LIST 8 - BAPTISMS - TROISIEME DIZAINE - ST JOHNS LAUNCESTON

 
 
The fifth church to be established in the colony was St Johns at Port Dalrymple 
(Launceston) in Van Diemens Land. This fifth 'primary source' list contains 
the details of 147 baptisms recorded in St John's church register for children 
born between 1811 and 1820, 79 males and 68 females.
 
The information recorded and presented for each child is exactly as described 
for St Phillips in List 4.
 
These St Johns Launceston baptisms account for 2% of the "Troisieme 
Dizaine".
 
There were three duplicate entries on the register during the period under 
study reducing the total of individual baptisms to 144 (78 males & 66 females). 
Frederick Hull had previously been baptized at St Davids and Mary Ann Jubb 
at St Phillips. The baptism of Margaret McAllister is a mystery because 
she was baptized the very same day at St Davids and may well be a 
transcription error.
 
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. 
 
The reference number would direct the reader to the relevant entry in the 
original source document.
 
It should be noted that this list contains considerably more information 
than will be found in the original church register, being the result of decades 
of research, principally associated with the Pioneer Register Project.
 
As explained in Volume 2 all 41 baptisms performed during Rev Knopwood's 
1811 visit to Port Dalrymple have been included with the "Deuxieme Dizaine".
 
The Rev Knopwood next visited the settlement in 1814 when he performed 45 
baptisms.
 
In November 1819 the Rev John Youl arrived from Sydney to take up the incumbence 
of the parish.
 
Fifty one baptisms took place after 1820 when older children came to baptism, 
the latest being Hannah Byrne in 1844 at the age of twenty five.
 
There are six natives recorded on the register and one native of New Zealand.
 
The two sons of Patrick Morrison; Charles & George, were half casts and were 
born on King Island. John Simmons was born at the Cape of Good Hope but his 
date of arrival is unknown and may not be a "Troisieme Dizaine". Ann, the native 
of New Zealand, was the wife of John McGinnis.
 
There were more boys baptized than girls. Exactly one third of fathers were 
convicts or former convicts, and just under a third of the mothers were convicts 
or former convicts. The big change for the "Troisieme Dizaine" was the 
increasing proportion of colonial born parents; 23% of mothers and 8% of fathers 
(by 1820 the percentages were 33% & 11% respectively). Sadly the civil status 
of around one third of parents is unknown at this time. Only around one half 
of the births were legitimate, this low percentage being due no doubt to 
the lack of a clergyman during most of the decade.
 
 Table 8.1 - Baptisms St Johns Launceston
 
 Total Males Females Convict Convict Colonial Colonial Legitimate 
 Father Mother Father Mother 
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1814 39 24 15 14 15 0 4 12 
 1815 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  
 1819 11 6 5 6 9 1 1 6 
 1820 45 26 19 16 9 5 15 31 
 >1820 51 23 28 13 11 5 14 29 
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Totals 147 79 68 49 44 11 34 79 
Percentages 53.7% 46.3% 33.3% 29.9% 7.5% 23.1% 53.7% 
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "SJL" 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 baptism would be retrieved, secondly using 
the appropriate date, the baptism would be located on this list and finally 
an alphabetical search on the name would be made on the baptismal date if 
there should be more than one entry for that date. 

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