Florence
Annie Fradd 1875
Florence Annie Fradd was born on the 6th September
1875 in Homerton; a metropolitan suburb and a chapelry, in Hackney parish,
Middlesex, England to Edwin and Maria Fradd nee Horton; and was 1 of 7
siblings.
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| 1. Birth Registration October Quarter of 1875 |
Baptisms in the 1800's
Whilst it was common for a baptism to be carried out
relatively close to birth, perhaps within a few days or a couple of weeks,
there are plenty of instances where this was not the case. Sometimes parents
waited several years and then baptised several children at once and
occasionally people were not baptised until adulthood.
Some were baptised at the same time as a later sibling,
some just before marriage, and some just after the death of a parent or sibling,
or in Florence’s case, one day before her death, indicating that she was not
expected to live.
Florence died on 30th
June 1887 in Homerton, London, England aged 20 months.
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| 2.Baptismal Record 1877 |
After the introduction of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834,
some Workhouses had the children in their care baptised en masse; apparently
following the principle that it was better to be done twice than not at all.
Whether a person was baptised in the past was often
dependent on where they lived. It was more likely you would baptise your child
if you lived in a small village where everyone knew everyone. It could be very
different if you lived in a large town or city.
Another reason was how poor they may have been; it was a
custom in many places to offer refreshments on baptism day. Some parishes had a
few days each year where the Vicar would put on refreshments and had mass baptisms! There are also instances
of a baby being baptised over its mother's coffin (so mother was held to be
present).
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| 3.Death Notice Royal Cornwall Gazette Friday 06 July 1887 |
Marriage was a sacrament, and therefore (making the person
a member of the church community) …baptism was required before a marriage was
conducted.
