LIST 6 - BAPTISMS - ST DAVIDS HOBART

 
 
The third church to be established in the colony was St Davids at Hobart in 
Van Diemens Land. There were 137 baptisms recorded at St Davids from 1803 to 
1810. Of this number 13 baptisms refer to children born prior to 1801.
 
The information recorded for each child includes: 
 date of baptism 
 date of birth
 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 
 reference number
 
The list is presented in chronological order by date of baptism then 
alphabetically by father's surname. 
 
With regard to the fathers, ten do not have their names recordedand in a further 
eleven cases the arrival details remain unknown.
 
With regard to the mothers, in 21 cases the arrival details remain unknown.
 
It should be noted that considerably more information is presented than 
will be found in the original church register, being the result of decades 
of research, principally associated with the Pioneer Register Project. Arrival 
data for the parents were rarely recorded in the original documents nor was 
their marital status.
 
There was one duplicate entry on the register during the period under study 
(James Washart) reducing the total of individual baptisms to 136. It is also 
possible that Donald McCoy may have had a duplicate entry.
 
James and Mary Cummings were baptized for a second time at St Phillips when 
their parents returned to Sydney, for some reason. Likewise Elizabeth Apsey 
was baptized at St Davids in Hobart Van Diemens Land before being baptized 
for a second time at St Phillips.
 
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. Jonathan & Frederick Paterson, Charles & James Peck, 
Ann & Sarah Lowe were all double baptisms with the same reference number.
 
Towards the end of the decade Rev Knopwood occasionally recorded the place of 
birth.
 
St David's Church in Van Diemens Land had a very similar beginning to 
St Phillips in New South Wales, insomuch as both church registers were 
commenced on the voyage from England to Australia. In St David's case, the 
Reverend Robert Knopwood recorded the first baptism at sea on board 'HMS 
Calcutta' on the 6th June 1803 for Thomas Wiggins, son of Marine Samuel Wiggins 
and his wife Susannah.
 
The second baptism took place at Port Phillip Bay (in modern day Victoria) on 
the 25th November the same year for William Thorne, son of Marine Samuel Thorne 
and his wife Ann.
 
The next nine baptisms took place at Sullivan's Cove on the Derwent River 
after the settlement had been moved there in January 1804.
 
The first baptism at Hobart Town, where the settlement finally settled was 
on 18th June 1805 for Joseph Kearly, son of Marine George Kearly and his wife 
Mary.
 
George & James and Thomas Free were all born on Norfolk Island. Elizabeth Mason 
was born in Sydney.
 
The father of Elizabeth Mack is unknown, but she was adopted by Rev Knopwood 
after the death of the mother and he did state the her father was a marine who 
abandoned her mother.
 
The register did not record the date of birth until 1814 so it has been assumed, 
not unreasonably in most cases, that the year of baptism roughly corresponds 
to the year of birth. The only child to have an exact date of birth recorded 
is Henrietta Bowen and her birth date was derived from other sources.
 
Most children were baptized soon after birth but there are some (twenty five 
to be exact) who were later baptisms, the last being for Susannah Solomon in 
1849 at the age of forty. The only problem is to determine if their birth 
took place in the colony or not.
 
The list contains the first baptisms of native children, ten in this period. 
As well as one native of New Zealand, Mary Tippahee and one half caste child, 
Mary Bruce.
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "SDH" 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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