), by F. Roy Coad and F. F. Bruce. The enormously popular Scofield Study Bible (1909) building upon the Brethren approach has embedded Rapture Theology firmly into Evangelical Thought, especially in the United States.

Mormons: Founded in 1830 there developed several Latter Day Saint denominations. The largest is the Utah LDS Church. Their historic impact was in the development of Western North America with colonies stretching from southern Alberta down to northern Mexico. They see the New Testament church went completely apostate and needed a restoration through modern-day prophets, apostles and scripture. While Mormons consider themselves Christian, they are not Protestants. Scholars debate whether they are a new branch of Christianity or an emerging new world religion. The Utah church’s restored theology concerning “work for the dead,” including baptism for the dead, affects family history to no small degree. One contemporary work for Utah Mormon Thought is LDS Beliefs: A Doctrinal Reference (2011), edited by Robert Millet, Camille Fronk Olson, Andrew C. Skinner and Brent L. Top. For an in-depth academic treatment of founding prophet-president Joseph Smith, see Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (2005) by Richard Lyman Bushman.

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Old Things Made New – Restorationism (Part 1)

14 Mar By Dwight Leave a Comment

Restorationism is the theology that the primitive New Testament Church of 2,000 years ago either went underground or morphed into a complete apostasy with the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. This theology historically has been powerful force. It placed how to restore that ancient church in the hands of everyday people. Historically, it affected Protestant Irish and their descendants, beginning on the American Frontier and in Ulster, then spreading far and wide.

Restorationism Saw Something Lacking in Protestantism

Restorationism has taken many forms arising out of Protestantism. Variations of this theme are diverse. Historically, most have seen that the Protestant Reformation neglected important principles. Depending on the group, they either saw themselves as a reformation of the Reformation or bypassing it all together with particular Restoration principles. Thus, some Restorationists do not consider themselves Protestants.

How this played out in the developing United States has been documented in Richard T. Hughes and C. Leonard Allen’s work Illusions of Innocence: Protestant Primitivism in America, 1630-1875 (1988). On the surface, the variations of Restorationism seem unrelated. However, below the surface are many common themes, driving forces, spiritual rebellions and for the time period, radical thinking.

Differences in Restoration groups are usually the emphasis placed on particular concepts. In some cases, the application of the same principle plays out differently among groups.

Baptists and Christians (Disciples) Apply the Restoration Principles

For example, both the Baptist and the Christians (Disciples) see believer’s baptism by full immersion as an essential piece of restoring the primitive New Testament church. However, the application is totally different. In the Baptist tradition, baptism is not linked to salvation, but is a sign of commitment after the salvation experience. Salvation is by faith only. In the Christian (Disciples) tradition, the conservative branches teach baptism is essential to salvation. It is not separate from faith or the salvation experience.

Historically in some areas such as Kentucky and Tennessee, both traditions developed side by side to become very prominent as both competed for converts. If you’ve ever driven through rural Middle Tennessee and you see a church sign for the local Baptist Church of Christ, then do a double take. This is how Restoration principles played out on the local level as it combined elements of both the Baptists and the Christians (Disciples). Then do another double take and realize that you may be surrounded by Baptist congregations and Church of Christ congregations. Then you will see how powerful of a force Restorationism remains to this day in Middle Tennessee.

In Part 2 of this blog, I will discuss some major threads of Restorationism and what they considered needed to be restored. I will also provide at least one reference work for each tradition which will allow you to continue exploring this fascinating topic.

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Baptist Theology and the Written Record

7 Mar By Dwight Leave a Comment

Baptist records are a direct reflection of Baptist attitudes and theology. On the American frontier, Baptists spread like wildfire during the Second Great Awakening (1790-1830). However, records were not always kept for those converting in revival meetings.

Reasons Why Baptists Were Poor Record Keepers

Historically, many frontier ministers were not professionally trained. They “received a call from God” to preach and that was their credentials. A literate frontier minister was secondary to the “call to preach.” The reason for this is based in the idea that a person’s salvation was based upon a personal experience between the individual and God. Literacy was not the focus as salvation and God’s word was open to all people.

Aligned to this is the importance of the local congregation. If patterned after the ancient New Testament Church, then the local congregation of believers was qualified to their own inspiration. They were fully capable of interpreting and living the principles of the New Testament.

As the frontier was settled, congregations established, and education more available, records were generated. This helped document members, transfers in and out, donations, and disciplinary actions. All record keeping was at the judgment of the local congregation. The believers, as the congregation, together make up the body of Christ. The local congregation is a sacred Baptist concept.

Baptist Theology and the Records Left Behinds

In Baptist theology, salvation is an experience based upon the faith and confession of the believer. It is not based upon baptism. Baptism is by total immersion as a sign of commitment, faith and admission into the church. A record of the “believer’s baptism” may or may not have ever been kept.

An excellent introductory text is Bill J. Leonard’s Baptist Questions, Baptist Answers: Exploring Christian Faith (2009). For the development of Baptist doctrine see James Leo Garrett’s work Baptist Theology: A Four Century Study (2009). For contemporary in-depth systematic theologies representing a general Baptist or Baptist-Calvinistic perspective, I recommend:

Akin, Daniel L., ed. A Theology for the Church (2007). Position: Southern Baptist Convention; revised edition due in 2014.

Bird, Michael F., Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction (2013). General evangelical approach by an Australian Baptist theologian.

Enns, Paul, The Moody Handbook of Theology: Revised and Expanded (2008). Position: conservative evangelical and dispensationalist.

Erickson, Millard J., Christian Theology (3rd ed., 2013). Position: Baptist-Calvinistic and General Protestant.

Geisler, Norman L. Systematic Theology 4 vols. (2002-2005). Position: Baptist-Calvinistic, conservative evangelical. His four volume series is now condensed into one.

Grudem, Wayne, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (2000). Position: Baptist-Calvinistic, Charismatic and General Protestant.

Lewis, Gordon R. and Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology: Historical, Biblical, Systematic, Apologetic, Practical (1996). Position: conservative Baptist.

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Religious Texts May Not Yield the Gospel Truth

28 Feb By Dwight Leave a Comment

Sometimes I ask myself what exactly is the Gospel Truth in religious texts. Sources range from church registers, regional or denominational newspapers, congregational minutes, funeral and cemetery records to name a few.

Church Leaders are as Human as their Parishioners

As with any record, look at the context it was created. Do not assume because a minister, priest or local leaders authored a record that it stands beyond question. Church leaders have always been as human as anybody in the congregation. Perhaps they are held to a higher standard of accountability, but this is just a perception, if not a burden.

Cultural Influences Cloud What You See in the Records

If leaders and clergy were literate then this speaks of some type of education. This is important, especially if the flock was largely illiterate. However, there are two important factors to consider when judging both records and their authors:

There is often a disconnect between what any church teaches and its members practice. This opens up a wide array of both problems and solutions church leaders must resolve.

Church leaders are often seeing church doctrine through their own often localized perception. So issues in congregation or parish; may not be in another.

Church leaders created records based upon their own lenses of perception and personal issues. For example, a young couple comes before the disciplinary Elders in a Presbyterian congregation, comprised of older seasoned men, for what happened in the hay stack. The young couple may have a totally different perspective on the incident than the Elders. Also consider aside from Quakers, the majority of church leadership historically was male. So men are judging and writing about women’s issues.

Do Not Accept What Your Reading as Gospel Truth

The bottom line is when you view these records take into account the person writing the information. Once you understand their qualifications and their limitations, then you can more clearly judge what you are reading within a context. Don’t except what you read to be Gospel Truth concerning an incident or person.

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