Genealogy Chat

I have found 7 children of one family via the IGI on Family Search. Each one has a full date listed next to 'Christening'. Can I assume that these ARE their actual birth dates?? as they all seem to match the dates I have calculated from their ages on census records. Anne

Thats usually a baptism date.

The date next to the Christening is generally the date the child was baptised. In my own tree I have occasionally found a date of birth next to a baptism entry, but this is generally when the child is older (ie not a baby). nell

Well, they must have had them baptised within days/months of being born then lol. All are listed on the 1861 and when I calculate an approx year from the age given - it matches the year of christening. I even have one child who died the day after 3rd child was baptised! Thanks for your replies :O) Anne

I think alot had there babies baptised quite young. I remember my mum telling me that in Ireland when she was young alot would go to the church for the christening on the way home from hospital (if they had the baby in hospital) as they didn't have transport to get out again much. Also i've been looking at parish records for Leicester and quite alot particularly later ones also have the date of birth recorded even for babies

I find baptisms are usually within 3-4 weeks of birth. However, last week I found someone who was baptised aged 21, a few weeks before she married as often you had to be baptised to be married. Her sister aged 26 was baptised the same day! Then there was the clergyman's daughter who had just passed her seventh birthday when she was christened. Another family had five done together, aged from 3 to 15.

I was only 3 weeks old when I was baptised, my hubby was 2 weeks old Margaret

I think you will find that is the birth date. But you must check to be sure. On the fiche (on which copies of the church records are kept) you will find that a lot did start to put the birth dates on the side, there was no columns for this. Also many families waited to get their children christening together, I had one 1902 I think it was were he had 4 of his children christened together, they did have their birth next to them. Irene

If it says christening, that's what it means. Birth entries are described as such on the IGI. How old babies were when baptised depends on the prevailing fashion in the area. In general, the earliest baptisms are when the baby is a day or two old. A rather ineffectual Norfolk rector in the 1720s gets very upset because the child is a month old and he has only just succeeded in persuading the mother to have it baptised. By the end of the 1700s the child is often a week or more old. By 1900 they may be a month or more, and my brother was about 5 months old when he was christened. But you can only find this out if it is shown in the registers or you have a birth certificate. B

Thanks very much for all further comments given above :O)

I think that the dates are baptism dates because they are taken from the parish registers. In some of my families there are two or children with the same date, so I suppose they went in for "bulk buying" when they got round to it. I don't think that they were multiple births.