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  • Baptised twice?

    Can anyone suggest an explanation for this rather strange finding?

    I have an Elizabeth Mallett, born in Rugeley, Staffordshire, in 1842, daughter of James Mallett and Martha Ashley.

    This is the FreeBMD entry of her birth:

    Births Sep 1842
    Mallett Elizabeth Ellen Lichfield 17 73

    I have her on the 1851 and 1861 censuses with her parents and siblings, but I haven't found her yet after that, although there is a possible marriage in West Bromwich.

    What's puzzling me is that I've found the following two extracted baptisms on the IGI:

    ELIZABETH ELLEN MALLETT
    Female

    Event(s):
    Birth:
    Christening: 03 AUG 1842 Saint Michael, Lichfield, Stafford, England

    Parents:
    Father: JAMES MALLETT
    Mother: MARTHA

    Batch no. C048711


    ELIZABETH ELLEN MALLETT
    Female

    Event(s):
    Birth:
    Christening: 16 OCT 1842 Rugeley, Stafford, England

    Parents:
    Father: JAMES MALLETT
    Mother: MARTHA

    Batch No.: C010213

    The source call number of the first one links to the BTs of St. Michael's Church, Lichfield, and the second one links to the BTs of Rugeley parish church. Rugeley is in the Lichfield registration district. It isn't on StaffsBMD yet.

    There don't appear to be two couples in the area called James and Martha Mallet(t), and there isn't another birth for an Elizabeth Mallet(t) in the area around the same time.

    Any suggestions?
    Last edited by Mary from Italy; 21-06-08, 20:20.

  • #2
    Hallo Mary.

    I don't know, though I do know there are instances of double baptism, but not in the same year. Perhaps the parents weren't sure the first baptism was done correctly or wanted their daughter baptised in both churches?

    I've just been to Norwich and looked at some baptisms there, I found one which said

    1824 [I didn't note exact date] Elinor, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Ward
    underneath in different writing it said

    fully baptised June 30, 1837
    ~ with love from Little Nell~
    Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

    Comment


    • #3
      Odd, isn't it.

      I know that a private baptism was sometimes done when the child was close to death - maybe that's what the first one was. Strange to use two different churches, though.

      I'll have to look at the original registers sooner or later to see if they cast any light on the matter.

      Comment


      • #4
        It does seem strange - especially as the dates were so close together.

        I was in fact christened twice, but the second time was some l3 years after the first. When I came to be Confirmed, nobody was sure whether I had been christened as a child because my mother died at my birth, and things were a little muddled; so....... I was baptised again (and no, the vicar didn't have to hold me in his arms!!!). Subsequently, the records of my first baptism came to light.

        This doesn't help with your puzzle though
        Sally - Researching amongst others, JOSEPHY; WRIGHTSON; COOPER; GLOVER; DOWNING AND DICKINSON.

        Comment


        • #5
          Yes, I've come across that before, but never two so close together.

          Comment


          • #6
            Without knowing anything of the particular couple.
            It could be they had the child baptised where they lived. Went back to the mother's parents to show of the child and the mum's parents wanted their grandchild baptised in their parish church.
            Do either of the families come from Rugeley?
            Cheers
            Guy
            Guy passed away October 2022

            Comment


            • #7
              I have one double baptism for two sisters. They were baptised in Portsmouth where they were born, and a little later back at the "home" parish (I can't remember where). It was because the father was temporarily in Portsmouth with the family when they were born.

              Perhaps it was to satisfy two families?
              Elizabeth
              Research Interests:
              England:Purkis, Stilwell, Quintrell, White (Surrey - Guildford), Jeffcoat, Bond, Alexander, Lamb, Newton (Lincolnshire, Stalybridge, London)
              Scotland:Richardson (Banffshire), Wishart (Kincardineshire), Johnston (Kincardineshire)

              Comment


              • #8
                Maybe they had to satisfy lots of friends/rellies who wanted to be godparents? Or in your case, Ben, perhaps they wanted to establish settlement in two parishes!!
                ~ with love from Little Nell~
                Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

                Comment


                • #9
                  I am not keen on Bishop's Transcripts. They contain (in my experience) too many errors.

                  However, if both these events are recorded in the original PRs, then I would assume the first baptism was a private baptism done in haste,possibly using the nearest handy vicar and the second was the receiving into the christian congregation of a different church.

                  OC

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I'd have thought the first question any clergyman would have asked was whether the child had already been baptised - in which case the second baptism wouldn't have happened. Emergency baptism does seem more likely - perhaps recorded in one church, but the "received into church" bit at a different church.

                    Christine
                    Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The settlement issue isn't really applicable in Mary's case as rights of settlement had been abandoned by this time.

                      However, the memory lingered on, and many ordinary folk might not have known settlement rights had been overturned by the Union Poor Law Act, so had the child baptised in two parishes "just in case".

                      OC

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Guy View Post
                        Do either of the families come from Rugeley?
                        Guy
                        Not as far as I know. I haven't investigated Martha's family so far, because I'm more interested in the Mallets (I'm descended from James' brother Thomas). According to the censuses, she was born in Lichfield.

                        The Mallets had lived in Lichfield since the 17th century, but James' father John seems to have moved around a bit; James was born in Stafford, and other siblings were born in Dosthill, near Tamworth. John is very elusive, and I'm still trying to track his movements and confirm his marriage.

                        So far as I know the only members of the family to live in Rugeley were James and his descendants; he was living there by 1841.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
                          many ordinary folk might not have known settlement rights had been overturned by the Union Poor Law Act, so had the child baptised in two parishes "just in case".
                          The Mallets were reasonably well-off farmers - the only one who seems to have a rather humble occupation is James, who was a chair maker.

                          As he was born in a different place from the other siblings and had a very different occupation and place of residence I was beginning to think I'd made a mistake and he wasn't related to them, but I've found his sister as a visitor in the household of one of his sons on one census, so I don't think there's much doubt about the connection, even though she isn't specifically named as an aunt.

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                          • #14
                            Mary

                            I have one or two renegades in otherwise stolid farming families - one went off to be a violin maker, fgs. Why on earth?

                            However, in some of my farming familes, I notice dad's hand in building a useful range of skills - sons apprenticed to stone masons, cart makers, coopers, carpenters and so on.

                            They return to the homestead on later censuses described as Farm Hand, or Farmer's son, but I bet they were stone-masoning and carpentering away on the farm.

                            OC

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              What's wrong with making violins? Its an honest trade and provided people with a means of making music in non-MP3 player days.

                              My gt grandfather Charles was known as "Fiddler Williams" because he played the violin. He tried to teach my grandfather, but he (grandfather) didn't have the patience. I often wondered where Charles got the violin from. He worked as an ag lab before becoming a domestic servant, variously described as a porter/indoor servant (domestic) and a manservant.
                              ~ with love from Little Nell~
                              Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Nell

                                Nothing wrong with being a violin maker. I just boggle at the circumstances that made a clod-hopping farmer's son decide he wanted to make violins instead of hay.

                                OC

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