LIST 3 - BAPTISMS - ST PHILLIPS SYDNEY

 
 
There were 768 baptisms recorded at St Phillips during this decade, meaning 
on average there were 77 baptisms a year. Of this number 31 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, identities of 90% have been found. The name of 
one father was not recorded and the arrival details of a further 94 remain 
unknown.
 
With regard to the mothers, identities of 89% have been found. The names 
of forty mothers were not recorded and the arrival detials of a further 63 
remain unknown.
 
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 entry in the original source 
document.
 
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.
 
One hundred and sixty one baptisms took place after 1810 when older children 
came to baptism, the latest being John Cole in 1824 at the age of fourteen.
 
The Rev Marsden continued administering to St Phillips from the start of the 
decade until his visit to England to recruit more clergy for the colony. The 
Rev Fulton filled in for Marsden in his absence. The original numbering system 
continued until no. 1078 on the 17th January 1808. The number 910 was not 
used for some reason.
 
After the military coup against Governor Bligh the numbering system would 
appear to have fallen into disuse when baptisms were conducted by the two 
Justices of the Peace, Charles Grimes and Edward Abbott. Between 1808 and 
1809 there are 75 baptisms with no reference numbers.
 
When the Reverend William Cowper arrived to take up the incumbency 
of the parish in 1809 he restarted the sequential numbering system of baptisms. 
Thus William Irwin, who was his first baptism on the 27th August 1809, became 
number one in the new numbering system. This new series is designated on the 
list with the letter "B". 
 
Not only this, Cowper divided his baptisms into legitimate and illegitimate 
categories, giving the latter another new numbering system. Thus Thomas, the 
son of Thomas Everstaff & Mary Reed, who as baptized on the 17th September 1809, 
became number one in the list of illegitimate births. This illegitimate 
series is designated on the list with the letter "C". This list is helpful 
to the genealogist because it establishes for a fact that at the time of the 
baptism, the parents were not married (and conversely, it provides evidence 
that parents on list B were married). 
 
Also in the St Phillip's register can be found a "Memorandum of Private 
Baptisms" which presumably means that certain baptisms took place in peoples 
private homes rather than in the church itself. This list is also of great 
benefit to the historian because in all likelihood, the wealthier people in 
society at the time were able to avail themselves of this service. This list 
is identified with reference numbers starting with the letter "E". Both 
Charlotte Smith and Joseph Leighton were given the same number of E035.
 
This practice led to many duplicate entries in the register because quite 
often (27 times in this list) Cowper copied the information from his private 
register to his regular register but not always ! Thus the total of individual 
baptisms is reduced to 741. Elizabeth Apsey was actually baptized at St Davids 
in Hobart Van Diemens Land before being baptized for a second time at St 
Phillips.
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "SPS" 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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