> Can anybody shed some light on this query? I have Robert Davis b1874 minehead, I have been unable to find details of his baptism or birth online. However did find the following which fits. 1812 Nailsea Baptisms Robert son of Robert and Sarah Davis born Minehead Somerset 24th of July 1794 publickly received in Church 11th of October having been previously baptised at Minehead as above Nailsea Holy Trinity Baptisms 1788 to 1812. The questions I have are - if his baptism was private, would I still be able to find his details in Minehead general records, and secondly why would he be baptised for a second time? The family must be well off or he had a patron as he was educated at Cambridge. Can anyone assist?

On Mon, 9 Jun 2008 21:02:26 +1000 Sharon Davis <sharon@brocklesby.net> wrote: Hello Sharon, > I have Robert Davis b1874 minehead, I have been unable to find These sets of dates don't agree. I suspect the one above is a a typo, and should read 1794. > The questions I have are - if his baptism was private, would I still > be able to find his details in Minehead general records, and A private baptism is normally recorded in the PRs just like a normal baptism. It will probably be marked Pvt, or something similar. > secondly why would he be baptised for a second time? The family must He wasn't. He was baptised privately, probably because of some illness which it was thought he might not survive. Being received into the church is simply a public affirmation of that baptism, not another one. However, Nailsea is 55 miles from Minehead, so this may not even be the person you're interested in. It's not inconceivable, but you need to exercise caution. > be well off or he had a patron as he was educated at Cambridge. Can Or he got a scholarship. -- Regards _ / ) "The blindingly obvious is / _)rad never immediately apparent" Junk floats on polluted water Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie & The Banshees