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Note on Margaret and Mary, daughters of Ralph and Margaret Clay
The baptism of Margaret Clay in 1825 followed by the double baptisms of Margaret and Mary Clay in 1827 suggests that the first Margaret had died before 1827 and then twins were born and the parents reused the name, not an uncommon practice, for one of the twins. However, there are a few points suggesting this is not the case. First, a record of the death of Margaret between 1825 and 1827 has not been found. Second, Margaret and Mary appear on many census records from 1841 to 1871 and they are never recorded as having the same age which implies that they were not twins. In fact, Margaret is always recorded as being one or two years older than Mary. It would appear from these points that the first Margaret did not die but that she was baptised twice, once in 1825 by the regular minister for that parish and then again in 1827 by another clergyman. This other clergyman appears to have been from the Clay family as his name was Jno. Clay, Curate of Walton le Dale. It is likely that Jno. Clay was asked by the family to conduct the ceremony for Mary and, for good measure, also baptised Margaret at the same time. |