Bob- Here are some of situations that I have encountered in my family research regarding baptismal sponsors during the 19th century. In one case, the grandmothers were chosen. Another time one grandmother and a person of unknown relationship. Sometimes, one or two people of unknown relationship were chosen. In one case, an unmarried couple who later got married were chosen for my gg grandmother. Then, one of their daughters was chosen for my great-grandfather's baptismal sponsor. In addition, my great-grandfather was named after the uncle and grandfather of his baptismal sponsor. I am trying to make a connection to this family and mine. I have noticed that many times the child was named after the baptismal sponsors. BTW, my ancestors were Evangelical or Lutheran. And to make myself clear, when I say unknown relationship, I mean that I have not found the person to be a blood relation. So maybe they are and maybe they are not, I do not know. These are just my family. Others on the list probably have different experiences. Andrea ----- Original Message ----- From: <REW111@aol.com> To: <HESSE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 8:45 PM Subject: [HESSE] Choosing Baptismal Sponsors > I am researching a German ancestor, Michael Keitzer (or Keutzer) who > emigrated to America from Frischborn, Hesse in the 1830s. He settled in a German > Catholic community in Seneca County, Ohio. While I was reviewing the church > records from the 1830s to the 1870s, I noticed that the godparents or baptismal > sponsors were usually not related to each other, or in many cases not even to the > parents of the child. This differs from today's custom in the USA, where > parents usually ask a married couple to represent their child at the baptism. > > I am trying to discover if the choosing of unrelated sponsors is a German > custom, or perhaps just a 19th century custom that has since changed over time. > And what was the rationale used to choose sponsors back then? Any thoughts > would be appreciated. > > Thanks, > > Bob Wallace > Columbus, Ohio USA > > > > > > > > ==== HESSE Mailing List ==== > Postal Codes, How to Pay for Research, German Language > Letters, Archive Addresses, German Telephone directory, > http://members.cox.net/hessen/table.htm >