Marriages in Northern Ireland

[Jardiner]

Until 1782 it was illegal for Presbyterian ministers to perform marriages and it was not until 1845 before all restrictions were lifted. The Presbyterian Historical society therefore advise researchers to look up local C of I records for marriages into the early 19th century.

Regards

MK

[Elwyn Soutter]

Until 1782 it was illegal for Presbyterian ministers to perform marriages and it was not until 1845 before all restrictions were lifted. The Presbyterian Historical society therefore advise researchers to look up local C of I records for marriages into the early 19th century.

Regards

MK

The legality of early Presbyterian marriages was hotly debated, and there certainly were cases of Presbyterian Ministers being prosecuted for conducting marriages in the 1600s, but the law wasn’t enforced that rigidly. Most Presbyterians simply ignored it. There are plenty of Presbyterian churches in Ireland that routinely conducted marriages since the denomination was established there in the early 1600s. For example, Antrim 1st Presbyterian Church has marriage records that start in 1675.

So what I would say is if you can’t find a Presbyterian marriage in the area you are interested in, then by all means search the Church of Ireland too, but don’t assume all Presbyterian marriages prior to 1782 were in the Church of Ireland. They weren’t.

Other thing to remember is that tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so if the groom was Presbyterian but the bride Church of Ireland, then the marriage will usually be in the Church of Ireland for that reason, rather than because of doubts about the validity of the marriage.