Sunday, July 21, 2013

Church Record Sunday - The Baptism of William L. Redles

A while ago, I was surprised to find that ancestry.com's Pennsylvania Church and Town Records 1708-1985 includes other states.  In this collection, I found a handwritten index record of my maternal grandfather William (Will) Liming Redles' baptism in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Mt. Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey. The other surprise was that he was baptized by his own father.


Above is the index of my grandfather's baptismal record dated March 16, 1874 (click on the images for a larger view).[1]  It names his parents, G. [George] Albert and Isabella L. [Liming] Redles. His sponsors were John and Jane [Myers] Redles and F. B. Levis. It gives his birth date, November 1, 1873.  He was baptized by his father who was the clergyman at Trinity Episcopal Church.

A Possible Clue to Some Questions

John and Jane Redles are Will's paternal grandparents, but I don't know the relationship between the Redles family and F. B. Levis.  Could he be related to Jane or Isabella? I only know Jane's maiden name but nothing about her parents or siblings. I know the names of Isabella's parents, siblings, maternal grandparents, and an aunt, but I don't yet know the names of any other aunts and uncles or the names of her paternal grandparents.  There is a Franklin B. Levis in Mt. Holly in the 1870 and 1880 U.S. censuses who was a lawyer, his wife's name was Rebecca, and he was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church.[2]  He could be a clue that I should pursue.

I've found a few records for my Redles and Liming ancestors in the Pennsylvania Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, that have given me some clues to questions I've been trying to answer. I love trying to solve mysteries!

Catherine

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[1]  Trinity Episcopal Church (Mt. Holly, New Jersey), Baptism, p. 143-144, William Liming Redles, 16 March 1874; digital image, Pennsylvania Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 February 2012).

[2]  1870 U. S. census, Burlington County, New Jersey, population schedule, Northampton Township, p. 60, dwelling 486, family 505, Franklin B. Levis, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 July 2013), citing NARA microfilm publication M593.  
1880 U. S. census, Burlington County, New Jersey, population schedule, Northampton Township, p. 1, dwelling 5, family 5, Franklin B. Levis, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 July 2013), citing NARA microfilm publication M593. Trinity Episcopal Church (Mt. Holly, New Jersey), Communicants, p. 281, Franklin B. Levis, 11 September 1859; digital image, Pennsylvania Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 July 2013).

2 comments:

  1. That Franklin B. Levis who was a member of the same church sounds to me like a great clue! And he's in Mt. Holly as well. I hope this clue brings you luck.

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