Age at Baptism

[Elaine168]

Thanks Pauline.

Hi Donna. That was certainly the pattern for my relatives, but other's on the record seemed older. These of Pauline's from Newark were mostly baptised very quickly, a day or two after birth.

Couldn't have been much good for the babies being exposed to so many germs so quickly, not to mention cold and damp. I suppose the baptizers were more concened with saving their immortal souls. Would be scarey to think your baby would spend eternity in Limbo if it died before baptism, I suppose.

I still wonder with mine whether they jumped in with the RC baptism before my Anglican Gx2 grandfather could get his act together for his faith.
Elaine

[willow154]

Hi Donna and Elaine,
Have you read Hardy's 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles', where Tess is so distraught about her baby not being baptised (she knows the baby is dying and wants to send for the parson, but her father doesn't want anyone "prying into their affairs").  So she makes a makeshift baptismal service in the bedroom with her brothers and sisters saying the responses. The pasrson is sympathetic, but can't give the baby a Christian burial; but he does allow the baby to be buried in a shabby corner of the churchyard..............
Anyway, catch up with you after 9 this evening.
Take care,
Paulene
P.S. Glad the newark information was useful.

[andrewalston]

I've noticed that CofE baptisms take place at random times after the birth, while RC ones seem to be in the first few days of life.

CofE records rarely mention the date of birth unless it was a fair bit previously - the record in my tree is a lad aged 12! Of course we now bless those clergymen who recorded DoB for every child taken to the font.

For some places, Churching registers survive, and these can be compared with those for baptisms. One family in mine (CofE, late 1700s) had their churchings on the same day as the baptisms, except there were a couple of churchings without the matching events.

[willow154]

Hi everyone - sorry I'm a bit late.
Where did we get to - midwives.
As the pregnancy reached its end the midwife was called. In the daytime the signal that she was needed was a white towel hanging from a bedroom window, At night time a bonfire was lit in the back garden.
Midwives often dealt with lying in and laying out.
Male midwives did not exist in rural areas.
There was often a choice of midwives.... these women often had the reputation for murdering babies..... if a baby died someone had to be blamed.
It was the midwife's task to set up the room for childbirth. Various traditions in different parts of the country:
room should be as hot as possible.
room should be as cold as possible.
(bit about infant mortality to follow soon).
Gald you're  finding it interesting.
Paulene.

[willow154]

Right, Elaine and Donna,
 Final bit  -   Reasons for infant mortality:
A piece cut off during delivery
Rough handling
Picked up by feet and poked
Lain down and finger poked roughly in mouth
Too hard a whack on baby's bottom
Ears harshly poked when cleansing
Bright  lights/noise shock
Over fussed by gossips

Poor souls - what a time both the poor babes and mums had

That's it  - have some more on banns and marriage licences, but that might be better for another post - if anyone's interested, that is.
I'll let you digest it all.
Take care,
 Paulene

[Tricia_2]

My great grandfather was Christened RC, but he was about a year old at the time. It was because his Godfather was away at sea and they awaited his reurn.