LIST 24 - BAPTISMS - WESLEYAN METHODIST

 
 
The "New South Wales Pioneer Index : 1788-1888" database contains several 
Wesley-Methodist baptisms. But unfortunately the relevant 'church' register 
from which they were recorded has not been located on the National Libraries 
microfilms, so information such as the actual date of the baptism and the person 
who performed it has not been found.
 
There were 95 such baptisms identified spread over a wide area of the colony 
including Sydney, Windsor, Liverpool, Field of Mars, but also Bathurst and 
Maitland not to mention Melbourne, New Zealand and Tonga. Five baptisms 
referred to children born before 1821.
 
The information recorded for each baptism includes: 
 
 date of birth
 Christian name
 father's family name 
 father's Christian 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 maiden name
 mother's Christian 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 
 child's place of birth
 reference number
 
The list is presented in reference number order.
 
With regard to the fathers; the names of three were not recorded and the arrival 
details of a further 21 remain unknown whilst in one case the ship of arrival 
remains unknown (23%).
 
Twenty eight were convicts or former convicts (29%), 3 were soldiers or 
former soldiers (3%), 35 came free (37%) and 8 were colonial born (8%).
 
With regard to the mothers; the names of 21 were not recorded and the arrival 
details of a further 22 remain unknown whilst in one case the ship of arrival 
remains unknown (24%).
 
Twelve were convicts or former convicts (13%), 29 came free (31%) and 
32 were colonial born (34%).
 
Three (3%) of the births were illegitimate.
 
There were 24 duplicate entries, indicating a growing influence of the non 
conformist Protestant churches in the colony.
 
One notable feature of these baptisms is the large number of missionaries 
included in their total; the Reverends Benajmin Carvosso, George Erskine, 
John Harper, William Horton, John Hutchinson, Walter Lawry, Ralph Mansfield, 
William Walker & John Weiss.
 
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. 
 
Entries on this list have the reference identifier "W-M" 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. 
 
Appended to this list is a repeat of 37 Wesleyan Methodist baptisms 
transcribed into St Phillips Sydney register via a certificate from Wesleyan 
ministers. Several even came from Van Diemens Land.

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