I am looking at the possibility one of my ancestors was baptised in Eynsham in 1723. The entry in the transcribed PR reads :- 1723 Oct 6 DRUCE alias WHITE s. Joseph Can someone explain to me how I should interpret the "Alias" as please. Many thanks Chris

Chris wrote: > I am looking at the possibility one of my ancestors was baptised in > Eynsham in 1723. > The entry in the transcribed PR reads :- > 1723 Oct 6 DRUCE alias WHITE s. Joseph > Can someone explain to me how I should interpret the "Alias" as > please. Simply that the father was known both as Joseph DRUCE and Joseph WHITE. The first thing is to investigate Joseph -- though sometimes this sort of thing was carried through several generations. It could happen because Joseph was illegitimate, so was christened with his mother's surname, but when she later married, the boy also used his new father's surname. Or simply that Joseph's real father died young and his mother remarried. Or any of that could have happened in an earlier generation. How was Joseph christened? Look under both surnames, of course. What does his marriage record say? Were others of his children also given the alias? What about burials? There are, I suppose, other explanations, but try that approach first :-) DaveB

The 1723 is a bit vague in CD transcription as it has handwriting over the print I think it is Joseph s(on) of Joseph The earliest DRUCE baptism is 10 Dec 1721 DRUCE alias WHITE John s Jas: ("DRUCE vulgo WHITE dicti) My Latin knowledge says Vulgar or Common and of course "says" perhaps something specific in a PR PS perhaps Jas: could be Jos: 7 Feb 1724 DRUCE Mary d Joseph & Ann - so this seems all clear and presumably the same man but no sign of that marriage in Eynsham Then I assume the 1723 man 19 Oct 1777 DRUCE Joseph by LIC to ANDREWS Mary Wit: Robert DAVIS Mary HOYLETT That is onlt the second DRUCE marriage in Eynsham PR - previous My (Mary) in 1769 No sign of the Joseph to Ann For WHITE previous baptism to 1721 is a John in 1676 Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds Bush/Chiswick) try my links http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/