My ancestors were members of the Templepatrick Presbyterian Church located a short distance southeast of Templepatrick. Does anyone know which of the Templepatrick cemeteries members of this church typically used for their family members? My son and I are coming to visit the area the second week of September and would like to visit the cemetery where our ancestors are buried.
Thank you.
David Chamness
Holland, MI
David,
According to the UHF site there are 5 cemeteries in Templepatrick parish: Craigarogan; Templepatrick Old; Templepatrick Church of Ireland; Mallusk & Umgall. The site has the map co-ordinates for each graveyard:
https://www.ancestryireland.com
Finding where someone is buried in Ireland can be tricky. Not all churches had a graveyard, especially Presbyterians. In addition, folk weren’t always buried in the graveyard associated with the church they attended. They often had family plots in unexpected places (perhaps where ancestors used to live) and so it can be tricky finding them. Presbyterians in Ireland don’t use the parish system and can often attend a church some distance form where they lived and they often used a different graveyard. It's common for Presbyterians to be buried in Church of Ireland graveyards. Also Presbyterians don't normally keep burial records, so that doesn’t help either. The area around Templepatrick is full of churches and graveyards, but I would start by trying the 5 I have mentioned.
Hi Elwyn,
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I have searched on the internet and have been unable to find a site that will take the cemetery coordinates and display the location on a map. Do you have any suggestions for a site where I can type in the coordinates and see them on a map?
Thank you again,
David Chamness
Hi Elwyn,
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I have searched on the internet and have been unable to find a site that will take the cemetery coordinates and display the location on a map. Do you have any suggestions for a site where I can type in the coordinates and see them on a map?
Thank you again,
David Chamness
David,
Ordnance Survey probably do the best maps for Northern Ireland. You’ll hopefully get something suitable online from their website.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/osni-online-map-shop
Personally I’d just look the references up on a paper map. I find that easier than searching on-line but I would be the first to admit I am not great with IT. You can order paper maps from the above website as well as on-line ones.
You can use the Irish GridReference Finder tool to locate NI OS coordinates on an online map - paste the OS coordinates from the UHF Graveyard data into the 'Grid Reference' field and click the 'Go' button to the right - e.g. J228859 for Templepatrick Old. These coordinates do not always seem to be very specific and may indicate a square on the map, you could have to look around the find the exact point of interest. Graveyards are usually more obvious on the aerial maps, you can switch to this layer on the GridReference tool. Worth also checking the PRONI historic maps which include historic layer options.
You can also use this Coordinate Converter tool to show the OS references as GPS coordinates which can be used on other online maps - e.g. Google or OpenStreetMaps
Dear David:
You might also check out the FindAGrave website which has some cemeteries associated with Templepatrick.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2622892/templepatrick-church-of-ireland
It might also be worth checking out the Templepatrick Presbyterian Church website and contacting them directly. The website is here: http://templepatrickpci.org/
Please let us know if you need any further assistance.
Kind regards,
Jane
Thank you everyone for your help with this. The Irish Grid Referencefinder worked very well. Now I will know where to look when we get to Templepatric.
Thanks again - you all are great!
Dave Chamness