Age of child to be baptized in early 1800's?

[KarenM]

Back in the early 1800's did the parents have the child baptized soon after the birth.  They would be RC and in Ireland.


Thanks
Karen

[Mobo]

 

I would certainly think so Karen - Catholics place great importance on baptism, as soon after birth as possible !

And if the authorities had closed down the local Catholic Church or Chapel (which was quite common then), the priest would have carried out the ceremony in the home.  And.... if the child looked unlikely to survive, the parents did it themselves if a priest couldn't get there in time !

 

[KarenM]

That's what I figured, I have a 3xgr grandfather that according to census and death cert. was born between 1808 & 1812, but just found a person with the same name in the BVIR, saying that he was baptized in 1829.  I was hoping that would be him, but the years are to far apart.  I'm not sure weather to pursue this new information or keep looking?

Karen

[Mobo]

 

Karen,

I wish I could help, but I've learned from past experience, never to disregard any information I find - it nearly always fits in somewhere, later on.  It's up to you whether you pursue this or not.  I'm afraid that sometimes in this game, we just have to take a 'leap in the dark'

 

[suttontrust]

I've come across children baptised several years after birth.  In 2 separate cases they were illegitimate children who were taken into other families (or into the mother's new family) and baptised along with the babies in the adoptive family.

[Mobo]

 

Were the children catholic and did these events take place in Ireland Sutton - do tell ??

 

[suttontrust]

No, England and C of E.

[KarenM]

The thing is before I rec'd his death cert., I had found his widow wife and children and she was born around 1830, so I thought  he would be the same age roughly, but he's 49 and she's 30 according to the 1861 census.  

I'd like to see the answer to your question from suttontrust.

Karen

[Mobo]

 

Karen, I suspected Sutton hadn't read your initial post correctly !

As to the age difference, it was very common for Irish men to be a bit 'long in the tooth' when they married, expecially if they had emigrated.  This was because they were expected to 'send money home' to the family in Ireland. 

Take my Irish for example -

Patrick Dunn was born circa 1817 in County Mayo
He came to England circa 1845,
He married Mary NcNulty in 1850 when she was just 17, and also from Ireland.

As these immigrants were usually illiterate, they could only guess at their actual age, so there were always discrepancies between Census returns and certificates, sometimes huge ones !!

So, as I said, the choice is yours, follow up the info you have, or start another search. If it were me, I would do the former, just to make sure, if nothing else.