I found when going through church records that people would appear in both Presbyterian or Church of Ireland records. I formed the opinion t hat the Landlords and probably their agents, were, for the most part,Church of Ireland, the established church, and that their tenants were obliged to show allegiance. Just as they were obliged to pay Tithes for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland. Landlords and their agents were powerful people and ordinary people were dependant on their good will. Access to land was the way to earn and prosper. Presbyterians were discriminated against though not to the same degree as Catholics, who formed the bulk of the population. I was always surprised to see all the Scottish names in The Church of Ireland records when I am almost sure they would have been Calvinist when in Scotland. Off course I suppose lots of those who came to Ireland were not religious at all and were more concerned with earning a living. A study of Irish history is a good! idea for anyone who wants to see the whole picture. Josephine

Hi Josephine, No doubt about it, you will never really understand your ancestors without studying their history. A few points that may help: 1. Yes, the Church of Ireland (Anglican) was the church of the establishment in County Tyrone and indeed the rest of Ulster and Ireland - the senior landlords, the judiciary and the central government and as such they did need to be respected. However, the immediate lessor, that is the person most people paid their rent to, the local farmer in other words, was almost invariably a Presbyterian of Scottish origin in counties like Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Antrim and Down. So they probably figured more in your life than the absentee landlord. Having said that, James Stewart, the Earl of Abercorn, who was the major landowner here in north Tyrone, was a very active and improving landlord who wrote numerous letters to his agents, such as James Stewart (no relation though the same name), giving detailed instructions about the tenants. So, none of this is straightforward. 2. A visit to any Church of Ireland graveyard in this part of Ulster will reveal many Catholic and Presbyterian names. But it would be a major mistake to think these people had converted to Anglicanism. No, the simple fact is that that is where the graveyards were, attached to Church of Ireland churches, quite simply because up until the mid 19th century, it was illegal to bury anywhere else and you will never find many graves much older than 1850 in Presbyterian or Catholic graveyards. There are exceptions such as Grange in Donagheady, which I have been working in recently, which does seem to have been not only Presbyterian but Covenanter (a more strict form of Presbyterian). And of course, when the laws were relaxed, Catholic and Presbyterian people did not dig up their parents and move them to a new graveyard! They continued to and still do continue to bury in the family plot in Church of Ireland graveyards such as Old Clonleigh, a mile from where I write this. One might be tempted to say, separated in life but united in death, were it not for the fact that in my experience, most of the locals actually rubbed along quite well together no matter what their religion. 3. The Church of Ireland was very much a minority religion in Ulster and yet it was the Church of Ireland which ran most services in the 18th and 19th centuries. There was very little central government control back then and no local authority such as county councils. It was the local Parish Church council (Church of Ireland parish) which built roads, looked after the poor, took "foundling children" to the Foundling Hospital in Dublin, raided homes looking for illicit distilling and raised local taxes, called the cess, in order to pay for these services. But, there were simply not enough local Anglican worthies to run the local vestry or parish council. This is why about nine or ten out of the twelve vestrymen in my local parish church records, the Parish of Taughboyne, were usually Presbyterians of Ulster Scots origin. Yes, the Presbyterians ran local affairs because, quite simply, the Anglicans needed them. So, though the law may have discriminated against them, in effect, it was Presbyterians who controlled much of what happened locally. So, yes, you are right, Presbyterians were not discriminated against in the same way as Catholics were. 4. One small point; in many Ulster counties, Presbyterians not Catholics were the majority population. And I think it would be safe to assume that almost everyone, no matter what the denomination, was indeed very religious back in the 19th century. Nevertheless, compromises had to be made. As I said, none of this is simple but if you strive to understand it, you will make more sense of your family history research. Regards, Boyd Gray http://familytrees.genopro.com/boydgray26/Boyd/default.htm http://www.westulstergenealogy.com/ http://www.facebook.com/westulstergenealogy -----Original Message----- From: cotyroneireland-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:cotyroneireland-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Frances McBride via Sent: 19 April 2015 12:49 To: COTYRONEIRELAND@rootsweb.com Subject: [CoTyIre] Church records I found when going through church records that people would appear in both Presbyterian or Church of Ireland records. I formed the opinion t hat the Landlords and probably their agents, were, for the most part,Church of Ireland, the established church, and that their tenants were obliged to show allegiance. Just as they were obliged to pay Tithes for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland. Landlords and their agents were powerful people and ordinary people were dependant on their good will. Access to land was the way to earn and prosper. Presbyterians were discriminated against though not to the same degree as Catholics, who formed the bulk of the population. I was always surprised to see all the Scottish names in The Church of Ireland records when I am almost sure they would have been Calvinist when in Scotland. Off course I suppose lots of those who came to Ireland were not religious at all and were more concerned with earning a living. A study of Irish history is a good! idea for anyone who wants to see the whole picture. Josephine ------------- Our community web-site: http://cotyroneireland.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to COTYRONEIRELAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message