I have a puzzle in the Walford registers:

my ancestress Sarah Edwards was baptised 25 April 1802, father William, mother Mary (according to familysearch)
I noticed that on the exact same date, the same couple also baptised two other children: Thomas and James.

Assuming that these three children were not in fact triplets: does anyone have access to the Walford registers to see if the vicar has made a note about the ages of the children? or perhaps there's a fellow Edwards researcher out there who's already sussed it out?

Thank you in anticipation
Valerie

Its not unheard of for multiple family Baptisms to occur on the same day ( different ages) it does not imply triplets, quads etc :-)

Thank you for your prompt reply

I'm interested to hear you say that multiple baptisms were not uncommon, as this is the second set of three sibling baptisms I've found in the Forest. Was it due to distance from the parish church, or some other reason, would you know? I know that there was a lot of non-conformity later in this family.

Valerie

There are several theories, one is that families were "converted" and baptised "en masse", which plays to the way the Forest was encroached ( in the extra parochial areas) and the distance from a recognised place of worship.

Faith seems to have played a strong part in Forest life as witnessed by the rise of the non-conformists.

Thanks for your reply. Much appreciated