Genealogy Chat

I hope this is the right forum?

I know I had a godmother, but not her name. (I can't remember if I also had a godfather). It's just possible she's still alive, and if so it would be nice to write to her. It might also help me and another member with finding out whether our families knew each other.

My birth record's there all right (and I have the original certificate), but I don't know if I was baptised. I'm not in the baptism records via this website, so does that mean I wasn't?
I don't even know if godparents are named in baptism records? Or if having a godparent means having been baptised?

My mother died before I'd heard many of her anecdotes etc. (I was 24 and had lived away from home for several years). My father died in 1986, when I was only just thinking of exploring family history. So I'm doing as much as I can via the web, especially as I now live in Ireland. I'm able to get over to the UK once or twice a year, but primarily to London, and I don't know when (or if) I'll be able to spend any time in the Manchester area where I was born (I've passed near it it occasionally, when crossing by car via Liverpool , but had to whizz on down to London).

My only older relations still alive are an uncle and an aunt by marriage, and I was a teenager by the time they joined my family. My mother's letters & papers would have been a great resource, and my father kept them, but I never saw them (only the photos were kept; the rest were destroyed after his death, and I only have a few that slipped through the net). So I'm now trying to find any family friends who may still be alive.


A few details in case they're elevant;
My parents were married in 1944 at St Michael's church, Flixton, near my mother's parents' home in Urmston, Manchester, where my parents lived for a bit after their marriage. I was born 30th April 1945 (my mother being in St Joseph's hospital, Moss Side for 2 weeks).
If I was christened, and if still living in Urmston, it seems likely it was at the above church (my grandmother was a regular churchgoer). However, by the time I was about 1 year old we'd moved to my paternal grandmother's home in Dunstable, and then to London (I don't know the moving dates, though my parents might well have travelled back to family for special occasions anyway).

Welcome to the boards, and yes, you are in the right place!

If you were Baptised, there is a good chance that your Godparents are named on the Parish Record entry. Archives have differing rules to cut off dates for online records - some take it as 50 years, others longer. If a dob was recorded, they would be a starting point if someone wanted to steal your idenity!

To start with, contact the churches nearest to your usual home address at the time of your birth, and if different, St Michaels. As it's your own record, they are more likely to assist you either by searching amongst their PR or by telling you if the books have been deposited elsewhere.

If your father was in the Forces, its possible that you were baptised sometime after your birth when he was on leave- keep an open mind with the time frame

RCatholic baptisms carry named people,usually these are the godparents,

I havnt seen a godparent named in Cof E PRbaptisms that I have viewed ,our local parish church has been microfilmed up to 1965.

You could contact St Michaels and ask if they will look for at least your bapt........

6 weeks to 3/4 months is when parents usually get their off spring bapt.

Contact link for St Michaels
http://www.stmichaelsflixton.co.uk/contact.php

Other churches in or close to Urmston
http://www.achurchnearyou.com/town/24/urmston/

In repy to Kay??? it probably depends on the style of the printed register - I *have' seen ones were the Godparents have been recorded ;-)

Probally DET,,,,,I havnt seen one,only RC,where names have been given,

Even my mums,no godparents are down. :-)

Justs a memory jolt,!,,,,,,,sometimes they are on the acutal baptism certificate given to the parents..

The church website is at:
http://www.stmichaelsflixton.co.uk/
but the 1945 baptismal register is already deposited in Manchester Archive.

http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/ have only transcribed baptisms to 1894

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=2960 only has baptisms to 1915

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1®ion=UNITED_KINGDOM_IRELAND
In particular: https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1788853
only seems to have baptisms to 1894. I didn't check if they were indexed.


http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=448&documentID=464
Unpublished archives
To see unpublished items, like minutes, diaries and registers, search the Greater Manchester Lives catalogue at www.gmlives.org.uk. You must book at least one working day in advance to see most of the archives but some can take up to two weeks to retrieve from storage. These are marked 'This material is stored off-site' in the catalogue.


[Archive] GB127.L141, Collection (Fonds), Flixton, St. Michael (Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives)
Records of the Incumbent including: early registers 1570-1812; baptism registers 1813-1990; marriage registers 1754-1993; burial registers 1813-1873; draft or copy registers 1811-1886; banns book 1825-1991; confimration registers 1942-1972;
http://www.gmlives.org.uk/

In England, godparents weren't usually identified in the early C of E registers, but usually are in the modern records - the change seems to occur around WW2.

I haven't seen enough English RC records to say what was happening with them.

=====================

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_studies/4260/research_service

I found my dads baptism record on seax (essex records) although there was a space for god parents none were mentioned and he also has his cert and none mentioned on that either

Just to add none of the children had god parents mentioned on the page

A few years back I had much the same query.
My parents could only remember one godparent but not the (RC) church where I was baptised. Luckily, they remembered that afterwards, those who had attended my baptism, went back to my grandmother's house for refreshments.

So I looked on google maps, and also used google, and managed to identify the two nearest RC churches to my grandmother's house.
I wrote to them both requesting information and, if possible, a copy of my baptism certificate.
After a few days one of them very kindly sent it to me, free of charge :-D :-D
It's written in Latin, but was easy enough to decipher, particularly the names are recognisable enough.

P.S. Just thought of something - do you have a middle name? It may be a clue if your parents followed the tradition of giving you the name of your godmother as your middle name.

Ive just been looking at Hampshire Baptisms I have on 7 inch fiche ,,,,dates from 1843 though to 1960,,,,,,,no godparents are down on any of the entries,Cof E.

The ones I've seen were for St George's, Gravesend and were on Medway's City Ark. Unfortunately they have recently implimented their 100 year rule and have now removed them. :-|

Wow! Thank you all for your help. I haven't had time to read it properly, but I'll look into all your suggestions as soon as I can (it'll probably take a week or two of spare time).

Just a few initial thoughts;
If there was a christening, my father probably wouldn't have needed any more time off than usual to get to it. As a chemist he was in a 'reserved occupation', and his war work was at ICI in Manchester (which was probably how he met my mother). She was in the ATS when they married, and they sent her down south at some point, but during her pregnancy she was discharged and returned to Urmston. He was at ICI until I was about 10 months old, during which they both lived in the Urmston house. So a church in that area seems likely (and I know the family were C of E, so that narrows it down a bit).
I haven't seen any documentation re his ICI period (apart from a references letter on leaving). Maybe the work was classified (it did involve testing tyres and plastic explosives). If so, perhaps he died before he felt free to talk about it. (He had to promise to 'observe the Company's secrets', in any case). So no clues in that direction.

No baptismal certificate has come to light among family (and it's very unlikely any more papers of mine will).

I have my CofE baptismal certificate from 1940 ..................... no godparents named on it

I know my mother's younger brother and wife were both godparents, only from what I've been told and the fact that they gave me a silver bracelet for my 21st birthday (a traditional gift in the area where I was born from godparent to goddaughter)



I have no idea as to the 3rd godparent ......... or even if I had another one.

When I was a teenager, my mother gave me a little gold and amethyst pendant she'd been looking after for me, and said it was from my godmother. That's all I know.
(Plus what it looked like; a very hard-up period meant I had to sell it about 10 years later, but I have a photographic memory).

I appreciate that I am being slightly controversial, but what were these godparents doing if you (any of you) had no idea who they were?

What was the point of asking them to be godparents?

How did they agree if they had so little intention of staying in touch?

I take it this godparent thing is fairly new.... 20th century??

I thought it was just a thing our ancestors did because it was expected...... Doubt whether they held parties and got gifts

I found a couple the other day where a child was baptised the 18th Nov and buried on the 19th Nov..... And another that was baptised the same day his mother was buried.... Not a joyous occasion :-(

Spiritual upbringing of the child, and guardian if the parents die.

So rather an important role, I always assumed.

Jax

godparents have always been important in the CofE ............... going back hundreds of years.

They are the ones who promised to see that the child was brought up correctly, both spiritually and worldly


It is in recent times that they seem to have lost this role ................ or rather ignored it.



I remember reading somewhere years ago that minor lords, barons etc, would ask a wealthier or better connected friend or acquaintance to be godfather (or even godmother) to a child. The child would then be named after that godparent ........................

and the request and naming may be repeated for a later child, or even a third child


It seems that sometimes subsequent children with the same name may not necessarily be named for a dead child :-D .........


If I remember correctly, this practice was common in the 14th / 15th centuries, and was more prevalent in certain counties in England





and to answer your question, patchem ...................


I think one thing that has happened in the last 100 years or so, is that people have moved much further distances than at any other time.

It's hard to keep in contact, or to watch over a child, if the family or you have moved to another continent, or the other end of the UK.

Oh right

I find it strange that there was a section for godparents to be entered on my dads parish register..... But nothing entered. He has no idea who they were, not that it matters now

I think the family members senior to me would have had a very good idea who my godmother was, Patchem (It's just that they're all dead).

My godmother herself may not have lived to keep in touch for long; I don't know what generation she is/was. Or in what country. For instance, it's possible she was my great-aunt in Australia, who was a churchgoer, had a strong sense of duty and corresponded assiduously. But she was only able to travel to the UK a few times in her life, and I don't remember meeting her as a child.

On the other hand, she could have been from my parents' generation, or a little younger than them. In which case I think she would have been a friend rather than a relation (the only possible relative I know of is my mother's younger sister, but in that case my mother would have called her Margaret). She said the pendant was from 'your godmother', which suggests I wasn't familiar with her.

If I did have a youngish godmother with good health (and luck), there's a chance she's still alive. If she is, another reason to contact her is a chance to try and fill in some of these big gaps! (I've been trying to locate family friends who might still be alive, for the same reason).