Godparents in early 1800s

FURET

I've been looking for the name of the wife of a great-great-great grandfather. No luck at all until today, when I see that he stood for a child baptized in 1825. Along with my g-g-g grandfather, the godmother is named but she has a different surname to my g-g-g grandfather.

1) Was it standard for godparents to be married to one another?
2) Was it standard to give the maiden name of the godmother when recorded in baptismal registers?

pinkypinky

In my experience, godparents are not usually married to each other, and even if they have the same surname (i.e. brother and sister) are separately written: Thomas Moore, Ellen Moore.

The current name of the godparents are what is recorded. Doesn't make sense to write in a birth surname.

Hermy

If it was written as John and Mary Smith then I'd assume they were husband and wife.

But if it was written as John Smith and Mary Smith then I'd assume they were brother and sister or something similar.

And if it was written as John Smith and Mary Murphy then I'd assume that they were not husband and wife.

FURET

pinkypinky wrote: »

The current name of the godparents are what is recorded. Doesn't make sense to write in a birth surname.

Nevertheless, the birth surname of the mother is provided in baptismal records.

pinkypinky

Well that is true, but they are specifying that she is a married woman, and their convention was to record her previous name.

I've never seen an example of someone I knew was married being shown by her maiden name when listed as a godparent.

tabbey

I have come across a small number of baptisms where I know the godparents to be a married couple.

When the sponsors have the same surname, they may be a couple, or siblings, or unrelated. We can make assumptions, but these are guesses, because we cannot know what was in the mind of the priest writing in the register. What was taken for granted by him, might not be for us. Remember he wrote it for his own records, not for genealogists two centuries later.

montgo

I've seen many baptism records where the godmother was recorded with her maiden name.