Hi Jim: You wrote: >>If you need to deal with Catholic records, come back to this list. When you first replied to my email you gave me links to the Lancashire BMD site and the Parish Clerk's site both of which have proved to be tremendously helpful! There is one baptism that I have been unable to find. James Coon's birth was registered in 1891 (4 Quarter) in Padiham. I would love to find his baptismal record as his mother's surname has been transcribed in various ways. I have found what I think is her marriage record in the All Ireland index where it has 2 spellings: KINEHAN & KEENAHAN. On James' birth registration it is given as KEENAN. I suppose it all depends on how the person registering the event heard it! Have you any suggestions? It is possible that the local records have not been fully transcribed yet. If I managed to get over in the summer, where would I go to see the records? Molly McLeod Toronto, Canada

Hi, Molly, Nice to hear from you again. You wrote that James Coon's birth was registered in 1891 (4 Quarter) in Padiham. LancashireBMD (http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk/index.php ) has the entry - Lancashire Birth indexes for the years: 1891 Surname, Forename(s); Sub-District; Registers At; Mother's Maiden Name; Reference COON, James; Padiham; Preston; KEENAN; PA/42/71 In this context, Padiham is a Registration Sub-District and may be larger than the settlement we know as Padiham. The area was served by a priest from Burnley until a mission was established in Hapton in 1864. This mission moved to Padiham in the mid 1870s and is known as St John the Baptist. The three Catholic dioceses of Lancashire have agreed that the sacramental registers that are no longer required for church purposes should be deposited for safe keeping in Lancashire Archives inn Preston. Looking at the Lancashire Archives on-line catalogue (http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/?siteid=4528&pageid=30843&e=e ) The entry for St John is - PADIHAM, St John the Baptist, [formerly Hapton St John]; Diocese of Salford C 1947-1961; M 1947-1954, 1961; Reg rets; RCSF 2 C 1870-1941; M 1874-1941; Copy reg; Microfilm; MF 1/262-263 The second line relates to 'Reg rets' (Register Returns) which seem to be similar to the Anglican Bishop's Transcripts. There is a closure order on these but they are too late for your purposes. The third line is about 'Copy reg; Microfilm'. This is a film made during World War II after German bombing raids had caused damage resulting in the loss of some parish registers. The Bishop asked the Parish Priests to have their registers filmed so that there would be a copy available if the originals were lost. As with many instructions of this type, no finance was provided for this work and not all parish obeyed. St John was one for which the films are available. You would be able to consult these films in the Lancashire Archive where they are on open access. Opening times, et., for the Archives are explained on its web-site. Proof of identity will be required. There is no mention of the original registers in the catalogue which shows that the original registers are still with the Parish Priest. If you need to see the original registers, you will need to make an appointment with the Parish Priest. The address is - The Parish Priest St John's Presbytery, St John's Road PADIHAM BB12 7BN I think the church is still the building erected in 1881 and so is the church your family probably attended. Turning to your basic question about the mother's surname, Your name is what you call yourself or what you are known as. If you are asked for your name, you tell the scribe who will then write what he thinks he heard. Each scribe may have a slightly different interpretation of what he hears.. You only have a 'definite' spelling of your name if someone gives you a piece of paper with the name written down. I have seen a family that has five different spellings of the surname before it gets a fixed version. MARRIAGE 6 Jun 1868, Patricium KEALY, Jericho, prope Bury, Petri KEALY [married] Catharinam BUTLER, eodem loco, Gulielmi BUTLER BAPTISMS 3 Mar 1869; 14 Mar 1869; Petrus CALEY; Patricii CALEY; Catharinae BUTLER 3 Jun 1871; 2 Jul 1871; Maria KEIGHLEY; Patricii KEIGHLEY; Catharinae BUTLER 19 Jun 1874; 28 Jun 1874; Gulielmus KAILLY; Patricii KAILLY; Catharinae BUTLER 13 Jul 1876; 23 Jul 1876; Joannes KELLY; Patricii KELLY; Catharinae BUTLER and these were all recorded by the same Irish priest. Hope this helps Jim Lancaster (Bury, Lancs.) -----Original Message----- From: Mary McLeod Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 8:26 PM To: lancsgen@rootsweb.com Subject: [LAN] Jim Lancaster re: Padiham Catholic Churches