St. Giles in the Fields birth/baptism lookup c 1742

[e_m]

Hi,

Could someone help me out/send good karma my way? I am looking for a birth record for a Hercules Courtenay / Courteney. He was apprenticed in 1756 in St. Giles in the Fields so, assuming he was 14 years old (as was customary) I am looking at a birth year of 1742. I live in America and can't stop by the LMA. Any help or suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks.  -EM

[amondg]

He was apprenticed to Thomas Johnson, a carver, 14 February 1760 St Giles in the Fields.
Birth date could be as late as 1747

[e_m]

No, the stamp tax was paid in 1760; the indenture was signed in 1756. It's on the second page.

[Mowsehowse]

Hi,

Could someone help me out/send good karma my way? I am looking for a birth record for a Hercules Courtenay / Courteney. He was apprenticed in 1756 in St. Giles in the Fields so, assuming he was 14 years old (as was customary) I am looking at a birth year of 1742. I live in America and can't stop by the LMA. Any help or suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks.  -EM

Could I make a little point please?
14 years was customary where a child was being placed from a regular family to learn a trade, but illegitimate children who were being fed by the Parish, (and orphans no doubt,)  were often put into apprenticeships as young as 7 or 8 years. 

I have discovered 3 such cases (2 girls and a boy,) while researching my husband's family. 

[Bookbox]

14 years was customary where a child was being placed from a regular family to learn a trade, but illegitimate children who were being fed by the Parish, (and orphans no doubt,)  were often put into apprenticeships as young as 7 or 8 years.

If stamp duty was paid, then it wasn’t a parish apprenticeship.

Do you have any other leads to his being born in St Giles in the Fields? This was a period when many middle-class families outside London would send their sons up to town to be apprenticed.

Considering the variability in age at apprenticeship, you would probably need a baptism search of St Giles across at least 5 or 6 years. As you probably know, the records are not online for this period, and the parish is huge. Although the condition of the register is not bad at this date, in practice it takes about 20 minutes to read through a single year of baptisms. So you are effectively looking for up to two hours’ work from a volunteer.

Someone might do it for you, but the other option would be to use LMA’s research service. Just so as you know the options.

[e_m]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

@Bookbox, I don't have any other leads to his place of birth. If anyone has any suggestions as to what or where else I could look, I would be appreciative.

[Bookbox]

No-one will be able to help without some information from you.

How does he fit into your family history?

What else do you know of him – marriage? children? occupation? death? etc.

And, to avoid duplicate searches, where have you already looked?

[e_m]

He is no relation to me. He married in Philadelphia 1768 and had two children, none of whom had offspring that I could find. There is no will or administration record for him. He died before 1790. He was a carver. I think he was Church of England.

There is a great deal of information about him online, but none of it is based on primary research.

I've been through newspapers, tax records, court documents, wills & estate, Masonic & Philadelphia Church records, and nothing.

[Mowsehowse]

Have you considered getting in touch with the "London Westminster & Middlesex Family History Society" ?

They have a facebook page.