LIST 9 - BAPTISMS - DEUXIEME DIZAINE - NORFOLK ISLAND

 
 
This sixth 'primary source' list contains the details of 271 births for 
children born at Norfolk Island between 1801 and 1810, 139 males and 132 females.
 
The information recorded for each  child includes: 
 
 date of birth
 date of baptism
 church of baptism
 Christian name
 father's Christian name 
 father's family name 
 father's year of arrival in the colony 
 father's ship of arrival in the colony 
 father's status upon arrival in the colony 
 mother's Christian name
 mother's maiden name
 mother's year of arrival in the colony
 mother's ship of arrival in the colony
  mother's status upon arrival in the colony
 parent's civil status at the time of the child's birth
 parent's marital status at the time of the child's birth
 parent's year & country/church of marriage where applicable 
 
The list is presented; firstly in chronological order by date of birth, secondly 
in alphabetical order upon father's family name. 
 
There were other children on Norfolk Island during the period under 
consideration who were either born at Port Jackson or overseas, but they 
are not on this list and their details are found elsewhere in this work. When 
the musters for Norfolk Island come to be examined these children will also 
come to notice. 
The completeness of this list of course is dependent upon the thoroughness 
of the source documents consulted.
 
For the period from August 1801 until March 1806 the convict parson Henry 
Fulton was assigned to Norfolk Island as acting chaplain. As a consequence 
unlike in Volume 1, just over half (150) the children were known to have been 
baptized. The table below lists the details.
 
 Table 9.1. - Norfolk Island Baptisms
 
 Church No 
 ----------------------------
  Norfolk Island 98 
 St Phillips Sydney 24 
 St Davids Hobart 25 
 St Johns Launceston 2 
 New Norfolk VDL 1 
 
The 52 children baptized off the island are to be found in the relevant church 
lists, thus this reduces the contribution of those born on Norfolk Island 
to the "Deuxieme Dizaine" to 219 (115 males & 104 females).
 
There are five baptisms recorded in St Phillips register as taking place 
at Norfolk Island; Susannah Fisher, Francis & George Flexmore, Elizabeth Holland 
& Mary Scattergood but it is unclear as to who actually performed them.
 
Emily Wilson is recorded in the Norfolk Island baptismal records but her entry 
states that she was baptized at Sydney Port Jackson.
 
These Norfolk Island births account for 6% of the "Deuxieme Dizaine" . 
 
In two cases the father is unknown and in seven cases the mother is unknown. 
The arrival details of the father are unknown in a further thirteen cases and 
the mother in three cases.
 
Where the father's surname has a second name separated by a slash '/', the surname 
after the slash is how the name was spelt in the original document or if second 
name is substantially different it refers to an alias. Where the mother's surname 
has a second name separated by a slash, the surname after the slash is her 
married name at the time of the recording being made if she was married more 
than once. 
 
 Table 9.2. - Norfolk Island Births
 
 Total Males Females Convict Convict Legitimate Illegitimate
 Father Mother
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1801 29 12 17 22 24 8 21
 1802 37 24 13 30 31 10 27
 1803 32 15 17 21 27  13 19
 1804 33 22 11 21 22 11 22
 1805 28 10 18 20 21 11 17
 1806 8 2 6 6 5 3 5
 1807 6  2 4 5 5 1 5
 1808 7 4 3 5 6 1 6
 1809 4 3 1 2 4 0 4
 1810 6 4 2 5 3 2  4
 unknown 29 17 12 26 25 8 21
 ------------------------------------------------------------------
 Totals 219 115 104 163 173 68 151
Percentages 52.5% 47.5% 74.4% 79.0% 31.1% 68.9%
 
The vast majority of children had convict parents. The percentage of convict 
mothers is higher for the simple reason that the great majority of women who 
were in the colony in the early years arrived as convicts. The percentage 
of male convicts was diluted to some extent principally by the soldiery and 
to a lesser extent by the officials.
 
For the first time the colonial born appear as parents, with one child having 
a colonial born father and twelve children having colonial born mothers.
 
Unfortunately the year of birth is unknown in 29 cases. 
 
The illegitimacy rate of over two thirds is regrettable but explainable 
by the fact the for most of the history of the island there was no resident 
chaplain.
 
Notice too the dramatic drop off in numbers after 1805 when the population 
of the island was started to be transferred to Van Diemens Land.
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "NI" on List 1. To locate 
an entry on this list; firstly an alphabetical search on the name would be 
made on List 1 from which the date of birth would be retrieved, secondly using 
the appropriate date, the birth would be located on this list and finally 
an alphabetical search on the name would be made on the birth date if there 
should be more than one entry for that date which would certainly be the case 
of only the birth year were known. 
 
 
The abbreviations used in this list are explained below:
 
  d = defacto
 m = married
 
 CF = came free
 GS = government servant (convict)
 FS = free by servitude (emancipist)
 AP = free by absolute pardon
  CP = free by conditional pardon
 EX = exile
 NE = never emigrated
 -- = unknown
 
 Eng = England
 Ire = Ireland
 Sct = Scotland
  Wal = Wales
 
 Ldn = London
 Sry = Surry
 
 NI = Norfolk Island
 NN = New Norfolk
 SDH = St Davids Hobart
 SJL = St Johns Launceston
 SJP = St Johns Parramatta
 SPS = St Phillips Sydney

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