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Mistake: Two Priests Made Mistakes on a Baptismal Record

When I searched “mistake” in my RootsMagic database, I find several instances where I commented on likely mistakes in a record.

Some of the mistakes seem to be on the part of the parish priest when he entered a sacramental event in a register.

My grandmother, Anna Sullivan, was born 15 October 1892 in Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, Montana, the youngest child of John H Sullivan and Anna Maria Gleeson. I have several documents that support her birth and parents:

Anna Maria Sullivan was baptized by Father DeSiere on 19 October 1892 at St. Paul’s Church in Anaconda. Her birth was listed as 14 October 1892. Her parents as Joannes Sullivan and Anna Gleason. Michael Sullivan and Anna Dorian were the sponsors.[1]

In 1953, she received a certificate of baptism from the pastor of St. Paul’s Church, Father Joseph F. Schulte, which was a filled-out form. It stated Anna Marie Sullivan, father John Sullivan and mother Anna Gleeson, born in Anaconda on 15 October 1892 and was baptized on 19 October 1892. Sponsors Michael Sullivan and Anna Dorian.[2]

Already, we have a conflict: two different birth dates. One on the 14th of October and one on the 15th. Which is correct? We celebrated my grandmother’s birthday on the 15th. Did the priest in 1892 make the mistake? Obviously, the priest in 1952 made a mistake and did not copy the birthdate from the register correctly.

Births were not yet recorded in Deer Lodge, so the local newspaper was the next place to look.[3] An announcement of the birth was found in the newspaper. “Born, to Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Sullivan, Oct. 15, a daughter.”[4]

So, two priests made mistakes. Father DeSiere recorded the wrong birthdate at the time of the baptism and Father Schulte mis-transcribed the actual baptismal record when he made the certificate. The newspaper actually helped solve the conflict and confirmed the date she always celebrated.

#52Ancestors-Week 23: Mistake—Two Priests Made Mistakes on a Baptismal Record

This is my fifth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.



[1] St. Paul's Catholic Church, Anaconda, Montana, baptismal record from unnamed register, Anna Marie Sullivan, 1892. This was a strip of paper photocopied from a register, showing only Anna’s entry.

[2] Baptismal Certificate, Anna Marie Sullivan, St. Paul’s Church, Anaconda, Montana, dated 20 Aug 1953.

[3] “Deer Lodge County, Montana Genealogy,” FamilySearch Wiki (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Deer_Lodge_County,_Montana_Genealogy : accessed 6 Jun 2022). Recording of births began in 1903, though full compliance wasn’t until 1922.

[4] "About the City," The Anaconda Standard, 18 October 1892, birth of daughter to Mr. & Mrs. JH Sullivan; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.org/ : accessed 25 December 2015).


Copyright © 2022 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.

Comments

  1. Lisa, this was very interesting. I understand how the first mistake could happen, but I wonder about the second mistake. The original baptism record doesn't look at all like 15, so that makes me think twice about the Certificate of Baptism. Usually, in my archdiocese, these certificates are requested for various reasons by the individual, eg. when moving to a different area or joining an organization that requires proof of baptism. It may be possible that if Anna Maria requested the certificate, that she also requested the correct date of birth be included? Just a thought!

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  2. I like the way you solved the mystery to determine who made the mistake!

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  3. When I abstracted the Udol, Slovakia church records, I found a number of errors. I think church records contain more mistakes than most of us realize.

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  4. It seems to me that the birthdate is always a target for making a mistake. I have so many of those. I like your style.

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