Need to confirm baptism

[apowell]

Hi,

I've located some really useful information that covered my Bayley family entitled BAYLEY OF HAUGHTON. The information had been posted a few years ago and I'm very sceptical of this type of information. This information did however seem well sourced but I have a major concern concerning this ancestor:

Thomas Bayley of Haughton yeoman 1660-1696 c 31 Jan 1659ù60 m 4 Aug 1685 (by licence) (settlement, BAY A33-4) Seighford: Ann Reynolds dau of Thomas Reynolds of Haughton 1613-1677 QV and Catherine (Downes dau of Thomas Downes of Haughton 1570-1644 QV); i 13 Oct 1721; Will 17 Apr 1719/24 Nov 1721 i 9 Nov 1696; Will 23 May 1688/7 Apr 1697 1683 fw; (in bond with Thomas Williams) 1687 [BAY A36]; 1688 bw; 1693 I
children:
Thomas Bayley c 29 Jan 1688ù9; 1719 mw below
Mary Bayley c 11 Jun 1691; [not in mw]; ? m 14 Jun 1720 Lichfield see Haughton PR): Nathaniel Dean of Ellenhall
Robert Bayley c 27 Oct 1693; 1719 mw; 1725 [BAY A38]; 1730; ? overseer) 1727;
William Bayley c 7 Mar 1697ù8 below

My direct ancestor was Mary Bayley who married Nathanial Dean but the concern is I've been unable to confirm the batism entry of 11 Jun 1691. In fact I've only been able to confirm the baptism of William 7 Mar 1697. I've looked at the internet sites and also the original parish records of Haughton on findmypast to no avail however the state of the original records are in very bad shape.

My question is can anyone confirm the bapt's entry and also any idea on the jargon used for the source material eg. Thomas Bayley of Haughton yeoman 1660-1696 c 31 Jan 1659ù60 m 4 Aug 1685 (by licence) (settlement, BAY A33-4) Seighford.

The web link for the above is:
STAFFORDSHIRE-L [STS] BAYLEY OF HAUGHTON, STS

I'm not sure this is a brickwall but feels like it to me

Feel free to move it if required.

Kind regards
Adrian

[pwholt]

An easy point to deal with is the January date for Thomas' baptism. At that period, the new year started in March, 25th to be precise, and so dates before that period are often referred to with a double dating eg 1659/60, to remind us that we would calculate ages differently than what the original document says. The licence reference is to a marriage licence for which there may be surviving additional documentation in the relevant diocesan records. These are worth following up as they may name bondsmen who are relatives, and even give ages for the parties of the marriage. They often give marital status which for widows is particularly helpful- it stops you haring off down a wrong line. pwholt

[Peter Goodey]

There is a published transcription (pub Staffordshire Parish Register Society) available on microfiche.

[apowell]

Hi,

Many thanks for your help much appriciated.

On your advice pwholt i searched the staffordshire archives website and found a number of documents referring to marriage settlements, wills and the estate of the Bayley family of Haughton, Staffs which looks really promising. I'm wondering will it be cheaper to get a researcher to obtain the material or order direct. I don't know of any good reliable researcher so if anyone could advise maybe by a private message (so not to advertise) that would be really helpful. I appriciate the advice regarding marriage status which I've fallen foul of previous (time consuming and expensive).

I was really puzzled why there didn't seem to be any enteries in the Haughton parish records 1690's (except for 1698) so I ordered online the Haughton parish records transcribed to re-check. There isn't any entries recorded which seems odd however maybe these enteries were destroyed or lost.

I attempted to email the person who posted the information but the email address is no longer in use and where did he get those baptism dates from ? That's my concern.

The last piece of information I obtained was the inventory of goods for Nathanial Dean 1727 husband of Mary Bayley and interestingly one of the appraisers was Humphrey Bayley and Danial Dean (brother in law). Danial Dean (of Ellenhall) married Elizabeth meese Gnosall 1733 & Humphrey Bayley married Mary Meeson Gnosall 1730. Maybe some family connections ?

It's a real buzz to be able to go so far back but I want to source as much evidence as possible to ensure I'm correct but it's looking positive.

Many thanks
Adrian

[pwholt]

Sometimes pages go missing from registers - torn out, fall out, or so on. However, there may also be Bishops' Transcripts, copies sent every year to the Bishop of the diocese. While these too can have great gaps, sometimes they fill gaps in the registers. You can only hope. These might be the source for the entries you seek. pwholt

[apowell]

Hi,

Thanks that's useful information regarding the Bishop's transcripts.

I've checked on the Staffordshire Archives website and they hold:

Title: Bishop's transcripts for Haughton, 1659-1877.

This covers the period I'm interested in and because I know the dates to check 1690-1700 it shouldn't cost a fortune.

Thank you very much.
Adrian

[janbooth]

Adrian,

Do you have a copy of Thomas BAYLEY's Lichfield Will? If not it could be worthwhile ordering it online from Lichfield Record Office. His name is recorded as Thomas BAYLY of Haughton, Yeoman, and was proved at Lichfield on 7 April 1697. There are also several other BAYLEY of Haughton Wills, some of which might also prove useful to you. The Wills cost £5.50 each (in the UK) and normally the service is pretty quick.

Janet

[apowell]

Hi Janet,

No but I saw a few wills and other documents held at Lichfield Record Office that relate directly to the family. I'm not sure if it would be cheaper tp pay a researcher to get photocopies of them all directly or order via Lichfield Record Office. £5.50 at time would be really expensive considering I found upwards of 15 documents.

Kind regards
Adrian

[janbooth]

Could be but I don't know how much a researcher would cost. However, looking on the bright side with that number of documents relating to your family, you should be able to pick up quite a bit of information!!

Janet

[apowell]

Hi,

I managed to contact the person who posted the information on the Bayley family after tracking down a more recent post. He was very generous and helpful giving me an updated information sheet including extracts of some of the wills I mentioned. I can confirm he obtained the baptism entries for the Bayleys missing from the Haughton parish records from the Haughton Bishops transcription.

Haughton Bishops transcription
The original registers are defective c1659-1699 and beyond. The original BTs for 1659-1661, 1662 [1663], 1664, 1665 [1666-1667], 1668, 1669, 1670-1675, 1676-1682 are repeated on one large leaf in 1693 which appears to repeat errors in the register suggesting the register was not written in year on year. The reading of the earlier BTs is to be preferred. Information in {...} is from 1693 leaf.

The above information maybe of help to anyone looking at the Haughton parish records.

I knew given his well sourced documentaion that the information was good but I'm delighted to have traced back to the 1490's with confidence. Amazing platform to build on if possible.

Many thanks all and happy hunting.
Adrian