Church Records and Gravestone Inscriptions

Registers of Baptims, Burials and Marriages

Because the civil registration of births deaths and marriages did not take place before the latter part of the nineteenth century it is necessary to search church records for details of baptisms, burials and marriages. And, even after 1864 when civil registration of births, etc. was compulsory it is often easier to use the church registers of baptims, burial and marriages to find information on particular persons and families.

The most recent church registers are, understandably, still in the custody of local churches. Anyhow, these are probably not the registers you would wish to consult. Many of the earlier registers for the nine counties of Ulster have been microfilmed by PRONI and there is a published guide to Church Records which will tell you what is available for a particular parish. The guide is organised alphabetically by civil parish and within each civil parish the churches are arranged alphabetically by denomination which are in turn arranged alphabetically. Where the name of a church is different from the civil parish, a cross-reference is given to the parish where the church is located.

The links below will take you to two of the pages in that guide relating to the civil parishes of Ballymoney and Kilraghts. These pages will tell you what registers are available, the datesthey cover and the PRONI reference number. Most of the records held in PRONI are in microfilm format, but there also some transcripts of the originals and some registers are still held in local custody.

Remember that many of the Church of Ireland records were lost in the 1922 fire in the Four Courts. Also, the further back you go in time recording of baptisms, burials and deaths is usually more sporadic. Note that Roman Catholic records rarely exist before the nineteenth century.

Church of Ireland registers can be also be consulted in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin and Presbyterian records in the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast. The Mormon Church  also holds microfilm copies of many baptisms, burials and marriages for the province at its Holywood Road Centre in Belfast.

Gravestone Inscriptions

Another useful source are the inscriptions on gravestones. Initially graveyards were usually attached to churches but in more recent times public cemeteries have replaced church graveyards as the main burying places. In earlier times the only graveyards were those attached to the Church of Ireland. So, if you are looking for an early inscription for any religion then you need to visit the Church of Ireland graveyard. Certainly my ancestors, who were Presbyterians, are buried in Ballymoney Old Churchyard.

A useful source is the History from Headstones web site. Note that this site will give you some free information. However, for more details, you will have to pay.