Found: An 1882 baptism record for David Scott Ritchie Sr

In my previous blog post I mentioned that Judy Lester, the professional genealogist I enlisted, accompanied her report about my grandfather with several other interesting documents for our perusal. One of them was the baptismal record for my great-grandfather, David Ritchie Sr.

This baptismal record, sourced from the London Metropolitan Archives, is new to me. I have David Sr's birth record from the third quarter of 1873 and a census record for 1881 in which he is listed as the middle son of William and Emma Eliza Ritchie. The 1882 baptismal record is definitely for him as the parents' names match, yet it means he was baptised at the age of 8. From what I know, this is very unusual.

Also of interest is the location of the baptism. It took place at the Church of St John the Divine in Kennington, lambeth. It stands on Vassall Street near the Oval tube station and the Oval Cricket Ground. Built in the Victorian Gothic style, it had the tallest spire in south London, yet it was hardly older than David himself, having been built between 1871 and 1874. I wonder what prompted William and Emma Eliza to join this new congregation? Did they intend to become fully-involved members or were they just nominal Christians following the prescribed rituals?

When I looked up the exact date of David's baptism, 8 March 1882, I was surprised to find that it fell in a week of national drama. Six days earlier, on 2 March 1882, an attempt had been made on Queen Victoria's life by a 28-year-old Scotsman named Roderick Edward Maclean. The incident happened at Windsor train station just as the queen was walking across the platform. Maclean tried to shoot her with a revolver but was prevented from doing so by the swift action of onlookers. Now, I can't be sure, but I imagine the streets and schoolyard would have been buzzing with gossip about what would happen to the offender. No doubt the presiding priest at David's baptism, Father Day, gave thanks to God that the sovereign's life had been spared.

So, here we have a school-age boy being baptised in a smart new church amidst a flurry of news about the queen's narrow escape. But why the late baptism? Looking back at my notes, I discovered that Emma Eliza was pregnant in early 1882 with her daughter, Susan Elizabeth Ritchie. The child was born sometime in late February, which means it would have made sense to have David baptised at the same time as his sister if he hadn't been christened already. Also noteworthy is that William Ritchie, Emma Eliza's husband, died in the first quarter of that year. Either the couple rushed to get the children baptised before he passed away or or Emma saw to it herself soon after she was widowed. Again, more documentation is needed to arrive at a firm conclusion.

Photo London, Church of St John the Divine, Kennington, Lambeth by Michael Day

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