Religious views are one of  many attributes, views, skills, etc. of your ancestors that are passed down through the generations or flow through your DNA.  They may be tied to your ethnic background, but not always.  This article explores the different religions that influence me today.

 

Dad’s Family

The Chart

In the above chart, my dad is at the center, with his parents in the next row, their parents follow, etc.  The chart can be read from left to right with the male ancestor to the left and the female to the right.  So, on the left side of the row above dad is first his father and then his mother. In the row with his grandparents are his paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother.

You may notice that some slots are split between two colors, or two religions, that is because I found them associated with different religions at different times.  The slots that are tan are ancestors that are identified, but for whom I have not yet associated them with a religion.  In some cases it would seem that they likely had the same religion as a parent or spouse, but that is yet to come to light. 

Many of the identified ancestors are verified, meaning they meet my standard of proof of being the parent of the person in a closer generation.  However, some are highly likely, but not verified. Meanwhile, I have some information for others that  indicates they are possibly the parent, but are far less certain.

When you make charts that show 10 generations of your ancestors, it becomes clear that as much as you may know, there is a lot that you don’t know.  The gray in the chart shows just how few people I have identified in those 10 generations for my dad’s family even though I included the McCracken and Peppard families that I have identified as tied to Lemuel McCracken.

 

Observations

In recent generations, the Methodist religion shows up strongly.  However, if we look at earlier generations, the three religions that show up the most are Anglican (green), Baptist (blue), and Quaker (bright pink).  It should be recognized that some of this is influenced by the availability of records.  For instance, the Quakers made meticulous records.  That said, many Quaker meeting houses burnt.  Thus, there are places where the Quaker line may extend back multiple generations beyond what is shown.

Another interesting thing of note is where I indicated “The Gospel/The Church.”  These are cases where the person’s obituary or other records said the person believed in/practiced/belonged to the gospel/the church as if there was one and only one set of religious beliefs.

 

Preachers

My direct line on dad’s side includes at least two preachers. 

 

Nathaniel Hall

Nathaniel Hall, who is an ancestor in the Ellis family, was an Anglican/Episcopal minister in Virginia.  However, like many others at the time of Independence, he left the faith.  He then joined with the Baptists and became a Baptist reader and preacher.

Nathaniel is believed to be a direct ancestor.  However, he remains unverified because it has been impossible to prove that Conrad Storms is Lucy Ann’s father.  Circumstantial evidence says that it is very likely and DNA matches exist, but require further review to show this is the only possible connection.

Francis Peppard

The earliest ancestor in the Peppard family was a Presbyterian (darker blue on far left) minister.  His son in our family line was one of the earliest elders in the Presbyterian Church in Wayne County, Ohio. I suspect there are more members of that family that followed the Presbyterian faith.  However, according to family information, Lemuel did not.

DNA indicates Francis is a direct ancestor, but he remains “unverified” because I haven’t proven in which of his sons was Lemuel’s father.

 

Mom’s Family

The Chart

This chart is similar to the last except that my mom is in the center.  If you jumped here because you are interested in her side of the family, I suggest that you read the chart section under Dad’s Family to understand what it is shown.

Observations

You will notice that the chart for Mom’s family has a lot of identified ancestors, but a lot more unidentified religions.  I believe this, in part, is due to the religions and the locations.  I suspect many of her ancestors  that are tied to Kentucky may have been Baptists.  However, I have not yet found records to support that assumption.

Family stories also say that the Thomas family was “very” Presbyterian.  Thus, I suspect earlier generations were Presbyterian.  However, I haven’t found any indication of their religion.  On the other hand, Elizabeth Brown Donaldson was “very” Baptist.  After she married Henry Thomas, she attended the Presbyterian Church.  When Henry died, Elizabeth went back to the Baptist Church.  But, as the family story goes, in the end the Presbyterians got her, as Elizabeth was buried beside Henry in the Presbyterian cemetery.

The other interesting observation is the mix of the Brethren and Christian religions in the Ashby family.  This is also prevalent in other members of the family that are not direct ancestors.  It seems that when exposed to the teachings of the Christian Church, some of the family liked the more relaxed, moderate views and others stayed with the Brethren religion.

Preachers

Griffith John

Griffith John is interesting because it is well documented that he was a Quaker “minister.”  Since the Quakers didn’t include clergy in their belief system, that seems odd.  I am assuming that he was more of a missionary spreading both the word of God and the Quaker beliefs.  His brother, who came with him to America, also served in this capacity.

 

Joseph Ashby

Joseph Ashby started out in the Brethren Church and later was with the Christian Church.  It appears that he was a minister for both denominations and some members of his family belonged to each of the churches.

Joseph has a double connection to my mom as two of his grandchildren married.

What does all of this say about me?

 Although the religions that have been identified are all of the protestant realm, I clearly don’t have an ancestral history with one religion or even a couple of related religions.  Matter of fact, these religions seem to span the protestant spectrum.

On many beliefs, Quakers seem to be at one end of the spectrum and Baptists and Brethren at the other end.  For instance, Quakers view heaven more as a spiritual state of being while Baptists and Brethren generally appear to view it more literally.  The view of the different religions on the Bible is similar with Quakers taking a less literal approach and the Baptists and Brethren being more literal in their beliefs.

This makes me wonder about Quakers who later became Baptists (See the chart for Dad’s side).  That seems like quite a leap from one end of the spectrum to the other.  I know that in some cases, the church people attended or associated with in other ways was more of which church was most convenient rather than which church matched their belief system.  Still, this seems like quite a change.

Quakers’ believe in a personal relationship with God, equality, plain living (or i should say non-excessive living), integrity, and religion as an individual experience all appeal to me.  I am less a believer in literal interpretation, ultra-structured religion, and rituals/ceremonies.

That said, most of these religions evolved over time becoming more modernized.  There are also many different variations of the religions with some being more modern and others remaining very traditional.  The Quakers had a split with some continuing more of the practices of the earlier years while others in the faith focused more on preaching and the Bible like other religions. 

Whether there is a major split or not, there is a great variety within each religion.  For example, we attended a Presbyterian Church service in Philadelphia at Old Pine Church.  If I didn’t know it was a Presbyterian Church, I would have never guessed as the service was so different than ones I have attended elsewhere.  The church we belonged to in Colorado was at the other end of the spectrum as it was the most modern of all the Presbyterian Churches I have attended.  I definitely didn’t feel as comfortable with the service in Philadelphia.

 

Rules

Now the biggest issue I would have had with the Society of Friends/Quakers is all the rules for daily living that they had.  I am not big on anyone telling me how to dress, who I can and cannot marry, and how to speak.  I would have likely gotten disowned, as many of our family did.

 

Baptist

Baptist also believe in having a direct connection to God and for localized decisions for the church.  These are appealing to me.  Additionally, the Baptist perspective that baptisms should take place when the person is old enough to make that decision for themselves does make a lot of sense to me.  However, strict interpretations of the Bible and literal belief in Heaven and Hell are not my cup of tea.

 

Anglican

Anglican is probably the least best religious match for me based on what little I know about the religion.  It is somewhere between Protestant and Catholic.  And, from what I have read it is very ceremonial and structured. 

 

This all makes me wonder about my DNA mix.  Did I get more DNA from certain lines with which I tend to align more closely?  Inquiring minds want to know.

 

 

Other articles about our family and religion:

Out of Religious Persecution Rises A Family (Pellett)

A Love-Hate Relationship with Religion (Tilton, which ties to Pellett)

An Early American Nonagenarian  (John, which ties to Pellett)

 

 

Featured Image: Pexels via pixabay.com

Prompt: Religious traditions

#52ancestors52weeks