Non Conformist church records ca 1800

[DerekB]

I strongly suspect that a number of my ancestors were members of Non Conformist or Dissenting churches.
They were not baptised or married in their local parish churches at the LMA and I have checked the records held at the National Archives for the NC churches and Dr Williams Library to no avail.
They were living in the Bethnal Green/Spitalfields/Mile End areas before 1837.
There were lots of churches in the area but none contain my ancestors, names Jeffryes and Arrowsmith in particular.
Can anyone advise on where any additional records may exist?
Thanks in advance
Derek

[Headbanger Veron]

Hi Derek

Just a possibility - might any of them have been Jewish? Mile End particularly had a very high Jewish population, and so did Spitalfields I think.

Veron

[DerekB]

Hi Vernon,
Thanks for the reply but I don't think they were anything but Protestants, not even a Catholic in sight.
One even became a City Missionary.
Family were mostly Weavers or Undertakers, not that that affects their religion.
Derek.

[suttontrust]

If you know which denomination they were, it's possible that the modern descendants of the chapels have archives.  These are often lodged with the local record office, but not always.

[DerekB]

Thanks but I have no idea what denomination, understand there were a lot of them in the 18th and 19th centuries.

[Lendevon]

Between 1754 and 1837 non-conformists were usually married in the local C of E church because only they were legally valid. Only Jews and Quakers were exempted. Baptisms and burials however were normally conducted in their own chapels. Whether or not non-conformist records have survived is a matter of luck.

[Valda]

Non-conformists were often buried in Anglican churchyards since their own churches did not have burial grounds - though for London the largest non-conformist cemetery to check would be Bunhills.
Baptists did not agree with infant baptisms but you can find some Baptist church records where infant births were entered into the registers.
Non-conformists pre 1837 would often marry well away from their local Anglican church - they wouldn't give the local clergy the satisfaction of marrying them, so they chose churches where they were not known.

Many Anglican church records are not on the IGI so are you absolutely certain your ancestors were not Anglicans as it would be quite a search to check all the Anglican church records that may cover the areas you specify without resorting to indexes such as the IGI. Have you tried other marriage indexes for instance such as Pallots or Boyds?

Regards

Valda

[DerekB]

Thanks Valda some usefull tips.
As far as I know four of us have been checking churches for the missing Jeffryes marriages and baptisms and another couple of relatives have also been looking for the missing Arrowsmith baptisms for about 6 years.
We have found some of the children baptised in adulthood in various parish Churches these give a birth date and parents names were given, but still their parents marriages are missing.
We have found many burrials at the Abney Park cemetery.
Yes they may have been Anglicans but we have checked all the main parish churches in the area, surely if they were Anglican they would have married in their local parish church.
There is also a persistant family story of being Huguenot, but I have not proved that link, can't get back far enough.
Your suggestion about checking churches away from the area may well be the way forward but it's a big job checking all churches that are not on the IGI, even just those near East London.
It seemed that the only things left to check were the NC churches but they don't seem to be there either, except for one baptism at the Sion Church Mile End New Town in 1800.
Next port of call is going to be the apprenticeship records at the Merchant Taylors as we have heard that a Jeffryes who we suspect may be related was a Freeman. They recorded all family members of Freemen and apprentices.

Regards
Derek

[Valda]

I would suggest checking the City of London Freemen's records - moved from the Corporation of London record office to the London Metropolitan Archives. The Freeman's records contain the apprenticeship indenture. Merchant Taylors apprenticeship records should be at the Guildhall. These records didn't record all family members but they do state who the father was of the apprentice and or freeman.

Abney Park cemetery (Bunhill was an earlier non-conformist cemetery) was very popular with non-conformists.

The oldest Arrowsmith burial at Abney Park is Adam aged 63 in 1850.

The National Archives have a Prerogative Court of Canterbury will for an Adam Arrowsmith.

Will of Adam Arrowsmith, Gentleman of Tottenham , Middlesex
Date 31 January 1851
Catalogue reference PROB 11/2125 

There is an Adam Arrowsmith (age rounded down to 50) in Gravesend on the 1841 census with wife Mary (age rounded down to 40) neither born Kent.
Adam Arrowsmith married Mary Ann Averill at St Dunstan Stepney in 1840.
On the 1851 census Mary A. Arrowsmith aged 51 and born St Georges was living in Tottenham. She was a landed proprietress.

Looking at Abney Park Jeffryes' burials - and there are more than Arrowsmiths, I noticed Mary Temperance Jeffreys.

Temperance was a popular name amongst Arrowsmith marriages in Pallots marriage index.

Temperance Arrowsmith Thos Bennett  1800 Hackney, Middlesex 
Temperance Arrowsmith Thos Beazley  1835 Hackney St John 

Hackney marriages ususally don't appear on the IGI.
No marriage on Pallots for James Jeffryes and Mary Temperance   ...... There is however a Jeffryes PCC will in Spitalfields at TNA.

Will of John Jeffryes, Cooper of Spitalfields , Middlesex 29 September 1834 PROB 11/1836
If any PCC wills prove usefully the beneficiaries can be tracked through the Death Duty registers at TNA.

As I don't know which Arrowsmiths and which Jeffryes you are interested in, so I can only speculate on possibilities.

Regards

Valda