Genealogy Chat

My apologies if I have upset or offended anyone. Ann, I certainly wasn't trying to make you look stupid.

Religion - it's a funny old thing! Not all religious people are good and not all good people are religious. Like politics and s*x, probably best kept to oneself.

M. Steer

My niece had to have a termination as baby had died, during her pregnancy. He was named and given a funeral service, which I believe was very comforting to the family.

This was not performed by CofE but by a non-conformist church.

These churches do not believe in infant baptisms, but babies are dedicated ,and make their minds up later, if they truly want to follow the Christian religion, and can be baptised later on.

Julie
That's really sad and upsetting.
Hopefully clergy are more enlightened now.
I went to a talk given by the Chaplain of a large local hospital and was interested to learn that they offer families an individual burial service for any child lost at any stage in a pregnancy, no matter how early that might be.

Gwyn

I have often wondered if the church ask for proof of baptism before burying someone
I lost a child at birth and could not naturaly (as I thought) have her baptised. This meant that she could not have her own grave and buriel service. It has narked me for 30 years and still does.

Baptism should not have occured after death as baptism is a sacrament reserved for the living.
I'm surprised that anyone who baptised a dead child didn't adjust the dates to make it look as if they were baptised before death.

Andy

Hoobityboobity, whatever happened to 'Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven'? I wouldnt want to have anything to do with a church which had forgotten those words.
Hope I have quoted it correctly, getting old, memory not so good.

Thankyou all for your replies.

I now know what P.B., and 'received into Church' means.

M. Steer

Thank you Gwyneth! Pleased someobody agrees with me - I was made to feel a bit stupid, although I knew I was right!

I have an ancester who had a PB (private Baptism) on 5/4/1855 age 5wks which was recorded into the parish records and showed he was born in March 1855.

He was then recieved into the church on 20/5/1856 which was also entered in the parish records.

He went on to marry and have children of his own before he died age 38years in 1893!

Another ancester was born one year and baptised 2 years later with his baby brother!

The baptisms after death make sense, if they haven't been "received" by the church in life, the burial service would be difficult in the eyes of the church.

I too have had ancestors who became of Mormon faith, baptised and received into the faith after death and also any marriage (including 1st marriages) acknowledged later too!

Dee

Private baptisms took place at home or in the church but seperately from everyone else's. It seems they were chosen as a matter of preference by some couples, given the high infant mortality rates you would expect to see more of these if illness/sickness was the major reason.
The term received into church is often used for older children/adults or those who have been baptised once already.

I agree with Ann., - I too have seen a record in the registers, (C of E in Sussex) where a child was baptised after death.
Very unusual but it obviously did happen sometimes.

Gwyn

For Church of England records these definitely mean privately baptised then received into the church if the child survived.
Sometimes the gentry had their children baptised in their own homes but it was more usually done for sickly infants.

I have seen these numerous times while looking through parish records. I am sure somewhere I once read that any member of the church can in an emergency baptise an infant thought to be dying.

The record in the register of "received into the church" isn't another baptism but records the time the child was well enough to be taken to church for the first time.

Sue

Baptism is a Holy Sacrament that can only be received ONCE.

M. Steer

Margaret

Sorry, I hadn't read the dates properly! But I can assure you that some were baptised after death - I've seen it in records.

The mormon church baptise after death, Church of England do not. Private baptism followed by a service during which the child is received into the church is a Church of England service. If you have a copy of the Book of Common Prayer in the house - and I bet lots of you had one as a christening present even if you never open it - take a look, the services, and the circumstances when they might be used, are set out in there.

Ann, I've never heard of anyone being Baptised after Death. Certainly not 6 months after!

Doesn't the Soul leave the body at the point of death?

M. Steer

Andy

Some children were baptised after death - may not have been all that common, but it DID happen

In the past children were expected to be taken to church to be baptised in a public ceremony before the congregation. The service welcomed them into the family of the church (still does). If a child was not expected to survive they could have a private baptism which took place very shortly after birth but then if and when they were well enough they were taken to church to be received into the family of the church. They were never baptised after death.

Andy

Could be, but could also be baptised after death.

The other child was P.B. Sept. 1819 then 'received into the Church' March 1820. Could it be that he wasn't expected to live but survived?

M. Steer