Genealogy Chat

Non conformist chapels/churches were often only in the nearby larger towns so those who lived in villages had to travel in for baptisms etc. I had a family of Smiths who were variously born in three villages around Ipswich but all 10 were baptised at Dairy Lane Baptist church between 1811 and 1833 in Ipswich. They took some finding. 3 of the children I hadn't known about as they hadn't appeared on the 1841 census with the rest of the family. So if you cannot find them on IGI in their villages, consider looking at the records of non conformist churches in the nearest town Kat:)

Thank you all for the information. I have picked up quite a few tips here. Ellen X

Personally I find nothing wrong with what appears to be ambiguity/contradiction. The Church encourages ALL to check what is input on the IGI by either checking the original documents or films of the documents. I always check. AFTER ALL, it is only a guide and not Gospel.

Even the extracted entries should be treated with caution, particularly in counties where the bishop has refused access to the records. The two entries shown below both refer to the same marriage and are both extracted. 12. EDMUNDUS SKILLING - International Genealogical Index / BI Gender: Male Marriage: 1672 Brumstead, Norfolk, England 13. EDMUND SKILLING - International Genealogical Index / BI Gender: Male Marriage: 26 FEB 1672 Walcott, Norfolk, England However one of them (and I cannot for the life of me remember which) should say Ridlington for the parish. Reason? Transcripts of TWO parishes were on a single microfilm and the LDS didn't notice. I also cannot remember whether the register said 1671 or 1672. (Oh, that all programs could accept 1671/2 and spare us the ambiguity!)

Alan is right - if you have seen the original entry then go with that and ignore any submitted information - 9 times out of 10, submissions are a guess (in my opinion and experience). Unfortunately you cant tell which submission is the 10th one and correct! OC

The entry Ellen is refering to is not an extracted record but one submitted by a member of the Church which somewhat alters the equation.

I have managed to get hold of a copy of the South Petherton Non-Confirmist Records - and that makes interesting reading. As an example A baptism that shows on IGI as being at The Old Meeting/Presb, South Petherton In the Records - it may say 'at the home in Barrington' or 'at the Mill in West Lambrook' So no, dont assume that people baptised in one place were actually born there. Many small villages only had the one CofE church and frequently non-conformist baptisms were carried out in the home of the child or an agreed meeting place. In time various chapels were built in the villages.

Thanks for that Old Crone, I will bear that in mind. In this case the entry is for a baptism in Penkridge (I have seen the actual entry) and the entry states that the parents were from another parish, in this case Bytham. On the IGI they have entered it as a Bytham record with no mention of Penkridge. Do they always do that? Ellen X

Yes, happens a lot. when you get to the bottom of it, it often turns out that the Mother Church had several Chapels-of-ease (little daughter churches in outlying areas). Although the ORIGINAL records state the name of the Chapel, they are often collected up (on the IGI, anyway) into records for the Mother Church - and the BTs show the events as occurring at the Mother Church - very confusing! But, again, the best reason for always looking at a primary source document, not a transcript. As for having children baptised randomly in two neighbouring parishes, well, I just assume that the family either moved for a while, then moved back again - or they fell out with the Vicar in one parish and went to a neighbouring church. OC

Hi Ellen Yes, That's happened to mine and it gets confusing! Sheila

Just occurred to me perhaps why the IGI has records listed in a particlar parish but when you check the originals they are not there, (ask Old Crone, she knows well enough). I have just come across baptisms listed under one parish but I know they are actually records from another nearby parish but the parents were from the 1st parish as stated on the actual entries. Does that make sense. Does it happen a lot? Ellen X