Baptism before birth

[sheilajim]

Hi All

In my opinion for what it is worth, I would say that it was an error. The babies are named. How would they know the sex of the baby before it was born at that time? Was is the practise of the clergy to baptize children who were born dead or who died very shortly after birth? I am sure that there would have been a lot of babies who would have been born dead, or who died just after birth in those days.

I remember reading somewhere ,about someone from the 19th century complaining about this matter, that some children were registered as being baptized before they were born. The writer was complaining about the sloppy record keeping in the OPR registers.

Regards

[Chris Paton]

Good point!

Chris

[Muriel]

The excellent "Tree Detective" gives a couple of pages on "Imperfections in the registers" (pages 61-62), saying that defects were often attributable to the carelessness of the person responsible for the keeping of the records. It mentions a case in Dundonald where a child was purportedly baptised a week before it's birth. So it looks as if such error were not too uncommon.

Muriel

[Chris Paton]

I had a reply from my minister friend in Canada, and he had this to say:

"This is an interesting one. I have to say I've never run across this
sort of anomaly before now. I cannot say for sure or not whether there
would be any theological or superstitious issues involved here. But
I've never heard of such. What I can say is that I have never ever
heard of a case of a baptism being done pre-birth for any reason at all.
And I would have a hard time conceiving of one, especially in the 18th
century. The concept of life existing in the womb before birth is very
modern - 20th century. Even if they believed the child was at risk, I
cannot think that they might baptize pre-birth. Even today when we are
more aware of life pre-birth, in the event of a high risk birth I might
get called in to do an emergency baptism at the very moment of birth,
but never pre-birth.

So I would definitely favour this being a clerical error."

So thanks everyone, clerical error definitely seems to be the order of the day....!

Chris

[ladybird]

This wouldn't have something to do with the Gregorian calender would it?
Maybe a bit late for the sort of confusion that caused though

I have a lad died before he was born according to one Parish reg in England...but that was 1749/50, so maybe I'm whistling in the wind here
Sylvia

[momat]

I think if it was the Gregorian to Julian Calender in effect it would state two Years, I. E. 1712/13.
I have several entries on my Tree with double year entry and they are all in January / February / March period of the Years.

[paddyscar]

Hi Chris:

I've a thorn to toss into your question of a 'baby' being baptised before being born.

I don't want to get into either politics or religion, but simply want to question the 'idea' or concept of baptising a 'baby' before it was born.

Growing up in the 1950s-60s, I don't remember knowing/understanding, (think Catholic, pre-abortion debate, pre--ultra-sound, small town) that a woman who was 'having a baby', actually HAD a 'baby' until the 'baby' was born.

I'm just wondering, from those who grew up in the 1930s-40s, if the 'concept' of baptising a baby whose live birth was in jeopardy, would have been known to them?

I know that still-birth babies, were baptised in the Catholic hospital on the chance that the soul was still in the body (usually by an attending nurse or religious sister), but have never heard of a pre-birth baptism, but things are also dependent on where you live.

Frances

[Chris Paton]

Hi Frances,

It's no thorn - I'm 100% confident now that it was a clerical error!

Chris

[ian beaton jack]

I've been doing quite a bit of work with the Perth baptismal registers just now, and have come across a couple of examples of children being baptised before they were born, sometimes by about a month. Are these clerical errors, or was there a reason for why this may have actually happened?

Chris

hi chris, i have just checked my baptismal and birth records
and found the same kind of errors,
i was born in munlochy,ross& cromarty. d.o.b. 28/06/1933 and baptised 18/07/1933 as is on my birth certificate
the church records show d.o.b. 18/07/33.
baptised 18/06/33.
clerical errors ??? i think it must be.
ian