This is a rather lengthy/ convoluted query but I will be as concise as I can. James Wilton married Mary Bee circa 1805, possibly Street. They had at least 8 children, several carrying middle name of Bee, including Frances Bee, baptised Street 27 Dec 1818. I can find no further record of her after this date. If there is evidence she died before 1839 or was still alive after that date the rest of this post can be ignored. Francis Wilton married Charlotte Fletcher on 31 Dec 1839, Compton Dundon. I have found no trace of his birth/baptism but his year of birth is recorded on census returns as follows:- 1841 - 1817/21. 1851 - 1818. 1861 - 1815. 1871 - 1819. He was buried in Aug 1876, aged 62. Birth place Street.. Francis and Charlotte had a daughter, Sarah, baptised Compton Dundon, Feb 1842. She married William Lamport in 1859 and they had a daughter, Emily, baptised July 1866, Compton Dundon. In 1881 and 1891 Emily was recorded in the household of Henry Wilton, b 1844. James Wilton and Mary Bee had sons, John b 1813 and Samuel Bee, b 1820. In 1842 John married Mary Martha Lydford in Street. Groom's father James, witness Samuel. James and Mary had a son, Henry, baptised Apr 1844. From this I deduce that Francis/Frank Witon might well have been a member of James Wilton/Mary Bee family. Now for the real wild thought! Is it possible that the child recorded/transcribed as Frances it "her" baptism was in fact Francis? Or have I really got my knickers in a twist? I have considered contacting Free Reg, the source of much of my information to ask them to check the original record but thought I would subject my theory to independent scrutiny first.
It could be difficult to prove. It looks to me as if the person officiating took Frances as a girl (who might know the difference - a baby in a Christening robe) when in fact he was a boy Francis. You need other evidence.
The marriage of Francis/es to Charlotte says his father was James... another indication it could be correct. Do you think if you ordered a death certificate it might indicate a middle name to know if you had the correct person?
This thread on which I was left dangling 1 hour 10 mins ago--threadus interruptus- caught me while I am in midst of such an uncertainty [or which really I am certain] I shall therefore -& before next visitation of medical personages- post my little " am I right or not". See John 'T' or 'F' next post.
Thanks for the encouraging responses. At least they reassure me that I am not losing the plot completely. It seems to me, on the balance of probability, that the child's sex was mistaken at the time of baptism but that can never be more than an hypothesis.
I've found a son Jesse on one census who turns into a daughter Jessie in the next. So such mistakes could and did happen in the writing up of schedules, so presumably could and did happen on the writing up of notes in the christening register, especially if delayed ...
I have a several times great uncle who was recorded as Sarah, a girl, in the 1841 census. He was actually Pharoah, a boy, but in a flat Essex accent.... Fairer/Sairer....
They could have been asked " What's the baby's name" Replied " Francis" and the person recording and/or minister just ""assumed" it was a girl.
I have a family in Street/Streat, the mans name was Benaiah who marred a Mary, problems came with the baptisms of their 6 children. The mothers name changed on each baptism, 3 different names. Asking advice from the researcher, he couldn’t find a death for Mary and told me Streat was so tiny it was unlikely another man had that name. He also said it would have a traveling Vicar who most likely wrote up his records when he got back to his Parish. He advised me to send for the Bishops Transcripts, which I did. Ha ha still 3 different mothers but in a different order. As the first one was Mary and the last one was Mary he advised me I could take it as a mistake by the Vicar and all the children had Mary as their mother. I would guess this is what happened to your Frances/Francis. The Vicar just forgot if it was a boy or a girl.
