Baptism record........

[diana2646]

Hi,  could anyone please help me decipher the date of the Baptism on the first record on here please.  I have found the birth registered in the December 1/4 of 1862 and I think the first date on the record looks 21 January, but it looks like the date below is the actual date he was born, but I'm unable to read it.

The details of the child are: Christian names: Peter Frederick.  Surname: Harms.  Parents names: Frederick & Mary Ann.

Any help appreciated.

Diana

[Girl Guide]

The baptism date is 21st June not January.  I'm just wondering if the bit underneath is 12 born indicating that he was born in December?

It is difficult to interpret the squiggle.  If you really wish to know his exact date of birth you will have to obtain the birth certificate.

[diana2646]

Thank you for your imput.  Yes, it looks like it could be June.  The writing is awful, although I expect you have seen worse. 
The next entry, looks like the same writing, but is very clear to read!

[Girl Guide]

Yes there are records which defy any interpretation however hard you look.

The reason I said June is because the fourth entry down gives the child a birth date of March and if the baptisms had been in January she would have been baptised before she was born!

I'm pretty sure that London churches would have been busy doing baptisms on a regular basis so the chances of there being a gap of six months between baptisms would be slim.

[arthurk]

Possibly "b 12 Novr" - though why was the year given in the next entry and not in this one?

Arthur

[Bookbox]

I think the month of birth ends in a superscript ^y. There are limited possibilities - January, February, May and July -- none of which would be covered by a 4th-quarter registration in 1862, even allowing for the 42 days' grace. So the birthdate may have been entered incorrectly in the baptism register, which is not uncommon.

The parents married on 12 October 1862, in the same quarter as the birth registration, but in a different Whitechapel church. To sort out the sequence of events I think you will have to get the birth certificate.

[..claire..]

Think Arthur may be right with the birth being in November.

The entries were written by two different hands,  Chas. Anderson for the first and R H Quick for the second.

Additional entries on the page show R H Quick always writing full DoB and year on entries, whereas Chas Anderson just writes 'b Feb 27th' ~ (from another entry)

[arthurk]

Think Arthur may be right with the birth being in November.

The entries were written by two different hands,  Chas. Anderson for the first and R H Quick for the second.

Additional entries on the page show R H Quick always writing full DoB and year on entries, whereas Chas Anderson just writes 'b Feb 27th' ~ (from another entry)

Well spotted - I just looked at the extract as given here.