Berry and Schofield discuss some of the major issues surrounding baptisms as a form of recordkeeping. Firstly, they discuss how in many baptism certificates, the date of the actual birth of the child is rare to find. ¹ Even in instances where it did occur, it is not consistent over history.

They discuss the results of a study into 43 registers from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Many were from London, and many from the north of England, such as Yorkshire and Cumberland. They found that from 1653-1660, births and baptisms were recorded in 16 of the overall registers, 8 of which were in London. From 1771 to 1789, they found that it was 21 out of the 43 analysed, 5 of which were in London. ²

These are small samples, but it goes to show the irregularity across the country and across different eras. Furthermore, Berry and Schofield discuss that going into late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, baptisms were delayed further. ³ One consistency they did note was the transformation of practice in London. From the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, London steadily went from being a population of early baptisms to the latest. ⁴ Yorkshire and Shropshire, however, remained among the early baptising parishes across the centuries. ⁵

Misconceptions of Baptism Intervals

However, there is one important background detail which may contradict some of the work done by Berry and Schofield. This example is from Jeremy Boulton and Romola Davenport. They wrote an article exploring the issue around whether children were likely to die before their baptism in the eighteenth century. If longer intervals were common, as Berry and Schofield suggested, this would make sense. Their argument, however, is different. They argue that the intervals often seen between birth and baptism are not always because a delay has occurred. They make the point that often, private baptisms were performed before any public record of it. ⁶ This information can be useful in explaining how the intervals happened in your own history.

Conclusion

I hope this blog, despite it being short, can show you the problems surrounding details can impact your ancestral research. The main problem being that the accuracy of the dates. If you really want to find the most accurate birthdate for your ancestors, baptisms certificates vary so much that a lot of it is a guessing game. You should of course have consideration for what Boulton and Davenport mentioned in that it is possible that the baptisms simply happened at home and were not recorded until later. I hope that, despite the blotchiness of information available on baptisms, that this information is useful.

Sources

Berry, B. Midi and Schofield, R.S. ‘ Age of Baptism in Pre-Industrial England’. Population Studies 25 (1971): 453- 463.

Boulton, Jeremy and Davenport, Romola. ‘Few Deaths before Baptism: Clerical Policy, Private Baptism and the Registration of Births in Georgian Westminster: a Paradox Resolved’. Local Population Studies 94 (2015): 28-47.