Were they Baptists or Not?

[Lulu1]

I apologise beforehand for the length of this request for assistance; can anyone explain the confused religious beliefs I seem to have uncovered.

My 5th great grandfather had 13 children. The first 3 (born between 1761 and 1764 were baptised at the Parish Church in Normanton on Soar around the time of their birth. The fourth, I don’t know about although the parish register states that in 1803 his wife was buried in the parish church yard but not taken into the church (a Methodist!).

The next 3 (born 1777 – 1780) were also baptised in the Parish Church of Normanton on Soar around the time of their births. The 7th child married in the parish church in Quorndon (1805) but all of his children were registered in the Quorndon Baptist Chapel and some are buried there.

The 8th child, born 1785, was registered in the Sutton Bonnington Baptist Chapel in 1837, as were his 11th, 12th and 13th children (all born between 1791 and 1797). His 13th child was also baptised at the Parish Church in Normanton on Soar in 1812 aged 15.

Children 9 and 10 were baptised in the Parish Church of Stanford on Soar in 1808, both as adults, and I can’t find any registration for them in a local Baptist Chapel. Child 9 married in 1810, Child 10 joined Wellington’s army and never returned.

So, were the family Baptists or not? From 1761 there was a Baptist Chapel in Kegworth and c1785 a Baptist Chapel in Sutton Bonnington, although there were internal wranglings around this period that led to Sutton Bonnington members leaving the Chapel at Kegworth.

Did poor old ‘Ann the Methodist’, not being taken into the church, have a proper burial? Would there have been some religious graveside service or was it purely a family affair?

Was it the prospect of Civil Registration in 1837 that caused children 8, 11, 12 and 13 to be registered at the Chapel some 40 to 52 years after their birth or something else? They were registered in Feb 1837.

I understand that Baptists do not baptise infants which could explain adults, choosing not to be Baptists like their parents, going to the Parish Church, but child 13 was only 15 years old. I also understand that between 1754 and 1837 Baptists had to marry in Anglican Churches which explains the Quorndon marriage.

Please, if anyone can shed any light on what might have been going on, or refer me to some suitable reading material, it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in anticiaption

[Jan1954]

Hello Lulu,

I have a similar situation with my family, albeit nearly a century later.

My great grandmother Ann was born May 1855, being christened in the Parish Church the following December. She married my great grandfather John, again in the Parish Church, in 1873. Ann and John had 8 (maybe 9, but that's another story...) children, the first of whom was christened in the Parish Church in 1874.

Now, John and Ann "converted" to being Baptists, being baptised in the Chapel in 1876. All subsequent children were baptised as Baptists at the age of 13.

When John and Ann died, their funeral services were held at the local Baptist Chapel, but both were buried in the churchyard of the Parish Church, in an area set aside specifically for Baptists. This may be what happened with your "Ann the Methodist".

One of the Baptist children married in the Parish Church - his bride was not a Baptist.

However, in a strange twist, the eldest boy, who had been christened in the Parish Church, married in the Baptist Chapel. In fact, his was the first wedding to take place there - in 1898 - and I have a copy of a photograph of the happy couple emerging from the Chapel.

Meanwhile, you may find the booklet "My Ancestors were Baptists" helpful. It is available from The Parish Chest.