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Godparents in early 1800s

  • 01-12-2015 3:16pm
    #1
    FURET
    Closed Accounts Posts: 685 ✭✭✭


    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?


Comments

  • #2
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,616 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #3
    Hermy
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 11,300 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #4
    FURET
    Closed Accounts Posts: 685 ✭✭✭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.


  • #5
    pinkypinky
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,616 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    Genealogy Forum Mod



  • #6
    tabbey
    Registered Users Posts: 1,943 ✭✭✭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.


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  • #7
    montgo
    Registered Users Posts: 565 ✭✭✭montgo


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


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