What did people use their baptismal details for?

[susan-w]

My gg aunt, Emily Philippa Watkins was baptised on 28 April 1841 at All Souls, Saint Marylebone, London, with the abode given as Essex.

The parish register gives her date of birth as 5 September 1840. However, a marginal note in January 1842 corrects this to 5 September 1839.

I just wondered why the parish records were changed then, when she was just over 2 years old? Was there a reason they'd looked at the record, or did someone just happen to notice the mistake (seems unlikely, as they were living in Essex)?

Also, can I sneak in a second question :) I don't know yet why she was baptised so far from home. Her brother (my ggrandfather) was baptised in Kennington, London. I’ve still to find four other siblings. Without the internet, I'd never have discovered these two :)

Were people often baptised in another parish?

[Geoffers]

The parish register gives her date of birth as 5 September 1840. However, a marginal note in January 1842 corrects this to 5 September 1839. I just wondered why the parish records were changed then, when she was just over 2 years old? Was there a reason they'd looked at the record, or did someone just happen to notice the mistake
Cold be any reason, I'm afraid that without more information in the marginal note, any ideas would just tbe guesswork.


Also....I don't know yet why she was baptised so far from home. Her brother (my ggrandfather) was baptised in Kennington, London. I’ve still to find four other siblings. Without the internet, I'd never have discovered these two....Were people often baptised in another parish?
It's not unknown. I've found quite a few records where it would seem that a family had lived in one area and moved away after a period of time - but still took their children back to their 'home' parish to be baptised.

In another case, a couple had a child baptised in a parish (not their home), a few weeks before an elderly relative had died there - maybe they felt some connection and thought it would be a nivce thing to do......or just maybe they wanted to get in his will and thought it would be a way of reminding him of thieir existence??????

Geoffers
Charlbury, Oxfordshire

[Fulhamster]

One common thing seems to have been pleasing one side of the family or the other by having the child baptised when visiting the father's or mother's parents - especially if it's the firstborn. A baptism like that can sometimes be a useful hint as to where the previous generation might be living.

While it doesn't apply so much to Marylebone, there are also innumerable people who had their child baptised when visiting London. I reckon the vicar of St James Piccadilly must have been a dab hand with the lassoo and caught them as they were walking past - there are some pages of the register which hardly have anyone from London on them, let alone the actual parish - people from Kent, people from Cumberland - all over the country. St James has probably stood out most to me through regular use, but some of the other popular London churches don't seem an awful lot different.

Hiya!
I was just about to ask if there was any benefit in baptising children in different parishes should the family fall on hard times. The lasso story, however, convinced me that the clergy would hardly be out trying to increase the burden on their parish! Perhaps it may have been beneficial in earlier times,I am sure that I read in a thread somewhere on here that that was the case.

[susan-w]

I’ve not managed to find a connection with Kennington yet, and only a distant one for Marylebone. But I’ll keep looking, as I’m sure there must be something. I’ll look out for that elderly relative, Geoffers, as about that time the father mysteriously added a second middle name. Mythology, interesting about St James.

I just wondered if they’d needed the birth info for something - like we might need it now for children starting nursery school. I guess it was a little different then

I know that Emily’s father needed proof of age when he applied to the East India Company as an army cadet - he had to provide a signed affadavit in its place, as he obviously had no more success finding his entry in the registers than I did :)

Fulhamster, I also saw that interesting thread on here. Thank you very much everyone for your help - much appreciated.

[susan-w]

Originally, I asked why my gggrandfather seems to have baptised his children in different parishes with which he seemed to have no connection. Well, I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough.

One of his children was called Bazett Watkins. I hadn’t found his baptism. Then I had a brainwave. Maybe, as he was named after cousin Bazett Doveton, perhaps he was baptised in Doveton’s parish, which wasn’t on the IGI. BD died in 1848 in Portman Sq, London.

I managed to get to the London Metropolitan Archives this weekend, to see the records of the local church, St Mary, Bryanston Square, St Marylebone, and was amazed to discover Bazett’s baptism in Nov 1842.

Strangely, Bazett was baptised before his older sister, Emily. I guess my gggrandfather haad high hopes that his son might come into some money from BD’s will - he didn’t, though!

Thank you for your suggestions that led to this brainwave. Now I just need to consider who was living where the other children were baptised. :)

Thank you
Susan