Please explain the note found in a baby's birth and baptism record.
I came across a birth and baptism record that has a note in the "for home baptism column". The English version of the DigitalArkivet displays "Død før bekr.", but didn't translate it. Could someone please explain what the note is and what it means? If it is about a death at birth, will I find another record somewhere like in the stillborn section? The record is for Ellen no 33 in the girls section at https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/3568/86 (SAH, Stange prestekontor, K/L0017: Ministerialbok nr. 17, 1880-1893, s. 83).
Thank you for your assistance.
Answers
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The note does indicate that Ellen was "home baptized" but died before the baptism was confirmed in the church. The fourth column is for writing in the date the home baptism was confirmed in the church. The "+" often indicates a death and the words after are "f(ør) bekr(eft)"="before confirmed". Ellen's burial record is here (#18 in the female section): https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8861/192 .
Norwegian records often have 2 copies. The other one of the birth record is here: https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8861/46 . The copy can be helpful if the first is difficult to read.
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Here's a few more thoughts on this record for when you run across similar ones in future research.
The records of stillborn birth, dødfød, only contain infants who were truly stillborn or were liveborn but did not live long enough to be baptized. Children in those lists never have names because of that lack of christening.
Ellen is listed with her name because she was liveborn and baptized, so you will not find another entry for her in the lists of stillborn.
Regarding the term "bekreftet," in some parish records, you will find the equivalent term "stadfestet" which also means confirmed or affirmed.
In some parishes, the priest would go back and write a cross on the baptismal record even if the child died years after birth.
For completeness, here is the other copy of her death record:
https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070123330408
It took some poking around because the table of contents for the scanned images stops at 1889. The archive has mislabeled the death records from 1890 on as marriage records.
You didn't ask about cause of death but I'll add it here anyway. It's easiest to read in the Ministerialbok, "Parish Register (Official)" where you can read "For Tidlig Fødsel" which literally means "too early birth."
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I just want to thank both Norm and Gordon for these answers. I appreciate receiving this insightful information. These answers help to paint a picture of how these people (my relatives) lived back then, which is quite foreign to us now. I really appreciate the added attention to detail. This same family had a stillborn child (one with no name ) seven years prior to this infant. These answers just help explain the whole situation.
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