Isn’t is fascinating to see how many different religions our ancestors followed?
Moravian Church Bethabara North Carolina
I’ve enjoyed reading about the Quaker faith practiced by my Chapman family, the Dimmett’s Huguenot background, and now am researching more about Moravians via the Shore family.
A quick search on Google for “Moravian” sent me to the home page of the Moravian Church in North America. There, I found an interesting set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) which detailed Moravian history, position on social issues, and the origin of the Moravian Christmas Candle, and the Moravian star.
Unfortunately, San Diego doesn’t have a Moravian church, so I don’t have the opportunity to witness it first-hand.
However, there are info-rich Web sites for nearly every religion so I’ll learn as much as I can. Also have begun re- reading The Moravians in North Carolina.
Don’t you think it would be an interesting addition to your family history book (or report generated by your software) to include a sketch of each line’s religious heritage?
Religious Heritage – Websites to Explore
Baptist Roots
Quaker Corner
Moravian Church in North America
National Huguenot Society
Catholic Church and Family History Genealogy Guide
Lutheran Roots
Jewish Genealogy
Mennonite Research Center
Lutheran Records in Virginia (thank you to @FranEllsworth for this tip)
Do you have other church sites you’d like to add to the list. Leave a comment below and I’ll do an update.
You might also like:
- Climbing the Family Tree: Did Anyone Write About Your Ancestors?
- Pennsylvania and Ohio Genealogy Research
- Researching Your Family Tree Over the Pond
- Did Someone Write About Your Ancestor?
- TV Shows Pique Interest in Genealogy
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I was always impressed by my ancestor Wm. Bradford who lamented that their children had left the faith that he felt had brought them to the New World. I know some of the Bradfords became Unitarians which became Unitarian Universalists. Knowing the differences between now and then he would be lamenting. http://www.firstparishdorchester.org/history.shtml
Thank you for the comment Fran. I didn’t know the Unitarian Universalists were an outshoot of the Unitarians. I also didn’t know that about Bradford – an interesting concept – thanks for the info. Another outshoot that I have run into in my own family are the Separate Baptists. Also, your comment reminded me of yet another sect that I found while doing research for a client – the Plymouth Brethren. Apparently it begin in Ireland in 1820; the family I found who claimed the religion had immigrated to Canada from Gibraltar.