Greetings! Hope somebody here can help. Mary & James were both born about 1700. (Mary may have been born in Wales.) Married & then emmigrated to US in 1718. For the longest time northern Ireland was all that was known. Then I found the following:
"These are to certify that James Crawford and his wife Mary Crawford, left the Congregation of Golen, in June, 1718, free of any known scandal or church oensure, being both of them honest and creditable persons, so they are of blameless honorable parentage, and may be received in any Presbyterian congregation where Providence may order their setting. Witness my hand, the ninth day of August, 1718." (Signed), "Robt. Colpheart."
Not really helpful I found because Golen couldn't be located...had to figure out what county. Earlier this year I finally found documentation that says they were from County Fermanagh. Just found another document that says the same as well.
Still not finding Golen or Golan in church records. Is it possible this is referring to Galloon? Or is that too much of a leap? Any & all help appreciated & thanks for taking the time to read this if you did!
Sharon23
Wednesday 28th Aug 2013, 08:30PMMessage Board Replies
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There is a townland of Golan in Co. Fermanagh. It?s in the parish of Clones but I am not aware of any Presbyterian church being particularly close by. (There aren?t many Presbyterian churches in Fermanagh at all).
Probably your best bet may be to contact the Presbyterian Historical Society in Belfast and see if they have any record of a Robert Colpheart around 1718. They do have records of all the Presbyterian Ministers in Ireland so if he was a Minister, then they should be able to tell you where was based at that time. You can also ask if they have any record of there ever being a Presbyterian Congregation anywhere in Ireland called Golen.
Ahoghill Antrim
Wednesday 28th Aug 2013, 10:33PM -
Thank you Ahoghill, that sounds like a great idea! Have already browsed the History Of Congregations: http://archive.org/stream/historyofcongreg00kill/historyofcongreg00kill_djvu.txt. a great resource with a lot of information...but had no luck. Appreciate your help, be well!
Sharon
Sharon23
Thursday 29th Aug 2013, 07:55PM -
Crawford is a name found in Fermanagh. You may want to search the Fermanagh Gold website.
http://www.fermanagh-gold.com/
Bob Graham (County Fermanagh XO)
County Fermanagh
Monday 2nd Sep 2013, 06:30PM -
Thank you Bob. I've seen that website but not looked around there as of yet, will visit there next! I know James & Mary had Crawford cousins in Einskillen but I have nothing to place them there too. I'm also finding Wilkins in the county but nothing to link them to Mary yet. Dig, dig, dig! Appreciate the help.
Sharon
Sharon23
Tuesday 3rd Sep 2013, 12:31PM -
Thought I'd update this for anybody searching.
"Golan is the old name of the Presbyterian Congregation at Fintona in County Tyrone . The minister was Robert Coleheart who was ordained in Lanarkshire , Scotland in 1694 and installed in Golan in 1697 . He died in 1730."
(Information provided by Researcher Oliver D. Cresswell @ Ulster Families in Belfast.)Sharon23
Friday 30th Jun 2017, 03:06PM