Best Research Aid - Ever!

[Terri]

BAPTISM SPONSORS !!!! :D:D:D

(Though sadly I didn't find exactly who I was looking for), I have spent the most joyful 12 hours collecting Baptism Sponsors by the dozen.

Unlike marriage witnesses, baptism sponsors (in Ireland at least) tend to be family members and I've managed to put together 4 related families just from baptism sponsors, with still 20-odd names to play with.

Love it! ;)

[kiterunner]

German records tend to have these too, but I have enough trouble deciphering the parents' names and occupations, never mind the sponsors! I do intend to get to them one day though.

Forgot to say, Scottish baptisms sometimes have these too and those are very helpful.

[ElizabethHerts]

I have done some Liverpool research for my son-in-law's family and it was the sponsors mentioned that helped me piece together the rather involved relationships.

[Merry]

But how can you know who they are when you have no idea of age or marital status? I have quite a few Irish baptisms for OH's tree but I don't know who any of the sponsors are even when they have the same surnames as the parents!

[Terri]

But how can you know who they are when you have no idea of age or marital status? I have quite a few Irish baptisms for OH's tree but I don't know who any of the sponsors are even when they have the same surnames as the parents!

Ah! Well I made a huge spreadsheet ................

Names of sponsors, (assuming they were over the age of, say, 20 and under 70, and were born relatively near the family) with colour coded identical names, and then I collected a list of their possible parents and/or spouses until I had made many potential families. A fairly clear pattern of names emerged straight away.

I was also lucky in having several unusual Christian and surnames (even for Ireland!)

Once I'd found the likely marriages and births (with parents' names, occupations and places that fitted) it then became obvious that if Ann Smith sponsored her nephew John Jones, then one, or both of John Jones parents would sponsor one of Ann Smith's children! And so on .............. Nine times out of ten, sponsors appeared to be uncles and aunts.

One other thing I'm fairly sure of is that (in my case anyway) all the women sponsors were married. Perhaps in 19th century Ireland, it wasn't considered an appropriate undertaking for a single woman!

It took a bit of faff, masses of cross-checking of details and the creation of lots of lists. I still have a couple of question marks, but all in all, it was remarkably satisfying!

[Merry]

Ah, I clearly don't have enough people and not at the right time frames to tie the information together, plus as they are from Cork City there are 100s with the same names.

[Terri]

That is not so easy. Luckily I was dealing with small towns where families had lived (and stayed) for generations.

[JBee]

Difficulty is when there's so many people of the same name connected to the same family lol

[tenterfieldjulie]

Terri you are so fortunate. My OH's grandfather was RC and from Sligo he wrote to his brother who stayed in Ireland - when were you born because I am older than you. I have found his brother's baptism, but he was given the name of Bartholomew which he never used!! I think they used alias .. so pleased that I visited the area and found living family members who had kept Matthew's letter to Michael.. still would love to find his baptism though lol

[ElizabethHerts]

The parish registers for Bletchingdon in Oxfordshire are a total delight. I already had purchased the CD from the Oxfordshire Family History Society, but seeing the entries for myself is much better, especially some of the extra details such as this:

"Alice Armesbie the daughter of John Armesbie was baptized one Friday the sixt day of July 1627 at morning prayer
Sponsores, James Beverley Elizabeth the wife of John Weekes, and Elizabeth Gibbes"

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/61056/PAR036_1_R1_1_015/1645023?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.co.uk %2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3dOxfordshireEarlyParish%26gss% 3dsfs28_ms_r_db%26new%3d1%26rank%3d1%26gsln%3darme s*%26gsln_x%3d0%26MSAV%3d1%26uidh%3dho3&backlabel=ReturnSearchResults

[Terri]

Terri you are so fortunate. My OH's grandfather was RC and from Sligo he wrote to his brother who stayed in Ireland - when were you born because I am older than you. I have found his brother's baptism, but he was given the name of Bartholomew which he never used!! I think they used alias .. so pleased that I visited the area and found living family members who had kept Matthew's letter to Michael.. still would love to find his baptism though lol

The whole Irish genealogy thing is very strange! I have realised that ages on the 1901 an 1911 censuses are virtually meaningless.

I thought it odd (to say the least) that my gg grandmother apparently started giving birth at the age of 12 (according to her age, and the age of her children on census). On finding all their births, her age was 5 years out and all her childrens' ages were wrong. Her eldest child was 16 on census - he was actually 11!!

And names ...........!!! My dad was Gerald Bernard - Gerry - always was and always had been. But no, he was actually Bernard Gerald!

Bridget - one of the most common Irish female Christian names and it seems to give the owners of the name unconditional licence to call themselves anything they like! :d

[Terri]

Well off topic, but while researching my ancestor's illegitimate Irish birth, I came across this. Absolutely tragic!

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-ann-lovett-letters-sorrow-shame-anger-and-indignation-1.1673920

[HarrysMum]

The Irish seemed to use alias names a fair bit Julie. Uncle Mick and Uncle Pat were Peter and Julius in official documents.

On Mum's side I have Bowler and Brosnan/Brosnahan, and they are all Patrick, Michael, Cornelius, Mary, Hannah, Margaret, Deborah. lol

Well done Terri.

[Kit]

Where do you find baptism sponsors?

This sounds like something I might like.

[kiterunner]

Some baptism records show them, Toni, mostly Catholic ones.

[Kit]

Thanks Kite. Most of my people aren't Catholic.