Presbyterian churches in Tyrone

[blockislandjudith]

Hello,

I am researching the family names Ferguson, Fleming, and Norris in Co Tyrone.  I do not have a place name.  I do know that they were Presbyterian.  Are there many many Presbyterian religious parishes in the county or just a few?  I run into church records from time to time and do not know how much time to spend in them.  Thanks.

Judith

[aghadowey]

Hello again. Presbyterian churches are organised into Presbyteries (parishes can be Roman Catholic or Church of Ireland and there are also civil parishes). There are lots of Presbyterian churches in Co. Tyrone so you really do have to know where a person in order to start looking for church records. There are 3 Presbyterian churches in Cookstown alone.
There are also Reformed Presbyterian churches which are separate from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and some older congregations which split from the main churches years ago.

[blockislandjudith]

Hello,

Thank you for this.  Hope I am not being a pest, but I am working hard on this - it is a gift to my mother who will celebrate her 100th birthday on November 30th. 

I do understand about the importance of finding a place name, but I have no other family resources to check.  So I am literally combing through everything I can find to establish some connections that may be meaningful. 

I do now have some tentative connections between the names Ferguson, Norris and Fleming.  These are the only names my mother knows. 

I found an interesting map describing Presbyterian Churches in Tyrone which I am including in case someone else is interested in this topic.  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tyrone/church/churchrec/map-presbyterian.html

Thanks again.  I may be back with more technical questions. 

[blockislandjudith]

Hello,

This seems like an unusual batch (C012039) of records to me.  They
 are:

All -  Co. Tyrone
All -  year 1866 (civil registration started 1864)
All -  no town or parish identified

No source provided.  I am trying to picture how such a group of records came together.  There is another batch C701237 that includes Quarterly Return of Births 1864  on from GRO.  Does anyone have any insight into the specifics of the IGI batches for Co. Tyrone?  Does anyone have a complete list of them?

Thanks very much.   

[aghadowey]

C012039 is a batch number for IGI 'Extracted birth or christening record for the locality listed in the record. The source records are usually arranged chronologically by the birth or christening date.'

[blockislandjudith]

Hi,

Thanks.  Do you have a minute to look at the batch - it is an unusual one.  It is one where no source is listed.  Also no locations other than Tyrone for all records and all records are 1866.  Just thought someone else might have noticed this too.  It pertains to a confusion I am having with Ann Ferguson born 1865 or 1866.  There are two of them that seem relevant and one of them shows up in this odd batch.  I am trying to figure out if they might both be the same person. 

Judith

[aghadowey]

If you go to IGI search page and put in 'British Isles'  'Ireland'  'Tyrone'  'C012039' then press 'search' all the entries in Co,. Tyrone for that batch will be shown. The 'C' in the batch number means they are church christening records or civil birth registration records. Suspect they could be from birth registrations.
Two Ann Fergusons?- are the parents names the same? and the birth day and month identical?

[blockislandjudith]

Hello,

The procedure you describe is exactly what I did.  There are 261 records with no source and no parish and no towns.  They are all 1866 - all 261 records.  So I am guessing they are not church - but rather civil.  Looks like somebody gathered up a bunch of 1866 birth registrations somewhere and didn't label them at all.  Probably means nothing in the end. 

My Annie Ferguson's father's name is William J and mother is Margaret.  These things I know from my own local research.  Her birthday (month and day is May 22nd by family recollection). She is from Tyrone. She was Presbyterian.  Alll of the above fact are from family recollection. 

I am looking at two IGI records

From batch C700151 which includes Arboe Parish Church(Church of Ireland?)  and Brigh Church (Presbyterian)
Anne Ferguson b 22 May 1865
Father: William John Ferguson
Mother: Margaret
Born:  Arboe, Tyrone

It would help greatly if I knew the mother's maiden name and if I knew whether this record is from Arboe Parish Church or Brigh Church.  The birth day (month and year) is exact, but the year of birth is one to two years earlier than my subsequent local records (census, marriage etc.) would place it. 

From batch C012039 (which is the odd batch described above)
Ann Ferguson b 29 May 1866
Father William J. Ferguson
Mother:  Margaret Norris
Born , Tyrone
(From a paid search, I also have the civil registration of this birth, the birth of a brother David, and the marriage of the parents,)

The second record is very tempting because there is a family connection (undefined at this point) with the name Norris.  But, the marriage is listed at Arboe Church  - which I believe is Church of Ireland and the birth day (month and year is wrong)

So, short of getting on a plane, I don't know what to do next.  I would be happy to use the paid search again for the first record, but they do not list an Ann Ferguson born in 1865. 

Thanks for listening.  Appreciate any advice you can offer.  I am eagerly awaiting the LDS publication of the recent civil registrations. If I could follow both Anns until their path's diverged, I could figure this out.  My Ann came to the US in about 1885. 

Judith

[aghadowey]

Yes, see the problem now. C012039 is almost certainly from civil records but C700151 from church records (and film notes don't give an clue as to what church). If from church records the 'birthdate' could be what's written in the baptismal register (minister could have written wrong date, etc.).
If you order the C700151 film from your local LDS library you could probably find the source.