Baptism 10 years after birth?

[tjh1989]

Hi all

I am interested in a Rachel Hardesty who married a William John Herwin. All of the census records state she was born around 1871 in Woodbastwick, Norfolk:

1911 Census
Piece number:11418

1871 census (before her marriage)
Piece number:1958

The 1871 census shows her father and mother to be Thomas and Leah respectively.

Searching the birth registers, I have found a Rachel Hardesty born in 1871 in the district of Blofield (which includes Woodbastwick). All of which ties up nicely.

However, I have found a Bishops transcript showing a Rachel Hardesty who was baptised in 1880 in Shottesham (the census records showing this is where she lived when growing up). The transcript shows the parents as Thomas and Priscilla Leah Elizabeth Hardesty (FHL Film Number:1526703).

From the 1881 census it appears that thomas and Rachel did not have another Rachel so does anyone know what is going on here? Can baptisms happen 10 years after birth?

Many thanks

Tom

[Little Nell]

Short answer: yes.

Some people were not baptised until they were adult, perhaps shortly before marriage.

Sometimes whole families of children were baptised on the same day, so ages would vary from a few years old to a young baby.

Nell

[KGarrad]

My own daughters, now 38, still haven't been baptised!

It was a conscious decision on my part to let them decide as and when they wanted to.

[bevj]

FreeReg shows up a brother William Laban Randal Hardesty baptised on the same day.  He was actually born in the December quarter of  1880 so perhaps the parents decided that it was a good idea to have Rachel christened at the same time if for some reason she had been 'missed' earlier.
Bev

[Jebber]

Anything is possible when it come to baptisms.

 I have two sisters baptised together in 1923, one was born in  1899, the other in 1896. The older sister had already been married for seven years, having married in 1916.

Jebber

[barryd]

I have Rebecca Hazard Waugh, a daughter of Lapsed Quakers, born 12 Dec 1792, Alston, Cumberland. Baptized AND married 13 Mar 1813, CofE, Alston.

[mike175]

I think the local vicar's attitude sometimes played a part in all this. I have seen several cases where the family moved to a new parish and all their children were baptised together shortly after.

[Guy Etchells]

My own daughters, now 38, still haven't been baptised!

It was a conscious decision on my part to let them decide as and when they wanted to.

I have not been baptised yet, I am holding out until I reach 100 years old.
Cheers
Guy

[clairec666]

Short answer: yes.

Some people were not baptised until they were adult, perhaps shortly before marriage.

Sometimes whole families of children were baptised on the same day, so ages would vary from a few years old to a young baby.

Nell

Sometimes (but not always) you'll find the date of birth (or age of the child) written in the margin.

Some of my family - also from Norfolk, coincidentally - have several of their children baptised on the same day. The oldest was my great-great-grandmother, aged 12. The parents had recently lost two children, so maybe this inspired their decision to get their remaining children baptised. Or maybe not. We can only speculate.