Dates
In general, Presbyterian registers start much later than those of the Church of Ireland. Early records of Presbyterian baptisms, marriages and deaths are often to be found in the registers of the local Church of Ireland parish.

There are exceptions, however. In areas that had a strong Presbyterian population from an early date, particularly in the north east, there are some registers that date from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The only published listing is Margaret Falley's Irish and Scotch-Irish Ancestral Research (reproduced by Genealogical Publishing Co., 1988). This, however, gives a very incomplete and out-of-date picture of the extent and location of the records.

For the six counties of Northern Ireland, and many of the adjoining counties, the Guide to Church Records: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI, 1994) provides a good guide to the dates of surviving registers. The copy of the list held in the PRO in Northern Ireland itself includes a listing of Registers in Local Custody that covers all of Ireland, but is much less comprehensive for the south than for the north.

The Nature of the Records
Presbyterian registers record the same information as that given in the registers of the Church of Ireland. It should be remembered that after 1845 all non-Catholic marriages, including those of Presbyterians, were registered by the state. From that year, therefore, Presbyterian marriage registers contain all of the invaluable information given in state records.

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