Genealogy Chat

Why wait until child is 29 years old to be batised?, irish catholic family too. William Carney was born in 1848 and baptised in 1875 why?

Betty

Perhaps they were only nominal Catholics rather than practising, and when the 29 year old wanted a church wedding, he had to be baptised first.

Janice

Hi Janice,

Yes I do understand what you mean but I do know they were very much into the catholic faith. My grandmother was the sister of this William and she was up every morning at 5am to attend 6am mass, yes 6am mass, every morning of her life.

Betty

Hi Betty,

Only guessing here then, but maybe he wanted to make a public declaration of his own faith rather than just accept something his parents had done to/for him as a baby - which didn't mean anything to him at the time. Like adult baptism in non-conformist churches.

Janice

Hi Janice,

I really do accept what you are saying its just the parents got my grandmother and her sister baptised in the same church and my grandmother was only 2 weeks old when she was baptised, her sister too was young, I just wondered why they would leave his baptism so late when the others were baptised within weeks of birth.

Betty

Would it be anything to do with the Poor Law whatsit? I recently heard about folk have to be baptised in order to obtain Parish relief. Some were baptised more than once if they moved around. Not sure how this applied to Roman Catholics though. Not much help - just a thought really.

Hi Cynthia,

I think he was living in Liverpool before or when he was baptised, looks like sometimes they got several children baptised at the same time.

Betty

Any response you get will be conjecture.........there are times when you just have to accept things at face value.

Hi Ericthered,

I think you mean something like this!!

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Betty

Were there other boys? I ask because although my husband is Irish and not Catholic his grandparents were C of I and Catholic and it was not unusual for the boys to follow their fathers faith and the girls their mothers.

His mother was C of I and her 4 brothers all Catholic and I know of many other instances of mixed faith marriages doing this.

Maybe when he was 29 he decided to become Catholic.