Kennedy Family Baptisms, First Garvagh Presbyterian Church 1798-1840(with gaps), Errigal Parish, Co. Londonderry

This congregation was drawn from the Parishes of Errigal and Desertoghill
PRONI Ref:MIC. IP/27 Reel 2

Original transcription by Lavonne Kennedy Arburn Bradfield

History of the congregation and notes contributed by
Len Swindley, Melbourne, Australia - len_swindley[at]hotmail.com

Formatted by
Jim McKane, Ontario, Canada - jamckane[at]gmail.com

FIRST GARVAGH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION 1658-1840

Extracted from History of Congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, Belfast, 1982)

Mr John Law was ordained to Desertoghill and Errigal (Garvagh) in 1658. He was deposed for non-conformity in 1661 but continued to minister. In 1673 Garvagh congregation was declared vacant as Mr. Law had demitted the charge and there was no hope of his returning to it. Mr. Law was imprisoned for a time in Scotland, but in 1691 he was installed in Kirkcaldy.

Mr. Robert Landass from Lanarkshire was ordained by the Route Presbytery in Jan. 1674, and he appears to have ministered in both Ballymoney and Garvagh. He went back to Scotland at the time of the Revolution and in 1691 the synod wrote to him to return to his charge, but he had already been installed in Blantyre the previous year. Rev. James Woodside was minister of Dunboe from 1698-1718 and he appears to have had charge of Garvagh too. Mr. Francis Ross from Macosquin was ordained 7 May 1723 and died 4 Nov 1751.

In 1756 Rev. William Callender, minister of Ardstraw [Co. Tyrone] was called to Garvagh, but on the day of his installation he did not turn up as he had been induced to return to his previous charge. At length, Mr. Robert Elder (lic. Route 1758), a local man, was ordained in Garvagh in 1761. He died 18 May 1781. After considerable dispute Mr. Brice Miller was ordained 21 Dec. 1784, but he resigned in 1787 and emigrated to America.

Mr. Henry Henry from Dunboe (lic. Route 1788) was ordained 13 May 1788 but resigned in Nov. of the same year to go to Connor. Mr. Gideon McMullan was ordained in Feb. 1790, but died 25 Feb. 1793.

Mr. James Brown (lic. Route 1792), son of John Brown of Ballinaloob, Kilraughts, was ordained 1 Dec. 1795. He was clerk of the Route Presbytery 1818-34. He retired 1839 and died 19 or 20 May 1850 aged 88. His daughter Anne married Rev. Charles Huston of Macosquin in 1824. Five of Mr. Brown’s grandsons were ministers and three of his grand-daughters married ministers. Mr James Millar (lic. Connor 1838) was ordained 18 Feb. 1840 and died 19 Nov 1859.

The following baptisms were recorded during the ministries of the Revs. James Brown and James Millar.

FIRST REGISTER

From the minutes of the Route Presbytery, April 1795:

At a meeting of the Presbytery held at Colerain the last Tuesday of Aprile 1795, the congregation of Garvagh supplicated for a hearing of James Brown, the month of May at the end of which there appeared a call for him nearly unanimous- he was then put on second trial by the Presbytery which having finished and no objections appearing-he was ordained to the pastoral charge of that congregation on the 1st of Decr 1795.