Tom/Len, Much obliged to Len for looking for Rev Maclear.
I would still recommend contacting the PBS in Belfast. The lady likely to deal with your enquiry is Valerie Adams. She’s very knowledgeable - she used to be the head of PRONI - and there’s not much she doesn’t know about Presbyterian Ministers. In addition to the main published guides Len has used, sometimes referred to as FASTI, she has notebooks with additional information, including all the various seceder branches of Presbyterianism. She might have something, and if she doesn’t she’ll probably be interested in him because she is trying to ensure there is information on every Minister who has ever had a congregation in Ireland. Even from very early times (ie mid 1600s) a Presbytery had to approve the appointment of a new Minister, and so there are pretty good records of most of them. But I am sure there may be small gaps. The Rev Maclear should have had a degree, and he would almost certainly have obtained that in Scotland. (Presbyterians couldn’t obtain a theology degree in Ireland till the mid 1800s. Trinity was the only College/University in Ireland then and you had to be Church of Ireland to study theology there). So Presbyterians went to Scotland. In the 1700s and early 1800s there were 4 universities in Scotland: St Andrews, Aberdeen, Glasgow & Edinburgh. They keep pretty good records of their old graduates and you could contact them to see if any has a record of him attending or matriculating. I have done that in the past with success. It’s worth noting that not everyone matriculated. There was an additional fee for matriculation. Some couldn’t or wouldn’t afford it and so just did the course, which was generally acceptable in those times. Even in medicine it wasn’t mandatory to pass an exam until the mid 1800s. Just having attended the course was considered sufficient to enable you to practice, which is fairly thought provoking. It was enough to have been there! Elwyn On Fri, 6 Dec 2019 at 08:21, Len Swindley <len_swind...@hotmail.com> wrote: > Elwyn & Tom, > > > > Referring to “History of Congregations in the Presbyterian in Ireland > 1610-1982” (Presbyterian Historical Society , Belfast, 1982) and its > separate index also published by the PHS & the Ulster Historical > Foundation, 1996), I am unable to locate an entry for the Rev. Thomas T. > Maclear (or variant). So then went to “The Seceders in Ireland with Annals > of Their Congregations – Rev. David Stewart (Presbyterian Historical > Society, 1950), and again there are no references to him. The Seceders > joined the General Assembly in 1840 to form the Presbyterian Church in > Ireland. > > > > The Presbyterian Churches of Newtownstewart (2) and Ardstraw Parish (a > total of seven) are covered in the above works, but sadly there are no > references to the Rev. Maclear. > > > > A point that may be of interest to researchers is that Anglicans (Church > of Ireland) went to Church, Catholics attended the Chapel and Presbyterians > gathered in the Meeting House. > > > > Regards, > > Len Swindley, Melbourne, Australia > > > > > > > > Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for > Windows 10 > > > > *From: *elwyn soutter via CoTyroneList <cotyronelist@cotyroneireland.com> > *Sent: *Friday, 6 December 2019 6:10 AM > *To: *CoTyroneIreland.com Mailing List <cotyronelist@cotyroneireland.com> > *Cc: *elwyn soutter <elwynsout...@googlemail.com> > *Subject: *Re: [CoTyroneMailingList] John Chambers (1796-1867) > > > > Tom, > > > > If you contact the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast, they are > likely to have records on the Rev MaClear which should tell you where he > served as Minister (as well as other information about his life). > > > > http://www.presbyterianhistoryireland.com > > > > The term “Meeting House” was how many Presbyterians described their > church. It didn’t mean it wasn’t a church, just that they favoured that > turn of phrase. You will often see the term Meeting House on Presbyterian > marriage certificates in Ireland. It was normally a consecrated church. > > > > > > Elwyn > > > > On Tue, 3 Dec 2019 at 16:22, Tom Chambers via CoTyroneList < > cotyronelist@cotyroneireland.com> wrote: > > I would eventually like to write a “Born ____ ,died in Tyrone” for my 3rd > great grandfather John Chambers (1796-1867). > > > > I already have some good information about him. He was a Linen Merchant, > lived on Upper Street (now Main Street) in Newtownstewart and for a time > owned and ran the corn mill in Milltown, just outside of Newtownstewart > (thanks, Len) Also he married Martha Maclear, sister of Sir Thomas > Maclear who was just commemorated for his work in astronomy. I have found > lots of information on their three children: Thomas, Mary Ann, and George > some of which I have posted on this site. > > > > 1. I do not know where John was born. I have some information to > formulate a hunch that he came from the London area. But nothing > concrete. There were Chambers in the Newtownstewart, Strabane, area I but > can not find a link. > 2. I do not know when or where John and Martha got married. They were > Presbyterian, and in fact Martha’s father was the Rev James T. Maclear. > John and Martha are buried in the cemetery at the top of the hill on Main > Street in Newtownstewart. Their first son, Thomas was born in 1821. So, > that narrows it down. > > > > Any help finding these two things would be appreciated. > > > > By the way I have never found anything that says what church the Rev James > T. Maclear was at. Maybe at that time it was just a meeting house? > > > > Thanks for your help. > > > > Tom Chambers > > > > _______________________________________________ > CoTyroneList Mailing List > Mailing List Email Address: CoTyroneList@cotyroneireland.com > Change Your Preferences: > http://cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/cotyronelist_cotyroneireland.com > Mailing List Archive: https://goo.gl/mQCKrY > > >
_______________________________________________ CoTyroneList Mailing List Mailing List Email Address: CoTyroneList@cotyroneireland.com Change Your Preferences: http://cotyroneireland.com/mailman/listinfo/cotyronelist_cotyroneireland.com Mailing List Archive: https://goo.gl/mQCKrY
