Two mysteries in Birth/Baptism Records

[AudreyF]

I have William Johnson who marries Maria Heifer/Heffer in 1821 in Suffolk. They seemed to settle in Halesworth, Suffolk and I'm looking at their many children.

I have a whole lot born and baptised in Halesworth and they appear in the record set England & Wales Non-Conformist & Non-Parochial Registers 1567 - 1970.

The first child seems to be William born in 1821 but I can't prove his birth or baptism in the records. There is a 20 year old William Johnson in the 1841 census living near my William and Maria who are, I assume, his parents. William (the father) is a chimney sweep and has a few of his younger children with him so I'm sure he is right.

William and Maria have a son William born 3rd January 1831 and baptised 10th April 1831 according to the above record set. Two sons with the same name and the first/older one has not died?

The second mystery surrounds the records for my ancestor who is Sidney Johnson. I've got older children born from 1825 to 1842 and, so far, all baptisms are noted in the register above with date of birth and confirming the parents as William and Maria Johnson on Halesworth.

Sidney appears born 9th January 1833 and baptised 31st March 1833. Then there is an Eliza noted as born 9th June 1833 and baptised 9th March 1834. Parents are right for both. All the children were 'usually' baptised about two months after their birth. I've looked back through the pages to see if Eliza's year of birth is wrongly written but the pages/dates all seem to follow and make sense. But, could Maria have had a baby six months after the previous one?

I must be mis-reading, mis-understanding something but I can't see it. Could there be TWO William Johnsons married to TWO Marias and having children at the same time in Halesworth????

[Pam Downes]

I have William Johnson who marries Maria Heifer/Heffer in 1821 in Suffolk. They seemed to settle in Halesworth, Suffolk and I'm looking at their many children.

I have a whole lot born and baptised in Halesworth and they appear in the record set England & Wales Non-Conformist & Non-Parochial Registers 1567 - 1970.

The first child seems to be William born in 1821 but I can't prove his birth or baptism in the records.[/B]
Obvious question - have you checked the C of E baptism registers for the same period?

There is a 20 year old William Johnson in the 1841 census living near my William and Maria who are, I assume, his parents.

Never, ever, assume, with a common name like Johnson, especially in the 1841 census, because no relationship us given regarding people in a household. Later than 1841, I have two Charles with an unusual surname, born about a year apart, who both married an Emma. The only way I could prove which one was 99% mine was to find out which one listed a father on his marriage certificate because the other one was illegitimate.

William (the father) is a chimney sweep and has a few of his younger children with him so I'm sure he is right.

William and Maria have a son William born 3rd January 1831 and baptised 10th April 1831 according to the above record set. Two sons with the same name and the first/older one has not died?

The second mystery surrounds the records for my ancestor who is Sidney Johnson. I've got older children born from 1825 to 1842 and, so far, all baptisms are noted in the register above with date of birth and confirming the parents as William and Maria Johnson on Halesworth.

Sidney appears born 9th January 1833 and baptised 31st March 1833. Then there is an Eliza noted as born 9th June 1833 and baptised 9th March 1834. Parents are right for both. All the children were 'usually' baptised about two months after their birth. I've looked back through the pages to see if Eliza's year of birth is wrongly written but the pages/dates all seem to follow and make sense. But, could Maria have had a baby six months after the previous one?

I must be mis-reading, mis-understanding something but I can't see it. Could there be TWO William Johnsons married to TWO Marias and having children at the same time in Halesworth????

9 January 1833 and 9 June 1833 seem like two dates with an amazing coincidence.
I wonder if William and Maria plus possibly the clergyman got a little confused?
Have another very careful look at Eliza's month of birth. Are you 110% certain it says June? My thought is that possibly the clergyman made an error. How about William and Mary saying to him 'Eliza was born on the same day as her brother'.
'Oh, that's unusual. When was that?'
'9 January 1833'.
Clergyman duly writes 9 Jan 1833 in register, when he should have written 9 Jan 1834, because W and M only meant the same day, not the same year. He also manages to write Jan badly enough to look like Jun.
(Only theorising at the moment because I can't see the original entries, and I've only 6% battery power left on the tablet. )

Pam

[AudreyF]

Yes, I take your point it is a common name and the 1841 census is not very helpful - or accurate in many cases. It could just be a coincidence.

I thought I had tracked back and forth through the pages in the register and the dates lined up but I may have missed something so would be grateful if anyone else can have a look.

I have searched several times for any record of William born in 1821 but not found any sign of him ……….. yet.

[warncoort]

Might William have been baptised under his mother's maiden name?

[Jomot1]

The William born c1821 gives his PoB in later census as Harleston, Norfolk. He married Elizabeth Denny in 1842, so your best bet would be to order their marriage certificate to establish who his father was.

[Jomot1]

Regards Eliza, baptisms etc were often written in a 'day book' first, or even on scraps of paper, so its possible the minister misread his own handwriting, mistaking 9 Jan for 9 Jun, then as June 1834 hadn't happened yet, added 1833 as her birth year.

The next but one entry after Eliza, but baptised on the same day, is recorded as being born 18 Sep 1834 & baptised 9 Mar 1834 - six months before his birth - so the minister certainly appears to have been having a bad day at work!