Resending Second Image of 1845 Baptism Record for Ernst August Kromschröder
Comentarios
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Hello @Joy Curtin
unfortunately the quality of the image is very poor and almost impossible to decipher. What I can guess regarding the sponsors' first line is this:
- Zeuge: S[eine] Maj[estät] Ernst August König von Hannover, königl[icher] Prinz von Großbritannien u. Irland
- Witness: His Majesty Ernst August King of Hanover, Royal Prince of Great Britain and Ireland.
see Wikipedia for Ernst August I. in German: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_August_I._(Hannover) or for Ernest Augustus in English: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Augustus,_King_of_Hanover
The reason he is named as a witness/sponsor is probably the following: It was a common practice in the German kingdoms that the sovereign acted as baptismal sponsor for the seventh son in a family. The condition was that the sons were born in direct succession in one marriage. The intention was to ensure that enough young men would be available for the military. Another condition was that the son was named after the sovereign. Here is an article (in German, please translate with your browser's translate function or DeepL) that describes this practice: https://www.gv-bedburg-hau.de/sieben-soehne.html. It even continues to this day: upon request the President of the German Federal Republic assumes sponsorship for the seventh child (girls and boys now have equal rights!).
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Thank you so much, Ulrich Neitzel, for your translation of a portion of what is an extremely difficult record and for providing a further explanation of why a sovereign would be a witness at this baptism. Indeed, Ernst August was the 7th son of his parents! I'm excited to look at the links you have provided for more insight and greatly appreciate your including them in your note to me. Thank you again!
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