BAPTISMS - PARISH OF LOWER HAWKESBURY; ST ALBANS

 
 
There were 186 baptisms performed at this parish during the decade, 
although 16 refer to children born before 1831, plus 21 performed 
after 1840 for children born between the years 1831 and 1840. On average 
there was almost one baptism performed each fortnight over the decade.
The first baptism was performed in this parish on the 2nd February 1831
by Bishop William Grant Broughton.
 
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 
 father's year & ship of arrival in the colony 
 father's status upon arrival in the colony 
 mother's maiden name
 mother's Christian name
 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 
 child's place of birth
 father's quality or profession 
  officiating minister
 reference number
 
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 are all value added details resulting from extensive personal 
research, information which makes this work so valuable for family historians.
 
In the church register the mother's maiden name is only recorded when the birth 
is illegitimate, but again through personal research the maiden name of many of the 
married women has been discovered as well.
 
The list is presented in chronological order by date of baptism then by reference
number. The records in the register are not always in strict chronological order 
but this has been corrected in this work.
 
The Rev.Thomas Sharpe was appointed first chaplain to the parish. He was followd by
the Rev.Thomas Atkins in 1837 who in turn was followed by Rev.John Espy Keane in 1838.
The Rev.James Edmonston officiated in 1839 then Rev.Edward Gifford Pryce from 1840. 
Bishop Broughton and the Reverend Richard Taylor officiated at occasional baptisms.
 
With regard to the fathers 91% have been identified.
 
Eighty six were colonial born plus fifteen were childhood arrivals, combined making up 49% 
of the total; 64 were convicts or former convicts (31%), 15 arrived free in the colony (7%) 
and eight were in the military (4%).
 
With regard to the mothers 88% have been identified.
 
One hundred and twenty four were colonial born plus 12 were childhood arrivals, combined making 
up 66% of the total; 20 were convicts or former convicts (10%), 19 arrived free in the colony 
(9%) and there were six aboriginal mothers (3%).
 
Assuming listing the mother's surname indicates she was not married to 
the child's father, twenty eight (14%) of the births were illegitimate.
 
Note the high number of colonial born and the low number of free arrivals in this parish.
Another feature of this parish is the high number of conversions to Wesleyan-Methodism.
 
[This is my favourite parish, full of all the old convict families from the earliest 
days of the colony with very few free arrivals to dilute its original historical beginings.
It is also where my earliest Australian forebears lived, loved and laboured.]
 
There was one baptism in the State Archives Pioneer Series file which has no entry 
on this parish register. It is very likely that this results from a typographical 
error and relates to a post 1840 baptism. It is identified with the percent sign (%). 
 
The reference number would direct the reader to the relevant entry in the original
source document. The numbering system commneced at 0001 and ran to 0187 by the end of
the decade (Number 109 was omitted).
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "L-H" on Lists 1 & 2. To 
locate an entry on this list; firstly an alphabetical search on the name would 
be made on List 1 or 2 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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