Ireland Methodist Church Records

In 1746 a Methodist society began in Dublin. The following year, John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism, visited Ireland. John Wesley urged his Irish followers to attend the Church of Ireland. Some followed his counsel; others chose to worship with the Quakers or Presbyterians instead.

At the 1816 Methodist conference in Ireland, the presiding body decided that Methodists should be baptized, be married by, and receive communion from their own ministers rather than from ministers of other churches. This proposed change resulted in a schism within the movement. Those who chose to continue affiliating with the Church of Ireland became known as the Primitive Methodists. The Wesleyan Methodists, the larger of the two groups, started their own church, kept their own records, and set up congregations throughout Ireland. Other splinter groups included the New Connexion and the Primitive Methodist Connexion. In 1878 the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodists united. The two Connexion groups rejoined the main body in 1932.

Methodist records consist mainly of baptism and marriage records. Baptism records show the child’s name, parents, and birth date and place. Marriage records show the names of the bride and groom, and the marriage date and place. Since there were few Methodist cemeteries, death or burial records are rare. Methodists were usually buried in Church of Ireland cemeteries, and their burial records kept in Church of Ireland registers.

The following are a few Web sites that tell you more about Methodist records.
 * http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor/browse/records/church/methodist/index.htm
 * www.genuki.org.uk/big/ChurchRecords.html
 * http://rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/text/method.html

The Family History Library has only a few Methodist Church records. Look in the Family History Library Catalog to see if it refers you to a record for your parish.


 * 1) Go to www.familysearch.org
 * 2) Click the Library tab
 * 3) Click Family History Library Catalog.
 * 4) Click Place Search.
 * 5) Type the name of a parish and click Search.
 * 6) Click on the name that matches your request.
 * 7) Scroll down and click the topic ChurchRecords.
 * 8) Click on a title.
 * 9) Click View Film Notes to find the film numbers.