Question about non-conformist burials

[Merry]

Nothing to add to BK6 from this thread

In the mid-1700s if a town had several non-conformist places of worship, but only a couple of them had a burial ground, is it more likely they would accept other non-conformist burials or would it be more likely those would end up in the C of E churchyard?

Any wild guesses would also be appreciated! lol

[Olde Crone]

OK, my own examples, but not probably universal.....

Darwen, Lancashire. An isolated hilltop/moorland village in the mid 1700s, rabidly non conformist. Two official nonconformist places of worship, one with its own burial ground, the other not.

No C of E church actually in the village, although there was a chapel of ease a bit down the hill with a small burial ground. The nearest C of E church burial ground was in Blackburn, some 3-7 miles away, depending on whether you lived lower or upper Darwen.

In the winter, thick snow on the upper moorland meant the village was cut off completely. No burials took place, snow too deep, eeuuurgh...when the thaw came, some were buried noncon ground, some taken down to Blackburn, some to the chapel of ease.

However, Darwen is not a good example as the inhabitants were all completely cuckoo anyway and would fight with their own shadows.

Remeber the Parish graveyard had a duty to bury all parishioners no matter what their religious persuasion. The nonconformist churches had no such obligation and in my limited experience of Darwen, the noncon factions hated each other more than they hated the established church and literally, wouldn't have been seen dead in each other's burial grounds!

OC

[Merry]

Thanks OC.

My ancestors don't seem to be buried in their home parish, but the nearest town was only a couple of miles away, so I was thinking maybe they were in a non-con burial ground rather than in a C of E one. I hadn't realised the non-con ones (a couple of them) went back far enough to accommodate William Maynard who died within a year of 1765 and his wife who died in 1749/50.

In fact, having read the very long list of non-con records for Bedford, only the United Bretheren burial ground has records far enough back. What's the United Bretheren? I know what the Plymouth Bretheren are!

[Olde Crone]

Yes, that's another problem - the records for the noncons can be rather patchy as they weren't obliged to keep records anyway and certainly some of mine seemed to believe they personally owned any records.

A schism in one of the noncon chapels resulted in half the congregation offing to a new start along with the records AND several disinterred corpses!!!!! I only know about this because it was widely reported in the local rag at the time, the records have not been recovered.

United Brethren.....ummm, some kind of Methody?

OC

[Mary from Italy]

Possibly Moravians?

The Moravian Church or Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine is a mainline Protestant denomination. Its religious heritage began in Kunvald late 14th century Bohemia (modern Czech Republic). Its official name is Unitas Fratrum[1] meaning Unity of the Brethren (not to be confused with the small Unity of the Brethren church based in Texas).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_Church

[Uncle John]

United Bretheren sounds like a splinter of the Plymouth Bretheren. Not Moravian, that is still going quite strong in its own name in various outposts in the UK of which Bedford is one. A joint Moravian/URC church closed only a year or so ago and there is another Moravian church in Bedford.

[Olde Crone]

Surprisingly difficult - googling only brings up references to US-based churches.

Mary - I do have one lot who adhered to the Moravian church. they were always clearly denominated as Moravians, not United Brethren. (Incidentally, the Moravian church kept the best and most comprehensive records I have ever seen, giving virtually a family history for every life event!)

OC

[Merry]

The Moravians seem to have a separate church to the United Bretheren:

http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/FamilyHistory/Non-AnglicanRegisters.aspx

[Merry]

Incidentally, the Moravian church kept the best and most comprehensive records I have ever seen, giving virtually a family history for every life event!)

OC

No chance of my lot being Moravian then!

[HarrysMum]

Merry.................There are a stack of Maynards in the non-con register, but no Williams at those dates.

Give me a hoy if you want anything checked.

[Merry]

Thanks Libby!

I don't know where you are looking, but I always check any index for anyone called Nathan Maynard or Levi Maynard as these names are unusual and recur a lot in the Maynard lines.

[Mary from Italy]

You can find non-con records here (pay-per view):

http://www.bmdregisters.co.uk/

They're also available on the Genealogist, which is a subscription site.

[Merry]

Thanks Mary, that's the site that's helped me to make a few in-roads lately!