Journey Home Genealogy

Irish Genealogical Research | Dwight Radford

Call Today! 801.699.2450

Or send us an Email

Plunging the Depths of Your Presbyterian Ancestors

11 Jul By

Why do people do what they do? In a staunch religious family, the reasons often have to do with their beliefs. Not only does faith in a particular set of doctrines inform the believer, but it shapes their worldview. This is especially powerful if that belief is considered unique truth.

In the case of our Presbyterian ancestors, they were shaped by a specific interpretation of the Bible. They saw themselves as a chosen Covenant People with a special mission.

The Calvinist Family Tree

The Calvinist branch of Protestantism consist of many regional and cultural expressions. These include Presbyterian (Scottish and Scots-Irish), Reformed (Dutch, German, Hungarian), and Congregational (English Puritans). In some parts, Calvinism became mixed into various Baptist, Methodist and evangelical groups. By understanding their belief system, we can grasp who Calvinists were and how their beliefs played a part in forming their family histories. This is especially important if you are writing a family history. You will want to get all the facts correct!

Calvinist Systematic Theology Works

Below you will find my favorite hard-core Calvinist theological reference books. Keep in mind theology informs culture just as much as culture informs theology. So emphasis do change over the centuries in the interpretation of practice and belief. My list will detail systematic theology books, which give all the details! Any of the works below are worth your investment.

There is cross over between Calvinist and Baptist-Calvinist theological works. I am limiting my bibliography to one-volume Calvinist systematic theology works. Whether a theological work is Presbyterian, Reformed or Puritan (Congregational) in background, all have solid information. The books below will provide you with answers to questions and by default will give insight into your ancestors in areas such as baptism, Covenant Theology, church administration, the family, marriage, communion, and the core Calvinist worldview.

Bibliography of Calvinist Systematic Theologies

Bavinck, Herman and John Bolt, ed. Reformed Dogmatics: Abridged in One Volume (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academics, 2011). This is an abridgement of Herman Bavinck’s (1854-1921) massive four volume work written in The Netherlands and considered by many to be the one of the most important Reformed theological works of the twentieth century. The editor, Dr. Bolt, is professor of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Beeke, Joel R., Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism (Orlando, Florida: Reformation Trust, 2008). This work outlines the very heart of Calvinism for the modern reader. Dr. Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor in the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation.

Beeke, Joel R. and Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Reformation Heritage Books, 2012). A groundbreaking treatment of English Puritan teachings. This work represents the most comprehensive exposition on English Puritan theology. Dr. Beeke is president at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and Mark Jones is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Berkhof, Louis, Systematic Theology: New Combined Edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996). Dr. Berkhof, was a Dutch-American theologian, and pastor in the Christian Reformed Church. He was a professor at Calvin Seminary and is one of the often quoted Calvinist theologians. This edition combines his classics Introductory Volume to Systematic Theology (1932) and Systematic Theology (1938).

Boice, James Montgomery, Foundations of the Christina Faith: A Comprehensive & Readable Theology (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1986). Dr. Boice was pastor of the 10th Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. This work combines four of his theological books.

Frame, John M., Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P & R Publishing, 2013). Dr. Frame holds the J.D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary. An abridgement of his four volume systematic theology, this work is highly readable and understandable.

Horton, Michael, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2010). Dr. Horton, is a pastor in the United Reformed Churches in North America, and Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. In this award winning book, he wrote what some consider to be one of the most important contemporary Reformed systematic theology books.

Reymond, Robert L. 2d rev. ed. A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1998). Dr. Reymond, was former Dean of Faculty and Professor of Systematic Theology at Knox Theological Seminary. He was a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. .

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

 

 

Who Were Your Ancestor’s Associates

21 Feb By Leave a Comment

I was tracing a Scots-Irish man in Central Pennsylvania. He married at a particular Presbyterian Church in 1808. He never owned land and moved in 1814 without much of a paper trail. Now What?

Creating a Research Strategy

I began studying the records of that particular Presbyterian congregation concentrating on the period 1800-1814. I figured he had to be associated with someone in that congregation for some reason. On the frontier, people just did not travel alone. My logic was to identify a group of people whom he may have known and immigrated with from Ulster. This period put me in touch with the 1800 and 1810 censuses. Fortunately, the admissions to communion (1807-1842), dismissals (1807-1840), marriages (1807-1841), baptisms (1807-1839) and deaths (1808-1839) had all been extracted and published in 1895 in the periodical Notes and Queries: Historical and Genealogical Chiefly Relating to Interior Pennsylvania.

Developing the Research Strategy

While most of the records began in 1807, I learned it was an older congregation from an 1884 church history also published in this periodical. I learned it shared a minister with a nearby congregation for many years. That other congregation had records back to 1741.

The key here was my subject was not among the older established families, but a latecomer after 1800. Also published for the congregation was a Subscription List (1771). This helped me identify older established family from the latecomers. The associates of my targeted frontiersman would have been among the latecomers.

I now have a method of separating out the old families from those who arrived after 1800. I can begin studying who was associated with the person I was researching. This would further open up tax lists, wills and land records. Remember, the idea here is that to identify where one of the potential associates came from in Ulster is to potentially identify where my subject also originated.

If you need the help of a professional in developing and implementing a research strategy Contact Us.

Did You Look at the Session Minutes?

17 May By Leave a Comment

Session minutes of Presbyterian churches concern the daily affairs of the congregation and often predate the registers of births and marriages by as much as a century. It is within the body of the minutes that lurid details about your ancestor’s life may be found as church leaders dealt with discipline cases. Session minutes sometimes contain references to vital events such as baptisms and marriage. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland in Belfast: www.proni.gov.uk and the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland (PHSI): www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com  have large collections of these from all branches of the Presbyterian faith in Ireland. Each has its own online catalog. If not deposited, then session minutes may still be with the local congregation.

One major example of how you need to consider several repositories in the search for records is the case of the Presbyterian congregation of Aghadowey, County Londonderry. It was from the geographic area around this congregation that the first wave of Scots-Irish, as a group, came to Colonial America in 1718: www.1718migration.org.uk  They founded Londonderry, New Hampshire. While baptismal registers survive for the Aghadowey Presbyterian Church from 1855 and marriages from 1845, the PHSI has session minutes (1702-1761), which of course pre-dates that first important emigration. Interspersed with these session minutes are notations of early marriages. A study of those colonial Londonderry, New Hampshire families would not be complete without consulting these early session minutes.

A typical session minute book will be in manuscript form and arranged chronological. It will include communion lists, some vital information, disciplinary actions, accounting records, membership records alongside business minutes for the congregation.

American Frontier Religion

2 May By Leave a Comment

The frontier population was un-churched, with few ministers and priests. Do not automatically assume your Kentucky Catholic ancestors remained with the church, or your Tennessee Scots-Irish ancestors were ever baptized Presbyterian. The “Second Great Awakening” (1790-1830) began to change the un-churched frontier. Congregations were organized, ministers ordained, schools and seminaries established. From these fires were birthed an American Christianity, such as the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement (Disciples/Christians), and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Both had a heavy Scots-Irish membership. In Upstate New York, the revival fires lingered birthing Mormonism (1830), Adventism (1844) and Spiritualism (1848).

Record keeping was affected by the education of the ministers. Among Baptists, the only qualification to preach may have been a “called of God,” and the minister may have been barely literate. Church organization affected records. Some were not organized outside the local congregation, as with Disciples/Christians. Others were home-based such as Spiritualism, where the medium, was often the woman of the house. All of this may or may not have created a paper trail.

Some solutions were brilliantly devised to address frontier life. The Methodists pioneered the circuit rider who would have a set route on horseback. Various communities knew where they fell on the schedule, at which time everybody would turn out. This concept was mimicked by the Swedenborgians and Catholic priests. Circuit riders kept scattered records.

Theology also influenced records. Baptists, Disciples/Christians, Mormons and Adventists, baptized believers eliminating the need for an infant christening. Separate births may or may not have been kept. Membership was counted at the time of the baptism.

In frontier research, tax and land records are usually consulted prior to church registers. This does not mean you don’t look at them, they may be just a little further down on the research list.

Blog