Strict Baptists

Sophie Raworth’s story focused on her nonconformist forebears who migrated to the US at the end of the 18th century to practise their faith without persecution. If your ancestors were also nonconformists then try searching for their records online.

1 If your ancestors were Baptists then try finding information for them on the Strict Baptist Historical Society website ( sbhs.org.uk), which has a database that can be searched for free by clicking on the option for ‘Personal Names Database’.

2 The next page gives information about the database. The database is an index for entries in The Strict Baptist Magazine and you’ll need to contact the society to view the article. The index can be searched at the bottom of the page, so enter the name of your ancestor to begin.

3 If you search for ‘Ebenezer Barnard’, for example, all relevant hits will appear including an entry for that name. Click on the entry to see what information is given. As mentioned previously, you will have to contact the society to obtain the article. This can be done here: sbhs.org.uk/contact.