In a message dated 21/05/2003 21:06:07 GMT Daylight Time,
norwood38(a)btopenworld.com writes:
Evening all - My Great/Great/Grandparents who were both born in
Scotland circa 1795, for some reason arrived in Denbigh in the early 1820s. They
were married in, and baptised their four children at, The Independent Or
Congregational Chapel, Swan Street, Denbigh.
In attempting to trace their roots in Scotland, I would like to
ask, can anyone inform me what Scottish religion would be similar in belief
and custom to the above mentioned one.
The Scottish religious group most similar in outlook to the Welsh
Independents were the Haldanites, who latter became the Congregational Union of Scotland,
however the "official" Church of Scotland was much more similar to the Welsh
Chapels than it was to the Church of England, in that the Church of Scotland
was influenced by the Preaching of Martin Luther and John Calvin, as were the
chapels and the Church of Scotland (again like the Welsh chapels) didn't
believe in the authority of Bishops, so any Scot settling in Wales might be more
comfortable in a chapel than they would be in a Parish Church.
Another consideration is that it may not have been religious affiliation that
attracted them to the Congregationalists in Swan Lane rather than to any
other sect, it is possible that Swan Lane was the only congregation in the town
that held English language services at the time of their arrival.
It is unlikely that your ancestors were married at Swan Lane, as all
marriages in Wales before 1837 had to be held in either The Church of England, a
Jewish Synagogue or a Friends (Quaker) Meeting House.
All the best
Alwyn