Nonconformist question

[Lindsay]

I have a family living in Yorkshire 1760s and 1770s.

The mother is described in family papers as pious and 'a strict dissenter' and those of her children I've traced were all nonconformists. Why would all her children be baptised in the local C of E church rather than a nonconformist church?

[Mary from Italy]

I think you had to show a baptism certificate to get certain benefits, like parish relief or maybe apprenticeships.

Or perhaps her husband was C of E and insisted on C of E baptisms?

[Lindsay]

Yes, Mary, I wondered if it was to ease their way through life, but they all seem very independant - most started their own businesses, one became a congregational minister, all seem to have married people from similar non-conformist backgrounds.

Perhaps it was down to her husband...it's definitely her who's described as a dissenter (she sounds a bit scary actually!)

[Mary from Italy]

Bear in mind that many dissenting religions practised adult baptism, not child baptism, and that non-conformism became very widespread in the second half of the 18th century.

She may have been born and bred in the C of E, baptised her children in the C of E, and converted to a non-conformist religion later. My Midlands Baptists all converted in about the 1770s-1790s.

[Lindsay]

Thanks, Mary, that's true, I hadn't really considered that she might have been an adult convert

[Mary from Italy]

Try putting her name into Google Books to see if you can find out any more about her.

They have lots of Baptist magazines on there - I've found out loads about my Baptists from their obituaries. Not sure how much there is about other non-con religions.

[Lindsay]

Yes, I've tried Googlebooks in the past and found several other members of the family but not Rachel ...it's a great resource, isn't it?

[Little Nell]

Maybe it was pressure from grandparents?

[Uncle John]

I'm not an expert, but wasn't there a date before which non-conformist baptisms weren't recognised for parish relief etc. (or has someone already said that)?

[Olde Crone Holden]

The word "Dissenter" originally meant someone who had broken away from the C of E. Early Methodism was part of the Church of England for some years before it broke away to form a distinct church - I don't know the dates without googling, but this may have some relevance for your family? Also, a bit of background reading on the actual church involved - was there some kind of schism?

Having said that, I have many noncons in my tree who were baptised C of E AND in their own church.(Or at least, their births are recorded in Methodist registers, etc). In one particular family I know this was because the parents worked in a woollen mill - the owner was staunch C of E and only employed C of E workers. As he also housed all his workers in his own (slummy) properties, he could virtually insist that all their children were baptised C of E.

So, expediency a lot of the time. You could only afford to be openly non-conformist if your livelihood and your accommodation did not depend on the C of E in many cases.

OC