For everyone interested, here's an update on the Calvary Baptist records.
I have now finished transcribing everything I photographed in the Calvary church books
last month. Specifically, I have:
-- Miscellaneous Entries 1837-1842 (a mixture of adult baptisms, memberships, letters,
etc. These are the earliest records. My photo that covers 1842-1848 events apparently
didn't take, very unfortunately. I have only the bottom half of that page.)
-- Baptisms 1848-1872. Again, keep in mind that these were adult baptisms. There are no
records of infants or children until they reach membership age, usually in their teens or
later. Most of these baptisms were followed by reception into church membership either
the same day or within the next 1-2 weeks.
-- Membership rolls for the following dates: 3 Oct 1844; 1 Jan 1853; 1 Jan 1856; 24 May
1859; 25 May 1864; March 1870; Jan 1878. These consist simply of names, many of which
have been later crossed out or marked with an X. I presume this reflects persons who left
the congregation or fell out of grace, as it were.
-- Received by Letter of Dismission 1841-1867. These pertain to transfers of membership
from other churches or locales. As such, they are a great resource for tracing the
original homes of Brynmawr residents -- when you can decipher the places referred to, that
is!
-- Received by Letter of Recommendation 1840-1867. These entries are much less numerous.
They are very similar in appearance to the above, and I do not understand the distinction
between the two categories.
-- Restored in the Church 1840-1869. There are lots of these, and I don't fully
understand them either. They appear to be a virtual Who's Who of the congregation!
When I asked Pastor Foster why these people would need restoration and whether it meant
that they were black sheep who had returned to the fold, he said it could mean that but
not necessarily. Some might merely have moved away and then back, etc.
As a whole, the records cover several hundred individuals at various times over 45 years
of the church's early history. Occasionally a place of residence or occupation is
noted, though not usually. Spellings are sometimes endearing -- e.g. Henrietta is spelled
at various times Henreater, Henriator, etc. -- so it will be important to look for all
possible variants. Also, as I noted in my earlier post, my photos are of only medium
quality, and sometimes less. Because I had no copystand or supplementary lighting, I had
to prop the ledgers against a stack of hymnals near a window. This means that on every
page, some parts of the sheet are in clearer focus than others, and shadows plague the
images. Names in the corners of the two-page, four-column spreads are particularly prone
to transcription error. I've done the most conscientious job I can of transcribing --
in many cases having to micro-adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, focus, etc. on a
word-by-word basis in a!
n image editor -- and have cross-checked lists against each other to further clarify
names. Even so, I'm sure there are transcription errors.
As I noted yesterday, I don't feel I can post these lists online for the general
public until Jeff and I have Pastor Harold Foster's permission. I have written him a
letter, but it still sits here unmailed in hopes someone in Brynmawr or vicinity will
provide me with his address, which I still can't find, or will secure his permission
verbally and verify that to me. Is there someone out there from Gwent FHS, the Brynmawr
museum, or some other body or agency who might contact him about this? Or is there
someone there to whom I could transmit my letter by e-mail, who would print it out and get
it into his hands somehow?
Meanwhile, I'm willing to do lookups on a private basis beginning later this week.
(I'm leaving for Seattle in an hour.) Jeff, I already plan to send the information to
you -- there are definitely a plethora of Davies at Calvary who might be yours.
I hope this will open doors for many of the rest of you.
Best regards to all --
Judith Sylte
Whidbey Island, WA
USA