Baptism 2 years after birth

[Lensgirl]

Hi

I have the baptism of Mary Russell from LDS which also states her being called Mary Wanlass (plus variation). Father is Thomas Russell and mother is Jane Wanless (or variattion). The baptism was in 1809 and birth is listed as being in 1807. What would be the reasons for it being so far from birth? im just hunting for a marriage between Thomas and Jane but i dont think there will be

Many thanks

[Kate P]

Sometimes children weren't baptised until it was certain they were going to survive, sometimes people moved areas, sometimes life just gets in the way. There are a myriad of reasons why, but from my own family tree, a baptism at around two years of age is far from uncommon and often occurs with at the baptism of a younger newborn sibling.

Kate x

[JudithM]

Lots of reasons. Here are some I've come across in my family: church closed for repairs, family were non conformist,then converted back to Cof E; family didn't bother with church til they needed to prove settlement; new vicar arrived and "rounded up" all the non baptised in parish.

By the way 2 Jan 1809 baptism, 10 Nov 1807 birth = 14 month gap not 2 years.

[Lin Fisher]

Just going to say the same as Kate re being bap with another sibling or perhaps Mary was trying to avoid being 'disgraced' in church as she wasn't married. Perhaps the vicar changed and insisted she had her daughter baptised.

Loads of reasons but all guesswork in every case.

[Lin Fisher]

Snap Judith re new vicar

[Lensgirl]

I have just had someone do a look up for me and i think the transcription is wrong as they have told me the baptism was in 1808. However it says that she was the illegitimate child of Jane Wanleys a single woman and Thomas Rufel (pretty certain they mean Russell) a Millwright.

next question, could a millwright also be called an Engineer? Im thinking that Mary knew of her father, but actually had no idea on whether he was dead or not (see previous post on Scotlands People). However why then call herself Mary Russell and not mary Wanleys?

[cpdavis35]

it is possible 2 years after... my great grandfather was baptised at the same time as his sister even though his sister was already 2-1/2 years old...there is more than one reason why they might have taken 2 years to baptised the child....

[Christine in Herts]

I was at a baptism on Sunday where a baby and his older sister were baptised at the same ceremony. It's not enormously unusual.

and

could a millwright also be called an Engineer?

I'd have thought there would be quite a bit of engineering in setting up a mill.

Christine

[herky]

.......and I have a batch lot of about 8 children all baptised on the same day but from 2 different mothers, same father, first wife had died and he remarried.
I wonder if he got a deduction for bulk buy!!!!!!!!!

[Uncle John]

next question, could a millwright also be called an Engineer?

Definitely. He made and repaired mill machinery. A lot of it was made of wood to avoid sparks but there was a lot of metalwork as well.

[col48]

could a millwright also be called an Engineer?

Uncle John's answer is one answer - and a very reasonable one. But another one might be that 'Engineer' is much grander than 'Millwright' even if it stretches the truth a little.
Some genealogist in about 50 years time may be puzzling over my father's Census entries which probably declare him to be a Clerk when his real occupations were rather more humble-sounding.
We need to be aware that much of what appears in the kind of official documents we look at is self-declared and did have to be more than plausible to be recorded as truth.

[grumpy]

My g/gfather (and with his two brothers) were baptized in 1848 when they were respectively 8, 5 and 3. I suspect it was because their father
had been terminally ill and probably the family couldn't get to a church to go through the ceremony. They were all done together after their
mother remarried.

[margaretmarch]

In more recent times two of my great nieces were baptised together age 4 and 2 because their mother wanted them to go to the local C of E School that only admitted children baptised in the C of E faith!
Margaret

[Little Nell]

I have several instances of children not being baptised till they were 4 or 5 and have wondered if it was to do with getting entry into a C of E school. I've also got a gt x 3 grandmother who was baptised on the same day as her 2nd son, having been married and had first child baptised in the church previously. No idea why she was baptised then.