RCB Library Notes
Wexford Parish Registers transferred to the RCB Library
WEXFORD PARISH REGISTERS TRANSFERRED TO THE RCB LIBRARY
From: The RCB Library
Such is the deep sense of the past and appreciation for local history in Wexford, that the rector and parishioners of Wexford Union organised a special event this week to mark the transfer of the collection of parish registers to the RCB Library.
The collection is of great historic importance. It includes the registers of baptism, marriage and burial of not only the parish of Wexford (which date from 1674 onwards) but also other parishes within the union including Ardcolm, Horetown, Killman, Kilurrin, Kilpatrick Rathaspeck and Taghmon. The burial entries in the Wexford books attest to the impact of the 1798 Rebellion on the local community, with entries for several casualties of the conflict. All of the registers contain vast information about the lives of generations of Wexford families and their role in the life of the local society.
The earliest vestry minute book for Wexford which dates from 1662 details the parish?s support for the wider community, including outreach to the poor, improvement of the roads and paving of the streets in the town of Wexford. A host of deeds, leases and other loose documents dating from the early eighteenth century will also assist historians in the future to reconstruct the social, economic and cultural fabric of these parishes and tell the stories of the people who lived in them.
At the formal transfer ceremony held in St Iberius?s church, the rector of Wexford, Revd Maria Jansson said that whilst it was a sad day for local people to see the archives created during several hundred years leave for Dublin, the entire community could now be assured that the records would be safe for the future and made much more accessible to a wider audience. Responding, Dr Susan Hood, from the RCB Library said that the fireproof and security systems in the Library would ensure the safety of the records for future generations. She commended the vestry for agreeing to the transfer and hoped that other parishes in Ferns will follow. By allowing the material to come to the RCB Library (where almost 900 collections of parish registers are already housed) a much wider readership will benefit from being able to consult the Wexford collection in the context of so many others
On behalf of Wexford County Library, Ms Grainne Doran advised that copies of the registers had been microfilmed for use in the County Library. In addition, Ms Marianne Young, the parish historian, has compiled invaluable databases of surnames from the parish registers that will also be available for local consultation.
The wider community in Wexford was represented by a number of well know local historians including Eithne Scallan (author of the recently-published Houses of Wexford) Hilary Murphy, local writer and historian; Tom Williams and Seamas Seery, representing the Taghmon Historical Journal; and the County Archivist, Grainne Doran. Representing the parish were the Marianne Young, parish historian; Maria Watts, Parish Secretary, Revd Ron Graham Assistant Priest, and the Revd Maria Jansson, Rector of Wexford.
