Genealogy Chat

Are you certain it's the same child? Quite often in those days if a child died young, they named the next one exactly the same. Sam x

Hi Chrissie, do you think the baptism could have been for another daughter that subsequently died before yours was born? Did you check for deaths that would match?

I am making a concerted effort to get one tree completed...a New Years resolution....so I decided to start with my mothers paternal family.....and what do I find.....right at the beginning I have a child baptised before she was born. I have her birth certificate showing 18th January 1851 - registered 21st February and she is on the 1851 census aged 3 months...but according to the record from the church (obtained over 15 years ago) she was Baptised on 21 December 1850 Anyone have any advice...anyone have a puzzle the same... Christine

Firstly, are you sure there weren't 2 children of the same name baptised at that church around the same time, cousins, perhaps? Does the baptism entry also give a date of birth? My gt-gdfather was recorded wrongly in the bp register - the vicar put the birth date and baptism date the wrong way round, so officially he was baptised a week before he was born! But in his case the earlier date corresponds with the birth certificate. Jay

Another possibility is that the parents were late registering the birth - outside the six week limit which meant a fine - so they made up a date to make it look right in the eyes of the registrar. Jay

Thanks for all your replies.....this is the same child - her name was Margaret and she is show on the Church records as born 15th December 1850 and Baptised on the 17th - the daughter of Edward & Julia. The birth certificate if for Margaret born 18th January 1851 daughter of Edward & Julia....going to look at the possibility of avoiding a fine as she was not registered until 21st February Christine

The 1851 Census for England was taken on the night of 30 March 1851. If she was declared as 3 months old that would put her date of birth around 30th December or earlier.