Dear all, Thank you for (especially Rev Andrews, Linda and Robert of Ulster Ancestry) for giving us a precise summary of the several shades of Presbyterianism which have been, and still are, present in our society here. Whilst researching the CHESTNUT family of my great-grandmother (Jane ca.1855 - 1914) the frequent splits in the Presbyterian Church were apparent. The family seemed to worship at Toberdoney Presbyterian Church in Billy Parish, North Antrim. This church is described in the Ordnance Survey memoirs of 1837 as "An Original Secession Church". At some date in the early/mid 1800s there was a split and part of the congregation set up a church at Benvardin. Probably as a result of this split, the church records were lost. Benvardin church does not now exist. Sandra: Another point concerns burials directly. The right to bury in a particular church burying ground belongs to the family. I think that it passes to the youngest surviving male (of full age - over 21) of the family. This means that a large plot may continue to be used by family members even though the religion has changed since the rights were granted. My lot had such rights at Mosside Presbyterian Church, County Antrim, granted in the latter half of the 1800s. The family continued to bury there until the mid-1950s even though they had moved to the other side of Ballymoney by then. Norman http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlantbp/ for the inscriptions at the old burying ground at Billy Parish Church, County Antrim.

> > Thank you for (especially Rev Andrews, Linda and Robert of Ulster > Ancestry) for giving us a precise summary of the several shades of > Presbyterianism which have been, and still are, present in our society > here. Yes, thanks very much! And thanks to Norman for adding his points below. I now have a much better idea of how it all worked and why. Sandra > Sandra: Another point concerns burials directly. The right to bury in a > particular church burying ground belongs to the family. I think that it > passes to the youngest surviving male (of full age - over 21) of the > family. This means that a large plot may continue to be used by family > members even though the religion has changed since the rights were > granted. My lot had such rights at Mosside Presbyterian Church, County > Antrim, granted in the latter half of the 1800s. The family continued to > bury there until the mid-1950s even though they had moved to the other > side of Ballymoney by then. > > Norman > http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlantbp/ for the inscriptions at the old burying > ground at Billy Parish Church, County Antrim. >