Roman Catholic/Latin baptism query

[Nick B]

I think the entry 'Die Aug. natus et' etc. is of Benjamin,, as all the entries as far as I remember are in the same format, well-kept and fairly easy to read with date of birth as well as date of baptism, with the mother's maiden name in brackets, like the example I gave above.

This one is an exception in not giving precise dates and it seems surprising that the priest hasn't entered this - perhaps, as suggested, Benjamin was baptised at home or elsewhere and the register was completed later from memory, it does look as though gaps were left for the date and for Mr Lane's first name.

Teresa could have been a widow, rather than an unmarried mum, but I guess in this case her maiden name would still have been recorded and Benjamin's illegitimacy seems likely.

[Maiden Stone]

Have you searched for an affiliation order or other documents relating to Benjamin's parentage?
When did he marry? Was a father named at his marriage?

[Nick B]

The IGI has Benjamin's marriage to Sarah Matthews, 02.Dec.1835 in Worcester, but not his parents' names. He and Sarah and subsequent family appear on the census in 1841, 1851, and 1861. By 1871 he is a widower, in 1881 living with his son Henry ('Harry'). Sarah was from Harvington By Evesham, Benjamin was recorded as born in Warwickshire in 1841 (perhaps because they were living in Birmingham), all other years as from Hanley Castle, and he died in the 2nd qtr. of 1882, in Aston.

Haven't found any affiliation order on A2A, not sure if there's anywhere else to look?

[Nick B]

it may have been that a priest or someone baptised Benjamin at home soon after birth and this was simply him being brought to church for the rest of the ceremony. At that time it was the custom for a priest to baptise new-born babies at home rather than wait until they were brought to church.

Would this have been the case with a Catholic family, where there was only a private RC chapel? Hanley Castle was said to be notable for its 'large Catholic community' but I wonder if home baptism would be as prevalent as with Anglicans? I can understand this at a time child mortality was not unusual, and I'm also interested to know more about Catholics in the area

[Maiden Stone]

Some sources for Catholic history/family history:

Midland Catholic History Society formed by merger of Staffordshire Catholic History Society and Worcestershire CHS. https://midlandcatholichistory.org.uk  Contents of past journals of  Midland Catholic History Society are listed at www.catholic-history.org.uk/midland/midland_ind.htm
"Worcestershire Recusant" was the journal of Worcestershire Catholic History Society. There is an index to titles of articles at www.catholic-history.org.uk/midland/worc_ind.htm

Catholic Family History Society. Informative blogs, lists of books, CDs and other publications, meetings, conferences and outings. https://catholicfhs.wordpress.com 

English Catholic History Association  https://echa.org.uk

The Catholic Record Society publications date back more than a century. Some earlier journals are available online as pdfs, e.g. on the Internet Archive. Many historical articles in them. Some have transcriptions of early registers, mostly 18th-early 19th centuries. Browsing baptism registers printed in these you will notice that many babies born in that era were baptised within a few days of birth, some on the same day.

"Catholic Family Historian's Handbook" by A.J. Mitchinson, published by North West Catholic History Association 1999. Available as a pdf.  Some sources are out of date but it's a brief, easy to read introduction. Topics include chronology, making a start, names in Latin registers, Latin format of registers and a translation, glossary, lists of record offices, libraries, societies, journals and books.

[Nick B]

Thank you for these links!

I've already looked at the Catholic FHS, and briefly at the index to the Worcs. Recusant, and I'll look again and in more detail.

I love the way that my family's history takes me off on these tangents; if only I had more time!

Nick