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Godfathers in the Church of England

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  • Godfathers in the Church of England

    Dear friends,

    I have a question for those who know. I am doing a little personal research on an item not relating to my ancestry. I am trying to trace the spiritual and philosophical roots of the modern-day Pentecostal movement. I noticed - yes, by Wikipedia - that John Darby, one of the major proponents of the pre-tribulational rapture theory, was baptized in the Church of England and his Godfather was none other than Lord Nelson. Before I leap to conclusions about its significance, I want to ask: how much of a formative influence would a Godfather have on his Godson in the Church of England circa 1800?

    Thank you.

  • #2
    That's a really tough question. I would have thought that it would have varied a lot - much like today. The choice of a famous person was more likely to be to get some "reflected glory" rather than any expectation of much personal interest.
    People: Canton, Wiseman, Colthup, Scrace
    Places: Pembrokeshire, Kent.

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    • #3
      You might have to research the connection between Lord Nelson and John Darby's parents.

      Was Lord Nelson related? Close or distant? Was there any other connection, eg Lord Nelso and father had served together in the navy?

      I have read that some parents chose a godparent who might be expected to help the godson (or daughter) to advance in later life, although this seems to have occurred much more in the centuries before 1800.
      My grandmother, on the beach, South Bay, Scarborough, undated photo (poss. 1929 or 1930)

      Researching Cadd, Schofield, Cottrell in Lancashire, Buckinghamshire; Taylor, Park in Westmorland; Hayhurst in Yorkshire, Westmorland, Lancashire; Hughes, Roberts in Wales.

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      • #4
        An influential godparent would have been seen as a way of advancing a child's interests in later life. Lord Nelson didn't need to be present at the christening, provided he had consented someone could have been appointed to stand proxy for him.

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        • #5
          There would have been another godfather and also a godmother. In the Church of England there are three godparents (sometimes more e.g in the case of royalty) - two are of the same sex as the child and the third is of the opposite sex.

          Jay
          Janet in Yorkshire



          Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

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          • #6
            I see the Wikipaedia entry says that Lord Nelson was a family friend and that John was given Nelson as a middle name
            Judith passed away in October 2018

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            • #7
              Did they actually name the godparents?

              I ask this because I obtained the records of several christenings from a High Church, C of E and there was no record of the godparents. I was so disappointed lol.



              Researching Irish families: FARMER, McBRIDE McQUADE, McQUAID, KIRK, SANDS/SANAHAN (Cork), BARR,

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              • #8
                I too wondered where the information came from as the baptism register entry (St Margaret's Westminster) just shows the date of baptism, child's name and parents names, and date of birth. The writing is so neat and uniform I suspect this is from the Bishop's transcript rather than the original register which I suppose may have given more info but the inclusion of godparents' names would have been highly unusual at that date. Here's the link if you have access to FindMyPast http://search.findmypast.co.uk/recor...hlights=%22%22
                Judith passed away in October 2018

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