Much obliged to Aghadowey for the history of Rasharkin Presbyterian Church. Presbyterian Ministers were not usually wealthy second sons seeking an easy living as some Church of Ireland and Church of England Ministers may have been. They were mostly sincere, well educated men (no women then of course) who believed in their faith. They normally served a congregation for their entire career (in contrast to other denominations which move their Ministers around every so often). And you were only selected if the congregation approved of you. For all that, there were occasionally problems. According to a booklet giving it’s history, Killymurris’s 1st Minister only lasted 4 or 5 years and was dismissed for drunkenness. His successor was better regarded and lasted for around 40 years but was noted for his laid back approach and, as has been commented on, neither of these two gentlemen kept any baptism or marriage records. In contrast, a couple of miles away, Clough Presbyterian did keep such records but unfortunately they were lost in a fire in the 1860s. Antrim 1st Presbyterian has excellent baptism & marriage records from the late 1600s. So the picture is mixed. Some did keep records, some didn’t and some records have been lost due to water damage, fire and negligence.
Presbyterians generally don’t keep burial records and so there are normally no burial registers. (Certainly Rasharkin doesn’t have one). Only wealthier folk could afford a gravestone so the majority of the population were buried in graves with no stone. The family would have known where the plot was but with the passage of time that information was often lost. I agree with you that most shoemakers and weavers would not have a gravestone.
Some gravestones are photographed, but there isn’t quite the same enthusiasm for that as in other countries. Findagrave has a few graves in Rasharkin Presbyterian which have been photographed but I don’t think the whole graveyard is on-line anywhere yet.
https://www.findagrave.com
