Christening before Birth
Hi Folks
How is it possible to have the christening date before the birth date?
For some reason robots.txt won't allow access to the URL, let me know if you want the details?
You can also search for John Strachan born 23 November 1843 (id MB8T-FDG) an look at the source
Regards
Bruce
Best Answers
-
So the DoB on the profile says 23rd November 1843, and the source attached says DoB is 23rd December 1843, with a christening date of 7th December 1843.
I see two possibilities. Both involve a typo in the "source". Either the DoB of 23rd December should read 23rd November, or the DoB and date of Christening have been swapped over and it should read DoB 7th December and the Christening was 23rd December.
This "source" is really just an index. The solution is to check the original which is available in the Old Parish Records on scotlandspeople.gov.uk It will cost you £1.50 but will provide the answer.
Having said all that, I too have a relative with a christening before their birth. Both the birth register and parish register appear accurate, so who knows.
1 -
Thanks Colin
0 -
@Maile L and @BruceWWilliamson
ScotlandsPeople responded
The majority of old parish records relating to births actually refer to baptisms. This is stated in the Guides section of the website, but basically says:
"Church registers of baptisms may record the date of birth or the date of baptism or both. There is no indication given in the index as to whether the entry is a birth or a baptism, but it is more usual for the index entry to show the baptism date." ...
The header 'birth date' can therefore be somewhat misleading in that it may equally refer to a baptism, and the image should be checked to be certain which the given date refers to.
(My emphasis)
The Guide section is on https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/record-guides/church-registers#Contents
0
Answers
-
At times people couldn't afford the registration fee for a birth etc and delayed the registration until they could. Very confusing when you come across it.
2 -
We see it often in Irish records. To avoid the late fee for registration, a parent would allege a later date of birth. I have many examples in my files.
2 -
"At times people couldn't afford the registration fee for a birth etc and delayed the registration until they could."
Quite true. However, in this particular case, we can eliminate that possibility as civil registration in Scotland didn't start until 1855. So as @ColinCameron says, the only way to resolve it (maybe!) is to look at the original on ScotlandsPeople
1 -
I had a few credits that were about to expire. The index is incorrect. He was born 23 Nov 1843 and baptized 7 Dec.
4 -
@BruceWWilliamson I've sent you a private message with the image. I'm at my FSC this afternoon.
2 -
Thanks everyone for your respones and support, truly amazing
Regards
Bruce
0 -
Just a quirky, odd, and useless point of interest the Queen Mother's father (Claud George Bowes-Lyon) was fined for the late registration of the Queen Mother's birth. At least he could afford the fine which was 'a penalty not exceeding ten pounds' (about £950 today). So yes I can well understand a fudging of the birth date. A birth has to be registered within forty two days. She was probably born in London.
0 -
@Maile L Re "The index is incorrect. He was born 23 Nov 1843 and baptized 7 Dec."
It says "Birth Date of 7 Dec 1843" in the search response although you have shown 7 December is the baptism date - I have this horrible feeling that ScotlandsPeople are just using a heading of "Birth Date" regardless of whether it's a birth or baptism. I've submitted a query to ScotlandsPeople for one of my lot to ask what's going on.
2
