Find Ancestors

Hi there, my ancestor Eleazer Featherstone was baptised in 1828, following an older brother who was baptised in 1825 (Stainton, Yorkshire).

That is what I have assumed. However, I can't find a death for the older Eleazer ... does this mean that these baptisms link to the one and and same person?

If so, why?!

I already have information on Eleazer thank you, so no need to duplicate it here.

Best wishes,

Peter

They're not supposed to be - indeed the Book of Common Prayer has a special conditional baptism service to avoid this. It's used sometimes after emergency private baptisms where the child survived, and runs along the lines "Dear God, if we stuffed up before, then this one counts, but if we got it right first time, then ignore this".

However, there are quite a few instances of repeated baptisms - usually less than a month apart, and at difft churches, Also, sometimes, after a private baptism (which, if done by the priest, is usually recorded), the child could be "presented to the congregation" or welcomed into the congregation. This event might also be recorded in the baptismal register (and be transcribed as a baptism).

If your baptisms are some year(s) apart, I would guess the name was recycled after an infant death - try checking the burials register and/or the graveyard records.

Are you 100% certain that the parents were the same in both cases?

If so, there must be a death which you have been unable to trace..............

Considering the dates, the scenarios suggested by Reggie and mgnv probably cover the apparent duplication.

However - between 1837 and 1873 there was no compulsion to register a child's birth. Parents relied on a baptism to record their child's existence. Towards the end of the century when primary education was compulsory, schools were asking to see a copy of the BC or Baptism certificate to confirm the date or year of birth.

If the baptism certificate had been lost or never issued, the parents might have their child baptised again to fulfil the requirements. In those instances there is frequently a margin note on the PR giving the declared date of birth.