Week 13 – Light A Candle  

 

When I simply googled “Light A Candle” most everything I read referred to church in some way. As most of us come from a variety of ethnicities, or nationalities, one thing that has always fascinated me was learning more about the religious backgrounds from which I descend. Do we inherently pass on religion to our offspring much in the same we pass on DNA?  A few years back, I had the idea of documenting the religious affiliations of my known ancestors. It became a daunting task, as so many of the churches they likely belonged to no longer exist. While some are buried in church cemeteries, indicating they likely attended there, in many instances, searching through local histories where they lived ended up being the only resource available. 

I am a Protestant Christian. I find no other faith in my ancestry as far back as I can document, which goes back to the 15^th century. Here is what I know...

One of my oldest, traceable lineages is that of the Anthony family. William Anthony was born in Cologne, Germany, sometime in the late 1400’s. He went to London and served as the chief engraver of the mint and seals of King Edward VI, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I. William and at least four generations of his descendants are buried at the Church of Saint Bartholomew the Great, indicating they belonged to the Church of England. The Church of England is a Protestant denomination which was formed in the early 16^th century as a movement against the Catholics. My Anthony ancestors, as well as the Boude, Grimston, and Cox lines were all members of the Church of England. Once in America, they continued to attend Anglican, but also Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches. Many of their descendants attended Christ Church in Philadelphia and a number of my ancestors can be found in the historic Christ Church Burial Ground.

My German ancestors were Lutheran as far back as I can document – thanks to those impeccable records they keep! The Baptism of the children of Hans Noth/Neth are recorded in the late 1500’s in Lutheran records. After coming to America, many of his descendants married into other affiliations, mostly joining either Methodist or Presbyterian churches. My grandmother, attended the Methodist church and although I was raised in the Baptist church, I became familiar with the Methodists through her.  My Hillegas ancestors were also Lutheran and after immigrating, married into the Boude family of England. They also joined the many lines of my family that attended Christ Church. The origins of my Ditmore line begin with my earliest documented ancestor, John Ditmore, who may have been of German descent. He was married in South Carolina by Rev. Dr. Faber, who was affiliated with St. John’s Lutheran Church. However, since it’s a fact his bride was German, that may have been the connection.

Anthony Moore, my 7^th times great-grandfather, and his wife, Zilphia, were Quakers.  The oldest document I have regarding the Quakers is from Hopewell Monthly Meeting in Frederick County, Virginia, which details the births of their seven children from 1759 through 1774. The Quakers, or “The Religious Society of Friends” dates back to the 1650’s, also originating in England. While the Quakers are alive and well today, Levi Moore, the grandson of Anthony and Zilphia doesn’t appear in any “Friends” records, or of any other church for that matter that I’ve been able to find. For several generations, the religious affiliation of the Moore’s is missing, but once they married into the Pennington line, they became Baptists.

My mother was raised in the Baptist Church. For a number of generations, through her side of the family, you will find my ancestors affiliated with a plethora of Baptist Churches.  Georgia and North Carolina are dotted with Baptist Church cemeteries where many of my ancestors reside.  Once again, the Baptist roots were propagated in England, but there are many variations of Baptists. Of course, there are the Southern Baptists, but also Primitive Baptists and Free Will Baptists can be found in my family tree.

Today I “Light A Candle” for all my ancestors that have come before me - to remember in all the ways they made me who I am. We all have ancestors who gave us a little piece of themselves. No matter from whom we descend, regardless of facial features; religious affiliation; skin color; height and weight; (as many differences as you can think of) we all belong to one big family – The Human Race.  If we all focus on how much we are alike rather than how we are different, imagine what a great place we will leave for our descendants.