How to confirm church where marriage/funeral occurred

[benicio]

When pulling English documents from the nineteenth century, many state as occurring in 'The Parish Church'.  I am assuming this would be referring to a Church of England church, and if so, what would the document read if the marriage was solemnized in a Roman Catholic or other religious entity?  I am unsure as the process of identifying correct religious affiliation of individuals in nineteenth century England.

Specific example relating to my question:

I am looking for information on a birth that occurred in Otley on 27 Dec 1853.  I do not know where to begin as far as which church I can correspond with.

This same person was married in Keighley in 1879, with the marriage being solemnized in 'the parish church'.  The database in Ancestry where this record was pulled states that the marriage record is from: "This database contains images of Church of England marriage records and banns in registers from parishes in the West Yorkshire area of England."

The wife of this marriage is buried in the US in a Roman Catholic cemetery.

Thanks,

Ben

[stanmapstone]

A Parish Church is always Church of England. On the marriage certificate it says " Married in xxxxxx according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the xxxxxxx by 'Banns/Licence/Certificate' by me....."
"Married in" will be the name of the Church or non-conformist Chapel and "Rites and Ceremonies of the" will be the particular denomination e.g. Baptists, Methodists, etc.
See http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/marriages.htm#COL9
Stan

[JMStrachan]

A birth in 1853 would have a statutory birth certificate, which was the same for everybody irrespective of religion: have you looked in the Birth indexes? The church would only record a baptism, if one took place. Ancestry has West Yorkshire baptisms online, and Otley is in West Yorkshire, so the baptism you are after could well be among those records if it took place in a CofE parish church. FamilySearch also has an index of baptism records for England.

[mosiefish]

A birth in 1853 would have a statutory birth certificate.....

Unfortunately not necessarily.  Failure to register a birth in England and Wales only became a fineable offence in 1874.  There were many births that were unrecorded prior to this date.

Mo

[benicio]

A Parish Church is always Church of England. On the marriage certificate it says " Married in xxxxxx according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the xxxxxxx by 'Banns/Licence/Certificate' by me....."
"Married in" will be the name of the Church or non-conformist Chapel and "Rites and Ceremonies of the" will be the particular denomination e.g. Baptists, Methodists, etc.
See http://home.clara.net/dixons/Certificates/marriages.htm#COL9
Stan

The specific marriage I am referencing is between James Kenny and Anne Donegan, 12 Jul 1879 - you can see certificate on Ancestry.com. This particular certificate lists the following: 'Marriage solemnized at the parish church in the parish of keighley in the county york' and 'married in the parish church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church, by (blank) or after Banns by me.'

Also, the civil birth certificate I am in possession of is for James Kenny, born on '27 Dec 1853; Gay Lane; Otley'.  James is the son of 'John Kenny' and 'Ann Kenny formerly Rogers'

As you can see, neither document seems to specify and data that can help identify religious denomination.  However, since the marriage cert states 'Parish Church', I can safely assume it took place in a COE Church, correct?  If so, which churches would be my best bet for birth/marriage info?

[nanny jan]

Hi,

The 1879 marriage in Keighley would have been in the parish church, St. Andrew; a CofE church.  If it had been any other denomination (Catholic, Baptist, etc.) this would be written on the certificate.

It is some years since I visited the town but I believe the church is still in use.

http://www.keighleysharedchurch.org.uk/history.html

If you scroll down to "15. Rectors of St. Andrews church"  you can see Henry Longsdon (1878); his signature is on the marriage certificate.



Nanny Jan

[mshrmh]

Benicio - in England the "Established Church" is the Church of England so nanny jan's response identifyies the individual place of worship. Marriage in the Church of England has full legal status. In the early period after 1837 most marriages would have been C of E if not civil (register office) for that reason; later authorisation was extended to some clergy from other groups or the registrar attended (latter the case for RC weddings particularly). IIRC Jewish & Quaker faiths also had authority early. Thus marriage in the C of E parish church didn't mean that the couple were practising Anglicans - just that they could meet the residence requirements to be married there.

GENUKI is a useful site for identifying which churches were open at any particular time - some areas are clearer on this than others - Keighley not being the clearest. A search on "GENUKI + placename" is a quick way in.