Did your Presbyterian ancestors engage in dirty dancing?!

In a discussion on AncestryHour a few nights ago (www.ancestryhour.co.uk) I happened to mention that an ancestor of mine, Andrew Henderson, was prosecuted in a Perthshire kirk session in 1752 for 'promiscuous dancing', also known as 'promiseray dancing'. Here's the account from the session minutes:

At Arntully 8th Decr 1752. After prayer by ye Modr Sederunt John Sprunt John Morice John Kea Elders & John Richie Deacon

The Officer having reported that according to appointment he had cited to this meeting the following persons viz: Andrew Henderson, in ye Miln of Airntully, Lillias Grigor, John Nathan & George Ramsays, James Stewart, Joseph Morice, John, Agnes & Elizabeth Mallochs, Mary Crookshank, John Grigor, John Gellatly & Emilia Bennet all in Arntully. They being called, they all compeared Except James Stewart, and they being Interrigate by ye Modr One by One if they had been guilty of the indecent behaviour of promiscuous dancing, They all answered in the affirmation. Then After the Indelacicy & Sinfullness of such a Practise was laid before them ye Modr together wt ye Aggravation of their Sin having got publick Warnings agt the same They were severally Interrogate […] they acknowledged their said conduct to be sinful & thro’ Grace resolved agt the same for the future, & also against the Countenancing I so far as Witness it in others. They all after much deal acknowledged & Resolved agreeably to ye Interrogation, Except John Ramsay, who after all dealing wt him would neither Acknowledge nor Resolve as aforesaid.

They were all Removed. Then ye session proceeded to consider what Censure to Inflict upon them, and after Deliberation upon ye Matter They agreed in regard of some circumstances in ye case of ye Persons who had fallen into ye forsaid Indecent behaviour, to List in an admonition of them wt certifica[tio]n That if they shall afterwards be guilty of such a practise, the Session will inflict a higher Censure upon them. And wt respect to John Ramsay the Session delayed ye Considerat[ion]n of his case till next Meeting & that both he & James Stewart be cited to attend.

They being called in, and after ye Mod[erato]r had intimated to John Ramsay what ye session had agreed upon wt respect to him all ye rest were admonished by ye Mod[erato]r in ye Name of ye Lord Jesus Christ the only King & head of his church, wt certifican That is all or any of them should be found guilty of such a sinfull practise again, ye session would inflict a higher censure upon them. And they were exhorted by ye Modr to watchfulness & Rependance upon the Lord. Closed wt prayer.

(Source: Associate Session minutes, Kinclaven, CH3/502/1/93, National Records of Scotland)

Many of us have ancestors who were guilty of the 'sin' and 'scandal' of 'antenuptial fornication', but to really enter the Scottish genealogy hall of fame, you need to have ancestors who were guilty of dirty dancing!

It turns out, however, that this was not just a Scottish thing. A huge thanks to genealogist Kirsty Wilkinson for flagging up the Twitter find of the century, in the form of an account called Promiscuous Presbyterians, denoted as a "BA-funded project led by@DrLeanneCalvert on the sexploits of Presbyterians in Ireland & N. America, 1717-1830". There is also a website, Promiscuous Presbyterians at https://promiscuouspresbyterian.wordpress.com, concerned with 'Sex, Scandal & Sin in the Presbyterian World, 1717-1830'.

Here's the blurb:

Sexuality and Social Control: Irish Presbyterians in the Atlantic World, 1717-1830.

This project explores the relationship between sexuality, religion and migration. It focuses on Presbyterians and investigates the ways that Presbyterian sexuality was policed in Ireland and North America, between the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries.

Salacious stories of stolen trysts in backrooms, fields and forests; misbehaving ministers riding on horseback, seducing the wives of their church members; and promiscuous Presbyterian youths sneaking around behind the backs of their elders form the basis of this research. What did Presbyterian women and men in past centuries get up to under the sheets? At what point did sexual activity become illicit? How different were Presbyterian communities in Ireland and North America? In tracing this aspect of Presbyterian life, this project asks what we can learn about the family by placing sex and sexuality at the core of our research.

The project is currently funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grants Scheme (2020-21), supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Ref: SRG19\190269).

Initial funding was received from the Presbyterian Historical Society USA, Research Fellowship Scheme, and the Anna Parnell Travel Grant, from the Women’s History Association of Ireland.

It sounds a fascinating project, and one I will certainly keep an eye on as it develops further!

DISCLAIMER: I can't dance to save my life. Coincidentally, I have no matches on my Henderson line through AncestryDNA yet either. The two things may be linked...) 

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.