Daily AncestorPrivate baptism
Private baptism was a baptism done at home or outside a church service, which the Anglican prayer book allowed only for great cause, usually a sick infant who might die.
Churches allowed a quick baptism for anyone in immediate danger of death, and a midwife or other bystander could perform it. Some Lutheran church orders required a child baptized at home to be brought to church afterward for a conditional baptism.
A register note such as privately baptized or baptized at home, sick often means the child was in danger of death. Check the burial register for the following weeks.
As seen in a recordEpiscopal or Lutheran parish register, 1700s to 1800s
Privately baptized, being ill, Eliza, inft. dau. of Jas. & Ruth Norcross, Feb. 2, 1823
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Private baptism." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/church/private-baptism. Last checked 2026-10-03.