robert boughton

[ray b]

good evening all
I have a Robert boughton that was supposedly baptised in both 1597 and 1598 in boughton aluph
having looked at the church register on line it is entered in both years but it seems to be slightly different writing. Have looked at burials for 1596 to 1599 and could not find anything can anyone suggest a reason.
thank you
ray b

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I have had a look at the baptisms and burials on line, and can only offer this suggestion. The baptisms are a year apart, so could be a second child named for one who died. The burial record looks a little suspicious - as you say, the writing changes and becomes much less neat and a bit muddled. There seem to be no burials listed between January 1597/8 and dates in 1599, which could mean that the burial of the first child is not there.
   Maybe someone with more skill at this handwriting will have another suggestion.

[ray b]

Hi top of the hill
the earlier record appears to make the most sense and work out best, but at these dates the later one would also be ok. I believe Robert married Elizabeth Cox in upper hardress in 1618 however there Is a marriage to an Elizabeth baker in 1622 and I have yet to find another Robert or a burial for wife no 1 I do however have six possibly seven children to Robert so I do not wish to go wrong
thanks
rayb

[Zacktyr]

Was the date for the two entries between January 1 and March 24?  If so, then I would suggest that the two entries you are looking at relate to the start of the Old Style year, which was March 25th and not 1 January. 

For instance, March 12, 1597, should be properly interpreted to be March 12, 1597/98, meaning that the year was in fact 1598 but recorded in Old Style dating.  Old Style dating can be a challenge as the year has to be followed closely in original registers and is almost impossible to determine from a typed transcript of a record.

If the date is outside of the Old Style dating problem, then it is possible that there were two children baptised by the same name one year apart.  But, check to be certain there is a burial for the first baptised child.  Otherwise, it may simply be a product of an overly cautious vicar, a new vicar coming into the parish, or parents that forgot whether the child had been baptised.

[ray b]

Hello Zacktyr
I cannot find a first child burial in the micro fiche so think it is year changes and have decided that it is fine thank you for your reply.
rayb