Genealogy Chat

Hi everybody

I have just found a baptism on Lancs OPC of an ancestor, Richard Edwards.

He was born in Salford in approximately 1865, and I already knew that he was in an Industrial School in 1881, in Bolton.

His Baptism was at St John The Evangalist, Wingates, Westhoughton in 1880.

His parents are given as Evan Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards. Elizabeth was his 2nd wife and was NOT the mother of Richard. Richards abode is given as Industrial School.

I tlooks as though there were lots of young boys from the school baptised on the same day.
Does anybody have any idea why this would be?

Thanks in advance.

Carol.

They probably got a new priest in the parish who zealously decided to have a mass baptism for all the boys he thought hadn't been baptised as children.

Not the same thing, but I have examples in my tree of Catholic families at a time when that religion was forbidden. They managed not to have their children baptised in the C of E church, but a new parish priest arrived and rounded them all up. Lots of the children were seven to ten tears old at the time

Baptism was/is optional. There are no rules governing it or at what age a person should be baptised. My wife for example was born to Christian parents and raised as a Christian but she was allowed to grow up and make her own choice which she did and she was actually baptised when aged 30.

"Bulk" baptisms were quite quite common as a look at old parish records will reveal. Parents often had several of their children all baptised on the same day.

I can only assume that the principals of the industrial school that he was at decided that those who had not already been baptised would benefit from the experience. It should be remembered that children sent to Industrial schools were in the main destitute, beyond parental control or in moral danger. It follows therefore that as well as trying to educate those in their care and provide an opportunity to learn a trade, that the schools would also provide a religious education culminating in those in care being baptised.

Thank you Lindain and Jonesey, makes a bit more sense to me now.

Best wishes

Carol.

Hi Cazziemc
i found a baptism of a forebear aged 40 so looks like older baptism were quite common.
Best wishes
Norma

I found one at 15 - the boy had been born in Holland and Im guessing that as he was about to start an apprenticeship with the railways he may have been asked for proof of age. I just wonder if the baptism was a way of proving this.

My gg grandad was baptised aged 8 along with his siblings and children from another family, who I found out were distantly related.
My gg grandfather's family had lived away from the area for a few years.
I can only assume they'd waited until the families were together again before having a joint (and therefore cheaper) mass baptism!!

People had no choice but to be married in a church - and to do that they had to be christened/baptised.
If this didn't happen in infancy, then it had to be done before the marriage.

My grandson, his mum and his aunt were all baptized at the same time, last year.

Back in the 1800's one of my wife's family lines were canal boat people, working up to Birmingham from the Severn along the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Halfway point was the village of Stoke Prior where her 3 x great grandfather and several siblings were all baptized at the same time.

It was apparently a regular stopping off and meeting point for canal folk and looking at the parish records, it seems bulk baptisms happened occurred fairly regularly.

OH relative was baptised age 10 when going to a church run school,,it was policy even if they had been done as an infant..so very common.

lots of vicars wouldnt marry a couple in his church unless both had been baptised,so would make a charge to baptise an adult in order they could marry......bit of cash in the reverends pocket,!