James Barke, baptised in Sutton-in-Ashfield - 23rd April 1726

[david1701]

Hello,

I wonder if someone could please explain the "provenance" of the information on the Notts FHS CD.

The CD tells me that there was a baptism of James Barke - son of John and Anne Barke - in Sutton-in-Ashfield on 23rd April 1726. I'm hoping that James is my 5x great grandfather - and that John and Anne are therefore my 6x great grandparents - but I cannot find corroboration of this 1726 baptism on Ancestry, Find my Past, The Genealogist, FamilySearch or FreeReg.

Can anyone tell me where this baptism information is likely to have come from, so that I can check it out?

[emeltom]

There is a transcription of the baptism on FindMyPast, supplied by Notts fhs. They are most likely to have taken the information from the Parish Registers. If in doubt contact them and ask.

[david1701]

Many thanks emelton - I've double-checked FindMyPast, and you are correct, of course. I must just have overlooked this on my first search.

I will have to contact Notts FHS as you suggest.

I did actually hire a microfilm of the SIA Parish Records from my local LDS Family History Centre many years ago, and whilst not specifically looking for James Bark(e) at that time, I did photograph an entry for early May 1726 - which also covers the only 2 baptisms listed for 23rd April 1726 - neither of which is a James Barke!

One was a William Brown - and the other was Elizabeth Stringfellow - both of which I can find on the Notts FHS CD.

Perhaps there is a slight difference between the actual Register entries, and the Bishop's Transcripts - which I think is what the LDS microfilm shows.

The mystery gets deeper!

[iluleah]

There are many churches in Sutton in Ashfield town and many more in the surrounding areas which Sutton in Ashfeild covers, as far as I can see the only church records covered is St Marys

[Nottschick]

Hello
The information on the Notts FHS CDs is from PR fiches,  put onto spreadsheets, sent to the co-ordinator to be checked and eventually onto the next edition CD. 
I only know this because a number of years ago I did a lot of transcribing for the Society with the help of my own fiche reader. 
The problem arose when the record was illegible for any reason, they then had to be guessed at, or in the case of ink blots and tears in the original, omitted altogether.  So while the CDs are extremely useful they cannot be 100% relied on as regards spelling or missing entries.  I hope this helps.

I also have BARKE coupled with HARRIS in Kirkby in Ashfield, should you find any of your family that overlap with them. 

NC.

[david1701]

Thanks for your reply Nottschick.

As you can see by the lengthy gap between your reply and today, I've been taking a bit of a break from family history, but am returning as part of a New Year's resolution - and in anticipation of new discoveries in the 1921 Census!

Anyway, on the James Barke front, I have finally sent off a query to the NFHS, so hopefully will get an answer to this problem in the next few weeks.

Thanks again to you, and the others who have commented and taken an interest in this matter.

[Nottschick]

Welcome back to the mad world of tracing ancestors. I was wondering if you lived within shouting distance of Nottingham Archives and could see the record for yourself, always a very satisfying experience.  Otherwise there are some kind people who log in on the Notts page who do visit and could maybe look it up for you and report back. 
NC.

[david1701]

I'm afraid I live too far away (in Wiltshire) to be able to easily pop into the Archives (although I have visited in the past when visiting relatives who still live locally) - but thanks for your suggestion of a possible helping hand from a more local forum user. I'll await to see what joy I get from my email to the NFHS - but if no luck, I'll definitely try Plan B. Thanks again for the suggestion