Address discrepancies between records

[debhdebh]

Hello,

I have two different families, living in Bethnal Green circa 1820-1870, who marry and have their children christened at Shoreditch St Leonards, but the addresses they give do not match the other records I have for them.

I have birth certificates for some of the children, and the address where they are born, and of the informant, is always in Bethnal Green. However, when they are christened at Shoreditch St Leonards there is a different address, one that is in Shoreditch. I know these are the same children because all the other details match, including the birth dates.

Both families are in Bethnal Green in all the census records. Also, some of the children die young and are buried at Globe Fields or Victoria Park Cemetery, where the addresses listed on the records are the same as those on the census records - all in Bethnal Green.

Has anyone come across anything similar? Was St Leonards a particularly good place to have your children christened?

[emeltee]

Usually you have to live in the Parish to have any sort of a ceremony in a particular church. When my Mum and Dad got married she wanted the ceremony to be in a particular church but her home address was just outside the Parish boundary. Part of her road was within the Parish but the house where she lived wasn't so whilst the correct road is on the marriage cert the number is about 20 houses out, number 68 instead of 48.

If your family wanted their children baptised at a particular church they may have given the wrong address to make it look as though they lived within the Parish.

Others may have a better idea of course.

Emeltee

[stepives]

Have you assessed where these addresses are, in relation to where they lived.

It's not unusual to have a child, at a friends or neighbours house.....or perhaps the birth happened sooner than expected, whilst out visitng.

Being born somewhere, is not neccessarily where they lived.

Who were the informants of the births, and are there any other clues to their own addresses.

Steve.

[debhdebh]

Hi Steve

Thanks for your reply, I don't think that can be the case here though as it happens for every child (12 in total across the two families). They're all born in Bethnal Green and all christened at St Leonards Shoreditch.

The informant is always the mother, and the birth address and her address match on each of the certificates. The census records match the birth certificates, as do the burial records at the cemeteries.

With one of the families the Shoreditch/Bethnal Green addresses are quite close to each other, with the Bethnal Green ones being close to the Shoreditch border, so it makes sense that they would use that church. But with the other family the Bethnal Green addresses are several parishes away.

With both families, the Bethnal Green addresses are quite consistent, but the Shoreditch ones vary a lot, sometimes moving backwards and forwards between several places.

deb

Have you assessed where these addresses are, in relation to where they lived.

It's not unusual to have a child, at a friends or neighbours house.....or perhaps the birth happened sooner than expected, whilst out visitng.

Being born somewhere, is not neccessarily where they lived.

Who were the informants of the births, and are there any other clues to their own addresses.

Steve.

[debhdebh]

Hi Emeltee

That certainly looks like the most likely scenario here. On of the families was a few parishes away from Shoreditch, so maybe there was something special about St Leonards at the time.

deb

[thewideeyedowl]

I suspect that there was something special about this church - photographs suggest that it was rather grand. British History Online is useful, giving lots of detail about its rebuilding in the Palladian style, 1736-1740: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/sur...pp91-125#fnn76.

You could also visit the website of St Leonard's, which also covers the building and history: https://www.shoreditchchurch.org.uk/building.

A further thought, perhaps a grandmother had been born in Shoreditch and wanted the family to keep links. Just a guess.

Swooping off now.

Owl

[debhdebh]

Hi Owl,

It certainly is a grand-looking church, so you may well be right. I've walked past the church many times, but I should probably go inside and see if there's anyone to talk to about it. What I haven't yet done is research the other churches that were open at the time - that might give me a comparison. Thanks for prompting that thought!

Deb

[thewideeyedowl]

You might be able to glean some more info if you consult the original entries for the baptisms. (Sometimes you will find little notes in the margin.) St Leonard's website says that the archives are held mainly at the London Metropolitan Archives but some are still available on microfiche at a different location: https://www.shoreditchchurch.org.uk/history-archive. I'll leave you to work out what's where.

I also checked TNA's website and discovered that there is a St Leonard's Hospital, which was previously St Leonard's Workhouse. These archives are held by St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Wellcome Museum. Again, you might glean further info if any of the folk had been connected with the Workhouse. Just a thought.

Swooping off now.

Owl