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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2004-08 > 1093446906


From: "Linda Merle" <>
Subject: Re: [Sc-Ir] Search for ancestor in Ireland 1855-1865 (Methodists)
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 08:15:26 -0700


Hi folks,

A webpage is not a primary source. Any duffus can develop
a webpage and fill it erroneous information. As genealogists,
surely we know that by now as the genealogy stuff is the worse.

There are websites that do post primary sources but even
a COPY of a church register is subject to several types of
errors: transcription errors, interpretation errors, and
errors made typing the stuff into the webpages. As even
pros have a transcription error rate of 10% .... well, there's
errors in copies of anything up there on the Internet.
Scans are better -- then we get to make the transcription
errors when copying them into our notes <grin>!

In the definitive work on Irish genealogy "Irish and
Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research" by Falley there is a whole
chapter on Methodists in Ireland. She recounts the history
from its founding in 1747 (p 335). If you check her or other
books on Irish genealogy they all say the same thing: "The
majority were members of the Established Church" (p 335).
The same is true, by the way, for English Methodists (check
"Ancestral Trails" by Herber).

On the same page Falley makes an important statement:
"The Wesleyan Methodist Society appealed almost equally to
Presbyterians. When they joined the Society, they also
remained members of the Presbyterian Church until after
1816 when they began to assert their independence." This
is because, according to the sources I've read, Wesley didn't
intend to found a new church but to reform the existing one.

On pages 338-339 Falley quotes the "History of the Church
of Ireland" by Johnston, Robinson and Jackson (Dublin,
1953, p 245) which quotes two of Wesley's rules that he
as a clergyman of the Established Church, impressed on his
followers: "KEEP TO THE CHURCH. ....I will suffer no meetings under any pretext to be held during Church hours. When
Methodists leave the Church, God will leave them." and
"Lose no opportunity of receiving the Sacrament."

Consequently when researching Methodists in Ireland before
establishment of separate denominations you always, always,
always check established church records -- and as we can see,
above, you'd best check the Presbyterians as well.

Methodism was first spread in large evangelical meetings.
Ulster was very familiar with these kinds of meetings.
With little TV and since many didn't read, religion was
entertainment, so many people would attend these meetings
no matter their religion -- the same as their grandparents
did in the earlier times of religious fervor (this hit
Ulster like epidemics every few years). So you had conversions
from all other religions at them including Catholics.....
I suspect they resulted in lots of marriages to the wrong
type of people as well!

Linda Merle

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Eilis O'Hara" <>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 00:28:18 +0100 (BST)

>Here's the information from the Methodist Church in
>Ireland website which explains the Church was
>established in 1878. I gave you the link to the site.
>The Church of Ireland (Anglican) was disestablished
>as the official church in 1871 and issued a new Book
>of Common Prayer in 1878 when the Methodist Episcopal
>Church separated.
>
>"The Methodist Church in Ireland was established as a
>separate denomination in 1878. It had originally been
>an evangelistic movement within the Established
>Church. However, the ordination of its own ministers
>and the increasing disassociation many Methodists felt
>from the Anglican Church, meant that separation was
>inevitable."
>
>Eilis O'Hara
>
>
>
>________________________________________________________________________
>Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping"
>your friends today! Download Messenger Now
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>





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