BAPTISMS - SCOTS KIRK DENBIE; HUNTER DISTRICT; MAITLAND; MORPETH; PATERSON; SINGLETON

 
 
Sadly, to date the transcription of the baptismal register of this kirk is not yet complete. 
The baptisms for this kirk appear to have come from two sources; Volume 121 and Volume 162
but only the former has been located with 100 baptisms recorded. In the abscence of the latter 
an alternative source of information is the State Archive Pioneer Series of births which 
commenced in 1838 and which lists 69 possible baptisms for this decade, although one child
was born before 1831, plus 3 performed after 1840 for children born between the years 1831 
and 1840. (The first baptism was recorded on the 28th Feb 1835).
 
For the register where the has been transcribed, the information recorded for each baptism includes: 
 
 date of baptism 
 date of birth
 child's Christian name
 father's family name 
 father's Christian name 
 mother's maiden name
 mother's Christian name
 child's place of birth
 father's quality or profession 
 officiating minister
 reference number
 
For the years 1836 to 1838 the officiating minister was the Rev William Macquarie Cowper
but he may well have been active both before and after these dates.
 
This part of the is presented in chronological order by date of baptism then 
alphabetically by father's surname. 
 
Regrettably the State Archive records contain less information than the church registers, 
just seven items:
 
 year of birth
 child's Christian name(s)
 father's family name 
 father's Christian name(s) 
 mother's maiden name (for illegitimate births only)
 mother's Christian name(s)
 reference number
 
The reference number has be used to establish a reasonable estimate of the year of baptism.
 
This part of the list is presented in reference number order.
 
Missing from this list, without further and extensive personal research, 
are the seven extra items of information which this work normally endeavours 
to include and which makes this work so valuable:
 
 father's year & ship of arrival in the colony 
 father's status upon arrival in the colony 
 mother's year & ship of arrival in the colony
 mother's status upon arrival in the colony
 parents' civil status at the time of the child's birth
 parents' marital status at the time of the child's birth
 parents' year & country/church of marriage where applicable 
 
The Reverend John Hill Garvan was the first chaplain and he only stayed until 
the end of the decade. The Reverends John Gregor and John Dunmore Lang each
performed a couple of baptisms during the decade. The officiating minister is
not recorded for the V162 baptisms.
 
As 60% of the parents remain unknown for this parish no meaningful anylysis of
their civil status can be made. But of the 40% identified more than three quarters 
arrived free in the colony and very few convicts or former convicts.
 
Unlike the Anglican and Catholic practices the Presbyerian mininisters
regularly recorded the maiden names of married women hnowever this made
identifying the illegitimate births impossible.
 
One child, Flora McIntyre, is known to have been born at sea (which is marked by the
percent sign (%). There may well have been others.
 
The reference number would direct the reader to the relevant entry in the 
original source document. 
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "DENB" on Lists 1 & 2. To 
locate an entry on this list; firstly an alphabetical search on the name would 
be made on Lists 1 or 2 from which the reference number would be retrieved, 
secondly using the appropriate number, the entry would be located.

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