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Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2004-08 > 1093450817


From: "Linda Merle" <>
Subject: Re: [Sc-Ir] Search for ancestor in Ireland 1855-1865 (Methodists)
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 09:20:36 -0700


Hi Eilis,

I certainly didn't mean to even imply that the Methodists
of anywhere are duffuses or don't know their own history.
However lots of people who do websites put up erroneous
info. So you don't take a website as a definitive source.
You instead seek one out. My comments were meant to be
taken generally.

I suspect the info on the Methodist website is correct.
For myself I will still use this book I got as it is definitive
and has a lot more information than than the website as
well which is probably not intended to be a resource for
doing genealogy in Ireland, while this book I have -- IS.
So it's more complete and even agrees with the Methodists
regarding their very own history.

Linda Merle

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Eilis O'Hara" <>
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 17:12:14 +0100 (BST)

>Linda,
>
>I would caution not to call the official Methodist
>Church in Ireland website as being developed by any
>"duffus" and filled with erroneous information. I
>think the Church hierarchy may take some exception to
>that!
>
>Perhaps you didn't realise the link I posted was to
>the official website and you assumed the website was
>either mine or belonging to some other individual.
>
>Eilis O'Hara
>
> --- Linda Merle <> wrote:
>> 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
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>
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