Recently, a local history question arrived in our mailbox. That’s not unusual – the aim of the Society is to share our history and to preserve its richness for future generations – and we answer many questions drawing upon our own files and the resources to which we have access. What is unusual is the location of the requester – New Zealand!
A gentleman in New Zealand was trying to locate the marriage record of two of his wife’s ancestors. In 1873 they were married in what was then Upper Merion, now West Conshohocken. They attended Balligomingo Baptist Church.
After some digging, we were able to provide information about the couple and the church. Here are some of our findings about Balligomingo Baptist church:
From the 1920 Conshohocken Register, the Balligomingo Baptist church was organized November 25, 1840 and is the parent church of the First Baptist church of Conshohocken. For many years the congregation worshiped in a quaint and pretty edifice in Balligomingo, a village established by the woolen mills there and which was the principal part of the borough at the time of its incorporation.
A pretty stone church was erected in the heart of the borough in Ford street between Merion and Cedar avenues, together with a comfortable and commodious parsonage, in 1907.
Per the Baptist Historical Society website, Baptists do not designate marriage as a sacrament and that most Baptist churches do not keep records of marriages. Individual pastors might keep records of those he or she has married, however. This is one of the reasons that genealogists don’t find much help in Baptists records.
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When you have a local history question, remember to contact us at info@kophistory.org.
