WRG, I am seeking your opinions on the customary way that records were kept in Maine in the 1700's. In the Vital Records of Biddeford, Maine Prior to 1856, John D. Beatty, Picton Press, there is recorded the family of Nathaniel4 (Nathaniel3, Benjamin2, John1) Whitney and Hannah Day Whitney. They had 9 children. One was born in Kittery, and the births of seven are recorded in the Biddeford records. However, Josiah, the 9th child, has only his baptism recorded in Biddeford, not his birth. I have been involved along with others in trying to sort out the controversy created by F.C. Pierce and Hugh McLellan about this Josiah. It has occurred to me that Josiah may not have been the son of Nathaniel and Hannah, but of Nathaniel's brother, Dr. John Whitney and his wife Jerusha Knowles. This Josiah was born in Eastham, MA in 1741. His mother, Jerusha Knowles had died, and at least two of his siblings were in the care of the Knowles family. Josiah and his brother Seth are unaccounted. Dr. John Whitney went on to marry twice more, with children by all of his wives. Perhaps Josiah was the adopted or foster-son of Nathaniel and Hannah. The Biddeford record says: June 7, 1752, Baptized Josiah Son of Nath and Hannah Whitney. If Josiah, almost 11 years old at the time, was their adopted or foster-son, would he have been recorded in the Biddeford records as their son, or would some other designation have been made? Also, was the fact that he was not an infant have been recorded? I would appreciate commentary from anyone with knowledge of the customary way that births and baptisms were recorded back then. Ken Whitney Silver Spring, MD