Baptist births, marriages etc. in the Royston area for Kefford

[delta]

  Does anyone have access to Baptist records please? 
My husband's ancestor was born in 1799 in Royston to George and Mary and the only marriage I can find in Royston is between George Kefford and Mary Stallybrass in 1781.  So, were they really married for 18 years before John Kefford was born in 1799?  He was not baptised until 1829 in Hertford and the records state that his father was Baptist.  I have seen the parish records for Hertford. 

[Redroger]

Most likely not; the Baptist church only Baptises consenting adults by total immersion. So it is quite likely that he had reached the age of possibly 14+ before his baptism. If he survived long enough to be in the 1851 census you could possibly get an idea of his birth year from the census returns.Another possibility is that the local Baptist church "cradle roll" has survived. This is a record of children born to members of the church in a particular year; but very few of these survive so the census is possibly your only chance, unless there was an obituary published giving his age.

[delta]

Many thanks for your reply, I was not aware of the process of Baptist baptisms.  John was actually baptised at the age of 30 but I was not sure if the George and Mary I found who were married in Royston were his parents.  Married 18 years before he was born?  Were Baptist marriages not recorded either?  It has taken me 12 years of searching to find John's birth and baptism and then it was purely by chance. 
Thank you again for your informative reply. 

[lizdb]

George and Mary could well have had other children during the 19 years before John was born. With no infant christening records for the family, it will be hard to find them.
As for the marriage, I think it was the case that non conformist churches were not licensed to perform marriages until after 1837, so all marriages were in the C of E church, even if the people worshipped elsewhere.

Did George leave a will? Might help with details of his children.

[delta]

Thank you for the extra information.  If they did have other children then they too could have been baptised at a later date when they were older.  I have not been able to look for a will for George as I am not on any pay to view websites at the moment.  Although John lived in Hertford, I have not found any other Kefford children born in the 1700s living in Hertfordshire with the parents of George and Mary.  John was a tailor but he did not leave a will, so I am guessing that George probably did not leave a will either.
Many thanks for your reply. 

[Redroger]

It might be worthwhile looking at the Cambridgeshire FHS website as a tiny fraction of Royston is in Cambridgeshire, this seems to be a custom of ancient settlements along the Great North Road, Royston, Stamford, Bawtry, are (or were) all straddling county boundaries.  But I digress, I have no detail of her, but there is a lady surnamed Kefford who lived in Cambridge Place Cambridge in the 19th century, and according to my late grandmother and mother was a relative, but I have not yet traced any connection.The family, Ayres/Cornwell lived in the Cambridge area and many were Baptists. The Baptist church kept their own marriage records, many of which have survived so it is worth checking further.

[bedfordshire boy]

this seems to be a custom of ancient settlements along the Great North Road, Royston, Stamford, Bawtry, are (or were) all straddling county boundaries

But not in the case of Royston which wasn't on the Great North Road. The nearest point to Royston on the Great North Road was probably Baldock, nine miles away. Royston was on the Icknield Way, where it crossed Ermine St.

The Icknield Way used to form part of the boundary between Herts and Cambs, and Royston was divided by this boundary.

[delta]

Hello Redroger
Thanks for you continued interest.  The Cambs FHS only offer CDs of various parishes which seem to cost between £14 and £17 each, so although there were about 4 references to a George Kefford born within 10 years of 1765 but not in Royston, it would be difficult to pick the right CD.  I think it is going to be harder to get back further than John but I am so pleased to have finally found his birth and baptism record in a Hertford church.
Thank you again. 

[bedfordshire boy]

Try a look up request on the Cambs board where there are people with Cambs Baptism Index. More than one way of skinning a cat!