I have found an unusual phrase in a record from the First Presbyterian Church in New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY. "18 Mar. 1792, SOPHIA, dau. of Samuel and Dolly Wells. 31 Aug. 1794, JERUSHA, dau. of Samuel and Dolly Wells. 11 June 1797, HARRIET, dau. of Samuel on her mother's right. 20 Jan. 1799, JAMES, son of Samuel Wells, on its mother's right." Does anyone know what "mother's right" means?(Both Samuel and Dolly were alive.) My wife suggested that it means that the mother of the children was not Samuel's wife, and they were illegitimate. Carl Hommel

----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Hommel" <chommel6@comcast.net> To: <GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com>; <NYONEIDA@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: [GEN-NYS] Baptism in the Mother Right >I have found an unusual phrase in a record from the First Presbyterian > Church in New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY. > "18 Mar. 1792, SOPHIA, dau. of Samuel and Dolly Wells. > 31 Aug. 1794, JERUSHA, dau. of Samuel and Dolly Wells. > 11 June 1797, HARRIET, dau. of Samuel on her mother's right. > 20 Jan. 1799, JAMES, son of Samuel Wells, on its mother's right." > Does anyone know what "mother's right" means?(Both Samuel and Dolly were > alive.) My wife suggested that it means that the mother of the children > was > not Samuel's > wife, and they were illegitimate. Carl Hommel > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GEN-NYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Hi Carl, I think what you'll find is that this means that the mother belonged to the church, but the father did not, so the children were baptised in this particular church, on the basis of the mother's membership in the congregation. Perhaps the father belonged to another religious body, or perhaps none. Perhaps other list members can correct me if I'm mistaken. Regards, Ginny ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Hommel" <chommel6@comcast.net> To: <GEN-NYS-L@rootsweb.com>; <NYONEIDA@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2007 10:16 PM Subject: [GEN-NYS] Baptism in the Mother Right >I have found an unusual phrase in a record from the First Presbyterian > Church in New Hartford, Oneida Co., NY. > "18 Mar. 1792, SOPHIA, dau. of Samuel and Dolly Wells. > 31 Aug. 1794, JERUSHA, dau. of Samuel and Dolly Wells. > 11 June 1797, HARRIET, dau. of Samuel on her mother's right. > 20 Jan. 1799, JAMES, son of Samuel Wells, on its mother's right." > Does anyone know what "mother's right" means?(Both Samuel and Dolly were > alive.) My wife suggested that it means that the mother of the children > was > not Samuel's > wife, and they were illegitimate. Carl Hommel > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GEN-NYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >