Double christening?

[Ili1133]

Baptisms of Joseph and Hannah Smithson’s children in Wales, Yorkshire
John (1829-)
James (1830, survived to adulthood)
Martin (1832-32)
Thomas Jonas (1834-34)
Charles (1835, survived to adulthood)
Elizabeth (1837-8, died after family moved away)

Thomas Jonas is the only Smithson baptism in Beighton, Derbyshire. I can’t see any other children born to John (a miller) and Ann in the surrounding counties.

EDIT: JOSEPH and Hannah. All entries for Joseph in Wales describe him as a labourer.

[Ili1133]

An ancestor of my wife's was baptised (also in the 1830s) in a rural part of Northumberland by a peripatetic presbyterian minister based in Newcastle, and again 10 months later in her own parish church which was newly built and had just opened.

That’s interesting Andrew, I think it’s really important to consider what alternatives people had for baptisms in particular when churches or clergy were out of action for whatever reason. Unfortunately as BumbleB said there’s no obvious sign that was the case here. I wondered whether there was something going on at Beighton (where the second baptism took place) which attracted the parents enough to want to repeat the process.

I’d also been wondering about how parents, or parishioners in general, dealt with matters when there was a minister they particularly liked or disliked, perhaps because they had done some work for them (cutting the meadow or whatever).

[arthurk]

I'm not sure you'll ever find out for certain what happened, but here's a possible scenario (or flight of fancy if you prefer) based on what you've said here:

There’s a possibility Thomas Jonas’s mother had siblings resident in Beighton but it doesn’t look as if either set of grandparents were living there.

If both baptisms refer to the same child, and the child was sickly (he died in September)....

TJ is born in the spring and baptised at Wales on 11 May. In August his mother takes him to visit her relatives in Beighton, but while there he falls ill. Mother isn't in a fit state to say anything coherent, so they call the local vicar to baptise TJ in case he hasn't been done and doesn't survive. (Miller might be overstating the father's occupation, but whoever gave the information might not have known precisely.) After a while they are able to return home, but TJ dies a few weeks later.

Speculation, of course, but who knows? 

[Andrew Tarr]

As we are discussing surprising baptism records, I might add those of my father's family.  He had two younger sisters born in 1906 and 1912 near Swansea.  He and the older sister were baptised locally a few weeks after birth.  The younger sister was baptised aged a few months, in Dungarvan (Co.Waterford) where their father was from.  It was July, so I suppose they could have gone on a summer trip and suddenly remembered they had forgotten something .... 

[coombs]

The ancestor sibling I mentioned who was born in 1758 was baptised in Honington, Warwickshire in November 1758, where her parents married, then again in January 1759 in a nearby parish where they must have just moved to I presume.

[Melbell]

lli1133 says:
.......... "conducting a ‘duplicate’ baptism wouldn’t be particularly lucrative for the cleric."

Surely baptism was/is never bought?

Melbell

[Ili1133]

You would hope not  Perhaps better to wonder about a donation to the church? I know that did happen in the cities.

My first thoughts were whether there were specific circumstances around this particular double baptism where the couple might have persuaded the minister in Beighton, the neighbouring parish to where they lived, to carry out a second baptism for some reason. It’s strange that the occupation of the father changes from labourer to miller, so might it be an attempt by the vicar and the child’s parents to conceal the baptism from the authorities for whatever reason? If the family lived close to the parish boundary it would probably be justifiable to use the church nearby.

That said, Arthurk’s scenario is very convincing - TJ (the child) falls ill while with relatives in Beighton, his mother isn’t there for whatever reason (it was harvest time and perhaps poor TJ wasn’t strong enough to be out in the fields with her), the family call on the local vicar to make sure TJ has  been baptised in case he doesn’t make it …

[Andrew Tarr]

My first thoughts were whether there were specific circumstances around this particular double baptism where the couple might have persuaded the minister in Beighton, the neighbouring parish to where they lived, to carry out a second baptism for some reason.

Another harmless possibility might be that the intended vicar was absent for some reason, and the family went next door, as it were, as soon as they could - then repeated the ceremony when their local vicar returned ?

[Kiltpin]

It should be remembered that no Church of England vicar would preform a second baptism knowingly. 

From the Nicene Creed: 

"We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins." 

As far as the CoE is concerned, all Christian baptisms are equally valid - regardless of denomination, or branch. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Unitarian, Methodist, Congregationalist, Holy Rollers, Jesus Screamers, and all shades and flavours in-between, even lay baptism (if done with good intent) are all equal in the sight of the Lord. 

Regards 

Chas