LIST 7 - BAPTISMS - ST JOHNS LAUNCESTON

 
 
The fifth church to be established in the colony was St Johns at Port 
Dalrymple (Launceston) in Van Diemens Land. Between 1811 and 1820 the 
details of 144 baptisms were recorded in St John's church register. 
Of this number 45 baptisms refer to children born prior to 1811. 
The first baptism being performed on the 25th February 1811.
 
The information recorded and presented for each child is exactly as 
described for St Phillips in List 3.
 
The list is presented in chronological order by date of baptism then 
alphabetically by father's surname. 
 
With regard to the fathers, identities of 73% have been found. The 
names of seven fathers were not recorded and the arrival details 
of a further 47 remain unknown.
 
With regard to the mothers, identities of 63% have been found. The 
names of 17 mothers were not recorded and the arrival details of a 
further 56 remain unknown.
 
There were three duplicate entries on the register during the 
period under study reducing the total of individual baptisms to 141. 
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.
 
Fifty five baptisms took place after 1820 when older children came 
to baptism, the latest being Hannah Byrne in 1844 at the age of twenty 
five.
 
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 42 baptisms performed during Rev 
Knopwood's first visit to Port Dalrymple in 1811 have been assumed 
to refer to births prior to 1811. The Rev Knopwood next visited the 
settlement in 1814 when he performed 43 baptisms.
 
In November 1819 the Rev John Youl arrived from Sydney to take up the 
incumbrance of the parish.
 
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. Ann, the native of 
New Zealand, was the wife of John McGinnis.
 
The reference numbers are sequential with those of St Davids Hobart 
which is not unexpected because the Rev Knopwood was maintaining 
both sets of church registers in the early years.
 
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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