Can anyone sort out these two baptism?

[webwiz]

I have listed these two baptism transcriptions side by side and highlighted the differences. Can anyone explain?

First name(s) Elizabeth.......... First name(s) Elizabeth
Last name Wollon................ Last name Wollon
Birth year 1803.................. Birth year 1808
Birth date 23 Jan 1803.......... Birth date 23 Jan 1808
Baptism year 1808.............. Baptism year 1808
Baptism date 03 Apr 1808........ Baptism date 03 Apr 1808
Place Westbury.................. Place Dilton
County Wiltshire.................. County Wiltshire
Father's first name(s) William.......... Father's first name(s) William
Father's last name Wollon.......... Father's last name Wollon
Mother's first name(s) Millear.......... Mother's first name(s) Millear

[Olde Crone Holden]

Came from two different sources, prob one was the original parish church reg, the other from the BTs. 1803/1808 difference is just a straightforward mistranscription I bet. You need to look at the original.

OC

[JudithM]

The two place names are explained by this:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WIL/Dilton Baptisms in the Dilton chapel were probably recorded in the Westbury parish register

[Janet]

it is also possible there are two Elizabet, first one born 1803 and then died and a second one born 1808 and also named Elizabeth.

I have two Susannah in the same family, one born 1833 and one born 1838 and it foxed me until I found the death record for the first Susannah in the original Parish Record, which is still in the Parish Chest at the church. The death record has not been found anywhere else!

However, I do agree that the same birth dates are difficult to understand and that could be a mistranscription.

Janet

[webwiz]

Janet, I have two or three examples like that. In one case the parents named a third child the same after two older girls with that name had died. I guess they either really liked the name or they were short on imagination. But I don't think this case can be like that or they are baptising a dead child. If both entries are describing the same baptism, probably actually at Dilton but written in the Westbury register, as per Judith, and come from two different sources as per OC then examining the source will reveal a mistranscription if there is one, but there remains the possibility that both transcriptions are accurate and one of the sources is incorrect. This could be the case if the Westbury one is correct and the Dilton one had the same year of birth as baptism because that is usually the case. I believe that Elizabeth's younger brother was baptised on the same day so Elizabeth could well have been 5, and if this is the right person (not certain) then Elizabeth married in 1819 so could not have been born later than 1803.

[Katarzyna]

It does look like a simple transcription error to me BUT ....
I have two families who registered their children with the same name.

These two are on the 1881 census together

LOCK, ERNEST ARCHIBALD
GRO Reference: 1871 D Quarter in IPSWICH Volume 04A Page 591
aka Ernest Edward
d. 27 Aug 1889
Ipswich, Suffolk

LOCK, ERNEST ARCHIBALD
GRO Reference: 1876 J Quarter in IPSWICH Volume 04A Page 692

These two are on the 1891 as Lilian L and Hannah L but registered as

SPORLE, LILIAN LOUISA TRICKER
GRO Reference: 1888 J Quarter in IPSWICH Volume 04A Page 856

SPORLE, LILIAN HANNAH TRICKER
GRO Reference: 1890 S Quarter in IPSWICH Volume 04A Page 816 Occasional Copy: A

So it can happen but makes you wonder at their thought patterns!!

[webwiz]

Naming a subsequent child after an older one that has died is understandable. Giving two living childen the same name seems odd but believable. But baptising two children with the same name on the same day?

[kylejustin]

Sometimes a child is sickly when a younger one is born so they are given the elder child's name in case the elder dies. And then the elder doesn't. Also german naming patterns tended to call most people by johann, maria or anna, and then they were known by a middle name.

[Ann Bentley]

Two children with the same name happened in my family. My great grandfather, Donald McPherson was born in 1837. His brother Donald McPherson born in 1831. They were both recorded in at least two census returns, 1841 and 1851. I don't know what happened to the older Donald after that.

[Uncle John]

My grandfather was given the same first name as his elder brother, who died a few months later. But they were given different middle names.

[Elaine ..Spain]

There are two transcrptions of the Westbury baptism available on FMP.

The one transcribed from parish registers gives date of birth as 23 Jan 1803 (as per your first example) but the other one, which is taken from Bishops Transcripts, gives date of birth as 23 Jan 1808.

http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=prs%2fwilt%2fbaps%2fbh%2f1116638

http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=prs%2fwilt%2fbaps%2fbh%2f0390270

The images for Wiltshire PRs are to be made available online in the very near future - I think via FMP although not sure.