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Birth/Baptism Records 1553-1854

The event being recorded was generally the baptism itself although sometimes the date of birth is also given.

The most you can expect to find is:

— The name of the child

— Whether the child was legitimate (lawful) or illegitimate (often referred to as "natural" child of)

— The date of baptism (and sometimes the date of birth)

— The father's name, mother's name

— The place or parish of residence

— The occupation of the father and names (and sometimes occupations) of witnesses

— Occasionally witnesses' relationship to the child (if any) may be recorded

— The minister's name and church where the baptism took place

The example below, from Perth in 1807, is an example of a well kept parish register giving a good deal of information but this was by no means common at the time.

Example of well kept parish register, 1807 (click to enlarge)

In the worst cases the mother's name is not recorded at all between certain years, especially in older records and you simply get the father's name, the child's name and a date of baptism such as this example from 1714:

Birth/Baptism Records 1553-1854

Example of well kept parish register, 1807 (click to enlarge)

Example of poorly recorded baptism, 1714 (click to enlarge)