MythicalMarian
03-05-2009, 12:38 PM
It's only a little incidental thing, but having now received copies of all those wonderful documents (The Hamilton Papers) from the LRO which I enthused about on another thread, I have at long last, after 24 years, found the birthdate and baptism for my great great grandma Betty Siddal. I had searched all the usual places and parish records, and had just given up, recording her as born 'circa 1801' in Cheadle. I knew her family, her parents and ancestry etc, so nothing would be gained by actually discovering the baptism in black and white.
But it's always nice to just get that final little detail, and I am now in possession of the copy of an affidavit that was presented as part of a long-running chancery case (1787-1851) and lo and behold, my Betty was born on 7th December 1801 and baptised on 7th February 1802 at the Mount Tabor Chapel, New Connexion Methodists in Stockport! I would never have dreamed of looking at these records, even had I known where to find them!
So, my Betty had two sisters baptised in the local Presbyterian church, a younger brother and sister baptised in the local Church of England and herself a Methodist. Obviously, god-bothering wasn't a big thing for this family - they just nipped into the nearest, convenient place. :)
Now I just need to find her eldest brother John's baptism to complete the family - goodness knows where they went for him. Pick a church, pick a denomination - my Siddals weren't fussy in Cheadle. My docs have proved, however, that the said brother John had no issue, so his bap isn't crucial - just one of those final little details.
I might add also that I have spent 24 years tracing my direct line and now I find that a pedigree had been sitting in my grandfather's house for generations! Ah well - it wouldn;t have been half as much fun if I'd found this years ago - and at least I now have the satisfaction of knowing I traced everything correctly. :D
But it's always nice to just get that final little detail, and I am now in possession of the copy of an affidavit that was presented as part of a long-running chancery case (1787-1851) and lo and behold, my Betty was born on 7th December 1801 and baptised on 7th February 1802 at the Mount Tabor Chapel, New Connexion Methodists in Stockport! I would never have dreamed of looking at these records, even had I known where to find them!
So, my Betty had two sisters baptised in the local Presbyterian church, a younger brother and sister baptised in the local Church of England and herself a Methodist. Obviously, god-bothering wasn't a big thing for this family - they just nipped into the nearest, convenient place. :)
Now I just need to find her eldest brother John's baptism to complete the family - goodness knows where they went for him. Pick a church, pick a denomination - my Siddals weren't fussy in Cheadle. My docs have proved, however, that the said brother John had no issue, so his bap isn't crucial - just one of those final little details.
I might add also that I have spent 24 years tracing my direct line and now I find that a pedigree had been sitting in my grandfather's house for generations! Ah well - it wouldn;t have been half as much fun if I'd found this years ago - and at least I now have the satisfaction of knowing I traced everything correctly. :D