Christening the same child more than once - why?

[Terrie]

I've been looking on the IGI and I have discovered that my Great-great-great-great-grandparents had two of their children christened twice at the same church, but a few years apart.

I have found two entries for John and Robert, both of whom seemed to have been christened shortly after their births and again when their sister Matilda was christened. A fourth child of the same family, Eliza, was christened a week later on 30th Jun 1837. The information that I have is as follows:-

John Gerard SAUNDERS
Born 28 Jun 1831
Christened 27 Sep 1831 Saint Marys Portsea
Parents James SAUNDERS Elizabeth


John Cherritt SAUNDERS
Born 28 Jun 1831
Christened 23 Jun 1837 Saint Marys Portsea
Parents James SAUNDERS Elizabeth

(On census, marriage and death returns John is shown with his middle name alternating between Gerard and Cherritt probably due to mishearing)


Robert SAUNDERS
Christened 14 Feb 1834 Saint Marys Portsea
Parents James SAUNDERS Elizabeth


Robert SAUNDERS
Born 17 Dec 1833
Christened 23 Jun 1837 Saint Marys Portsea
Parents James SAUNDERS Elizabeth

Anyone any ideas why they would have done this? I have seen the original parish records and there are no notes by the priest to explain and I am lead to believe by a distant relative that she has copies of parish registers that show that one child of the couple was christened three times.

[sally]

Hi Terrie

Have you checked to see if there were any burials before a child of the same name was Christened on the 2nd date? It was quite common for the same name to be used for a later child after the first child had died.
If you have checked & there are no burials then I have no idea why they should have been Christened twice in the same church where the vicar would have had a record that they had already been Christened.

Regards
Sally

[Terrie]

Hi Sally, Thanks for your reply. There were no burials and where present the birth dates of the child was the same for the two christenings. In one case I am lead to believe the same child was christened three times although I haven't seen the 3rd register entry.

[Guy Etchells]

Possibly due to civil registration, some thought that any child not baptised would have to be registered and a fee paid. This could have been making certain the children were recorded in the register. Some also thought that there was no need to register a child if it had been registered in the baptism register.

Did you notice who the incumbent was at each baptism, could it be a new vicar making sure all his flock was baptised?

Cheers
Guy

[Geoffers]

Was this a single entry or one of a large number on this day? If the latter, this may have been children either in receipt of parish support, or living in the workhouse.

I have come across examples of children being baptised when their parents were in employment, then later going into a workhouse and there being a mass baptism.

An alternative is if the first baptism was 'private' and the second either the child being recieved/admitted into church - or in the case of a new cleric, him being a stickler for following the rites.

Geoffers

[SmoothJ]

Hello Terrie,

I am interested in your Portsea family, I am a Saunders with
Portsea roots my great grandfather was Thomas Saunders
a naval corporal, I have not investigated further back other than
the IGI and have not got anywhere with it.
I would be very interested if you have any connections.

[suedent]

I suspect that the first date refers to a private baptism and that the second refers to the public baptism.

Sometimes a private baptism was performed if the child wasn't expected to live long. Usually the child would be brought to the church for the public baptism within a few weeks/months. Some however slipped through the net. I came across one lady who was in her 60s before the public baptism was performed, there was an explanatory note by the vicar in the margin of the register.