As Dave in South Africa describes his own experience, while I was in Ireland I also made an appointment to see the minister of the church I was interested in. I visited Ballygawley's Presbyterian manse in 2006, where Rev. Ian McClean let me look at the original books, including "Ballygawley Session Book, 1856-1938," a hardback ledger with a brown marbleized cover. That book has NOT been microfilmed by PRONI, whose church records guide and eCatalogue only have baptisms and marriages for Ballygawley Presbyterian Church, and nothing for session books. Besides the "Roll of Communicants" list, the Ballygawley Sessions book included 18-20 pages of an unusual list for a Presbyterian congregation -- a deaths and burials list. It was titled "Register of Deaths in the Congregation of Ballygawley since May 1872." The beginning of this list is well within the civil registration time period (1864+), but various death entries have different data than found in civil records, and some deaths have no matching entries in civil records. The burial places included "Here" (meaning Ballygawley Presbyterian graveyard) -"Aughnacloy" (Aughnacloy Presbyterian graveyard) - "Aghaloo" (the ancient burial grounds at Aghaloo that preceded Aughnacloy and Ballygawley as a local burial site for all denominations) - "Ballynasaggart" (St. Matthew's Church of Ireland graveyard in Errigal Keerogue parish) - "Clenaneese" (Upper Clonaneese Presbyterian graveyard). Deceased individuals were being interred in both Presbyterian and Church of Ireland graveyards, even when they were members of Ballygawley Presbyterian Church, which has an adjacent graveyard. These persons were obviously being interred in generations-old family burial places, details of which are often confirmed by finding their parents/grandparents/other relatives buried in those places before them. Web sites like this one -- thanks especially to Jim McKane, Len Swindley and others -- are more important than ever in our continuing efforts to identify our ancestors and learn more about their lives and families, their residences, places of worship, cultural traditions, and other aspects of daily existence. And, on web sites like CoTyroneIreland, we can share those findings with others, and help each other as we all learn more. I'm learning all the time, and I'm always glad to share what I've learned. Annie C.

Thank you, Annie, for this very interesting email. Now I’m wishing my trip to Ireland had included a visit to the 2nd Presbyterian Church of Omagh! Annie has shared her extensive genealogy knowledge with a small group of us Caldwell descendants. And yes, I completely agree that Jim’s site is a wonderful resource, especially with the contributions of Len, Annie, and others. Happy hunting, everyone. Pat > On Aug 24, 2025, at 9:46 AM, Annie Crenshaw via CoTyroneList <cotyronelist@list.cotyroneireland.com> wrote: > > As Dave in South Africa describes his own experience, while I was in Ireland I also made an appointment to see the minister of the church I was interested in. I visited Ballygawley's Presbyterian manse in 2006, where Rev. Ian McClean let me look at the original books, including "Ballygawley Session Book, 1856-1938," a hardback ledger with a brown marbleized cover. That book has NOT been microfilmed by PRONI, whose church records guide and eCatalogue only have baptisms and marriages for Ballygawley Presbyterian Church, and nothing for session books. > > Besides the "Roll of Communicants" list, the Ballygawley Sessions book included 18-20 pages of an unusual list for a Presbyterian congregation -- a deaths and burials list. It was titled "Register of Deaths in the Congregation of Ballygawley since May 1872." The beginning of this list is well within the civil registration time period (1864+), but various death entries have different data than found in civil records, and some deaths have no matching entries in civil records. The burial places included "Here" (meaning Ballygawley Presbyterian graveyard) - "Aughnacloy" (Aughnacloy Presbyterian graveyard) - "Aghaloo" (the ancient burial grounds at Aghaloo that preceded Aughnacloy and Ballygawley as a local burial site for all denominations) - "Ballynasaggart" (St. Matthew's Church of Ireland graveyard in Errigal Keerogue parish) - "Clenaneese" (Upper Clonaneese Presbyterian graveyard). Deceased individuals were being interred in both Presbyterian and Church of Ireland graveyards, even when they were members of Ballygawley Presbyterian Church, which has an adjacent graveyard. These persons were obviously being interred in generations-old family burial places, details of which are often confirmed by finding their parents/grandparents/other relatives buried in those places before them. > > Web sites like this one -- thanks especially to Jim McKane, Len Swindley and others -- are more important than ever in our continuing efforts to identify our ancestors and learn more about their lives and families, their residences, places of worship, cultural traditions, and other aspects of daily existence. And, on web sites like CoTyroneIreland, we can share those findings with others, and help each other as we all learn more. I'm learning all the time, and I'm always glad to share what I've learned. > > Annie C. > > ================================= > Send a Message to the List - cotyronelist@list.cotyroneireland.com > List Archive - https://list.cotyroneireland.com/empathy/list/cotyronelist.list.cotyroneireland.com > Join the list by sending an email to - cotyronelist-subscribe@list.cotyroneireland.com > To receive the Digest version, send an email to - jamckane@gmail.com > Unsubscribe by sending an email to - cotyronelist-unsubscribe@list.cotyroneireland.com > =================================