INDICATIONS OF NONCONFORMISTS IN YOUR ANCESTRY

Is there a tradition of nonconformity in family religious affiliation?

Earlier generations such as grandparents who were known to be nonconformists attending chapel rather than church is a clear sign.

Many nonconformists embraced teetotalism and some families had certain recipes used for years by nonconformists; these would have been passed down the generations. But none of this is exclusive to nonconformists. 

If you spot more than one baptism for the same person, perhaps many years apart and usually in different churches, that is a sign of nonconformity. This can be challenging if birth information is not given each time. Beware also of naming patterns so generations are not mixed up. Look for proof of the birth of each child, or evidence of the death of the first one.

For a short period in the late 1600s, Church of England clergy were required to keep a record of all persons born in the parish. Some registers show all dissenters listed at the back of a register. In some registers a child may be shown without a forename as clergy considered a child did not receive a name until baptism, usually as an infant. Many clergy also made a clear note in the register that the child being recorded was from a dissenting family. Quakers and Baptists in particular did not believe in infant baptism.

Baptism later in life, usually after the age of seven, is known as an adult baptism and this can suggest that the parents were not Church of England. Ages or birth dates may or may not be shown in the register. The existence of an adult Anglican baptism just before a marriage could also suggest that an ancestor was not Church of England at birth. Usually where an adult baptism occurs, either the age or at least the notation “adult” is recorded in a baptism register. In a few cases baptism could be in middle or old age if the person needed parish assistance. In some periods of history, people were unable to marry in the Church of England unless they were baptised members.  

Sometimes baptisms of the sick or elderly may have been required if they had been nonconformists so as to qualify for parish relief.

When a committed nonconformist parent died, a surviving spouse may have had the children baptised in the Church of England because they were not fully nonconformist in their beliefs. This is a good clue as to which side of the family followed nonconformity.

If families had group baptisms, which may have included adults, this can indicate a previous period of nonconformity. Sometimes, even if children were christened as infants, if they became members of a nonconformist denomination they had to be rebaptised if they reverted to the Church of England.

A Church of England baptism of an adult just before marriage is a strong indication of no previous baptism, hence possibly of nonconformist parents.

The question of marriage will often provide clues to nonconformity. A clandestine marriage could suggest nonconformity; the elusive marriages of navy personnel or a soldier may also provide clues to religious affiliation. Many military and naval service records also indicate a person’s religious affiliation.

A post-1837 marriage in a nonconformist chapel could indicate that the bride’s family were not Church of England because couples usually married in bride’s parish or locality.

Many denominations had their own burial grounds; some nonconformists may even have been buried in their own gardens.

A burial in unconsecrated ground in a cemetery or churchyard suggests possible nonconformity even though an entry was recorded in a parish burial register. There could also be a newspaper obituary or a denominational obituary. Some obituaries originally published in nonconformist periodicals may be preserved within a family archive.

Gravestones or memorials may provide signs of a nonconformist affiliation; these were denoted by an inscribed grave symbol or phrase of scripture. For example, an orb and cross were frequently used on gravestones of Methodists. Non-religious symbols could also indicate nonconformity but try not to mix them up with symbols relating to military, naval, Masonic or similar society affiliations.

A will often specifies burial instructions and is likely to do so if the testator wished to be buried in a denominational graveyard or cemetery. Some wills detail bequests to nonconformist congregations or chapels. Before 1858 when all wills were proved by the ecclesiastical courts, it was not unusual for a nonconformist's will to be proved by civil lawyers. In such circumstances most of these wills were proved using the Prerogative Courts of Canterbury or York (PCC or PCY).

In matters of probate an executor would affirm rather than swear an oath.

Often nonconformists feature regularly in Ecclesiastical Court records and Churchwardens' Presentments - for not taking communion, not attending church, not baptizing children, living together as man and wife when not married in Anglican church, or teaching at schools without a bishop's licence. Sometimes the cases spilled over and might appear in the quarter sessions records.

Nonconformists were very committed to their religion; they were keen on education and lobbied for social reforms.

Nonconformist men tended to avoid military or naval service, particularly in times of war. Rather than being involved in combat, they often worked in organisations such as Friends' Ambulance Unit, RAMC.

Family archives are likely to include bibles, nonconformist books and tracts or Sunday school materials which may refer to a specific nonconformist chapel or denomination.

Children attending nonconformist schools, one of the dissenting academies or non-Oxbridge universities, particularly Durham and London.