What Records Did Methodists Keep And How Are They Useful To Family History?
The earliest Methodist registers date from the 1790s but the greatest number begin between 1810 and 1820. Most are for baptisms only. No marriages could take place in Methodist churches after Hardwick’s marriage act of 1753, and after the advent of civil registration in 1837, marriages registers simply contain copies of the civil registration. Methodists were only able to conduct and register marriages after the Marriage Act of 1898. Burial registers are very rare, although Wesley’s Chapel in City Road, London, opened by John Wesley in 1778 had a graveyard attached. The registers record burials there from 1779 onward and Wesley’s own grave is there. For much of the time in the 18th and 19th centuries, Methodists were part of the Church of England and their baptisms, marriages and burials were recorded in the parish register of the parish church. After John Wesley’s death, and the split with the Church of England, more Methodist ministers performed the rites of baptism and burial. In 18
