I'm not familiar with how church services were conducted in the 1600s. But I do know that county court order books are full of fines and penalties levied against people for not attending service, swearing in public, etc. One must keep in mind that there was no separation of church and state then as we know it today. The county courts enforced religious laws and the parish vestries took on some of the functions of local civil government. I don't think many of us today would appreciate being hauled into court to answer for our religious practices or lack thereof. _________________ Donald W. Moore, CG(sm) Antecedents(r) LLC http://www.antecedents.com Member, Association of Professional Genealogists http://www.apgen.org Certified Genealogist and CG are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists(r) and used here under license. Antecedents is a registered service mark of Antecedents LLC. To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html