Temporary catholics?

[Tati]

Hi all 

I have a little faith oddity in Shropshire. Not sure whether this belongs in the Common Room or Shropshire. 
 
William Taff (Taft/Taaffe etc.) marries Rachel Machen at Cleobury Mortimer in Aug 1796.
 
The IGI shows christenings:
 
Sarah Taft christening 03 Mar 1797 Cleobury Mortimer parents Will. Taft & Rachel
Hannah Taft christening 20 May 1798 Cleobury Mortimer parents Will. Taft & Rachel
James Taff Birth 7 Oct 1799, christening 8 Oct 1799 St Mary Roman Catholic, Mawley Hall Shropshire parents William Taff & Rachell (the register says: James Taff, son of William & Rachell Taff, born at Cleobury, Shrops:, 07 Oct 1799 , & baptized the following day)
William Taaffe Birth 21 Jan 1803 christening 22 Jan 1803 St Mary Roman Catholic Mawley Hall Shropshire (IGI doesn't show parents - he dies in 1805)
Martha Taft christening Feb 1805 Cleobury Mortimer parents William Taft & Rachel
Thomas Taft christening 09 Feb 1807 Cleobury Mortimer parents William Taft & Rachel
John Taft christening 11 Sep 1808 Cleobury Mortimer parents William Taft & Rachel
Anne Taft  christening 12 Aug 1810 Cleobury Mortimer parents Will. Taft & Rachel
George Tafft christening 25 April 1813 Cleobury Mortimer parents William Tafft & Rachel
William Taft christening 14 May 1815 Cleobury Mortimer parents William Taft & Rachel
Elizabeth Taft christening 20 Nov 1818 Cleobury Mortimer parents William Taft & Rachel  
 
Given their surname is pretty uncommon, I really can't believe they aren't one and the same family. (Unfortunately James marries only once, in 1823, so I don't have any evidence of his father's name)
 
All previous and later christenings and marriages for this family seem to be CofE so ... any idea why they would have 2 subsequent kids christened RC? Has anyone else come across something similar?       

Tanja 
 

[Dave Francis]

Hi Tanya

I have a similar experience with a family living in Burslem, Staffs. The parents had eleven children between 1813 and 1836. Most of these children were baptised at the Methodist New Connexion church in Hanley, but the remainder were baptised at the local Anglican church instead. There is no obvious pattern. It's possible that the parents were not entirely committed to Methodism or that they fell out with the preacher at Hanley.

In the case of your Taft family, it's possible that William and Rachel tried Catholicism for a couple of years but decided they didn't like this form of worship after all. Another possibility is that William's employer was a Catholic who expected his employees to follow suit.

It's also worth checking whether the parish church at Cleobury Mortimer was actually open in 1799 or 1803. If the church was closed for any reason - e.g. for renovation - the local population may have simply used the local Catholic church instead.

Dave 

[DudleyWinchurch]

Also, it looks like the first catholic baptism was an emergency baptism so maybe the catholic priest happened to be around or was easier to persuade to come to the home.  The next one they maybe travelled to the church to the helpful priest but decided it was too much of an expedition with a new baby to do it again.

It could even indicate that they were actually catholics but with no catholic church very close by.  How close are Cleobury and Mawley Hall?

[Tati]

Hi both - thanks a lot for your ideas on this! 

Happy you have some of those as well, Dave! I'd love an explanation like 'CoE church was closed' but the IGI has other christenings, unfortunately! 

Mawley Hall and Cleobury are very close from what I see (Mawley Hall 1 ½ mile south-east of Cleobury Mortimer) so both CoE and RC seem to have been available at the time.

In fact all of your ideas sound possible! Seems I'll never know for sure!

Tanja  

[behindthefrogs]

It may be relevant that from 1791 the Roman Catholics were allowed to build their own churches.  The attraction may thus have been a brand new Roman Catholic Church.

David

[Tati]

With a charming young priest too maybe! 

Good idea, David. Off I am to try and find out when the place was built! 


Edit: Shropshire Archives have records as early as 1763 for this church  (and the IGI too)

Checking the IGI, it must have been a very confidential place though! 1 christening in 1763, 2 in 1874 and 1765!! Maybe it was indeed just the priest doing the rounds and offering to christen newborn kids? I notice most of the christenings are either on the very day of birth or on the following day! 

[Shropshire Lass]

I notice most of the christenings are either on the very day of birth or on the following day! 

Catholics believe that a child who dies without being baptised cannot go to heaven so the ceremony usually takes place very soon after the birth.

Monica

[Tati]

Hi Monica - thanks for your input

Looking at it from a organisational point of view, surely it means the priest actually came to wherever the child was born rather than the newborn child was taken to the church?  So maybe it was just an easy and quick way of having the child christened? 

[O1dgobbo]

Hi Tati et al

I have an ancestor, Mary Wanless, whose full life has included a period of catholicism.  I have not checked her details with the Durham Record Office but piecing together census scans, IGI records and a very interesting "Wanless Web" I have the following story:

She was born in Ouston in about 1800 (census records 1841 to 1881) probably in October and christened in Houghton le spring (IGI record) - I do not know the religion.

She turns up next in the City of Durham, April 1824, 'with child' the subject of a removal order and in August that year William Wanless is born child of Mary Wanless and christened in the Chapel of the Secular Clergy and the Jesuits (Note from Claire Wandless on www.wanlessweb.org and IGI record).

Another researcher (John "Descendants of James Heaviside") has reported Mary's marriage to John Heaviside on 24 Aug 1826 in Durham but does not give the name of the church.  The census records show that Mary had  at least five children, named Heaviside: Thomas b. abt 1827, Dorothy b. abt 1829, Ann  b. abt 1833, twins Margaret and Frederick b. abt 1836.  There are IGI records pointing to the protestant christenings of Thomas, Dorothy and the twins in St Oswald's, Durham.  However, there is also an IGI record pointing to an older child, Mary Lavinia born on 7 Dec 1826 and christened on 13 Dec 1826 in the Chapel of the Secular Clergy and the Jesuits.

It looks as if a catholic supported and protected Mary when she was unmarried but that she reverted to protestantism after her marriage to John Heaviside and the birth of their eldest child.

There is an IGI record of a marriage between a John Heaviside and Esther Palmer on 7 Oct 1819 at St Oswald's and this is probably the same John.  John and Esther had two children before Esther died and they were Lucy, b. 6 Sep 1820 c. 'Lucia' 8 Sep and Jane, b. 12 Nov 1821 c. 'Joanna' 25 Nov: both girls were christened in the Chapel of the Secular Clergy and the Jesuits

It is interesting to note that John seems to have died in 1830, well before the births of Ann and the twins!

Good luck

Gobbo