More great websites
Quaker FHS ( qfhs.co.uk) has pages explaining Quaker records, from ‘removals’ and ‘settlements’ – records created when Quakers moved from the jurisdiction of one monthly meeting to another – to digests of births, marriages and burials. An important Quaker collection resides at Leeds University Library ( library. leeds. ac.uk/special-collections/collection/ 718), and the website has information about Quaker record keeping, an online catalogue, and the Quaker Collection Index.
The Baptist Historical Society site includes a page dedicated to genealogy ( baptisthistory.org.uk/discover/family- history), with a tablet-friendly design, plus links to other bodies, such as the Baptist library and archive at Angus Library in Oxford ( theangus.rpc.ox.ac.uk). This is also worth a visit, with lots of background information about Baptists, the collections, and a family history database with details of over 4,000 missionaries.
The Familysearch guide to nonconformist records ( familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/England_Nonconformist_Church _ Records) is a great starting point and leads to collections both on- and offline, many contained within Family-Search itself. Those interested in Quakerism should check TNA’s guide to conscientious objectors ( nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/ looking-for- person/conscientiousobjectors.htm), and remember that the registers in the database in this month’s expert choice, are listed on the Discovery catalogue (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk). The material on BMD Registers is also available via The Genealogist, Findmypast and Ancestry.
All the major commercial sites have some collections, from Ancestry’s London Nonconformist Registers 1694-1921 ( ancestry .co.uk/lma_ nonconformist), to Findmypast’s England and Wales Nonconformist Marriages 1641-1852 ( search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world- records/england-and-wales- nonconformist-marriages).
Via reformationhistory.org/johnknox.html you can read about the founding father of Protestant Reformation in Scotland John Knox. Presbyterianism became the established church in Scotland, and you can learn about old parochial records at familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Scotland_Old_Parochial_Registers_( OPR).
The University of Nottingham Special Collections ( nottingham .ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/collectionsin depth/non- conformistchurches/collections.aspx), has material relating to Congregational, Presbyterian and United Reformed churches.
Other bodies include the Methodist Westminster Central Hall ( methodist-central- hall.org.uk), the Chapels Society ( chapelssociety.org.uk), the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland ( presbyterianhistoryireland.com), and the Wesley Historical Society ( wesleyhistoricalsociety.org.uk), which hosts the Online Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland ( www.wesleyhistoricalsociety.org.uk/dmbi).