Presbyterianism came to Ireland with the Scottish planters in the first Plantation of Ulster during the early seventeenth century. The Penal Laws imposed severe restrictions on Presbyterians and it was illegal for Presbyterian ministers to perform marriages of members of their congregation until 1782. Presbyterians could only be legally married or buried according to the rites of the Church of Ireland and as a result early records of Presbyterian baptisms, marriages and deaths are often to be found in the registers of the local Church of Ireland parish.

In general, Presbyterian registers commence much later than those of the Church of Ireland. The north-east of Ulster had a strong Presbyterian population from an early date and some registers date from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.

Baptisms normally record:

• Date of baptism
• Name of child
• Names of sponsors (occasionally)
• Address of family (in most cases)
• Occupation of father.

Marriages normally record:

• Date of marriage
• Name of groom
• Name of bride
• Names of witnesses
• Names and addresses of parents (in some cases, especially from 1860s onwards).

Few Presbyterian registers record burials.

The equivalent of the Church of Ireland vestry minutes in the Presbyterian church are Session and committee minutes. The Session minutes sometimes record baptisms, marriages, the names of new communicants, names of those who transgressed and those who left the church as well as subscription lists. There may be separate communicants’ registers which sometimes contain details of deaths, emigrations or transfers to other congregations. There is also the stipend book which records those who paid into the church and seat lists or pew rent books.

Original registers are held in local custody or by the Presbyterian Historical Society. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland has a fairly comprehensive collection of copies of Presbyterian Church records (MIC/IP and CR/3).