GORDON, Helen ¹

   Another name for Helen was GORDON, Hellen.²

   User ID: J961.

  General Notes:

"6. Helen. 'My wife was brought to bed of her first chayld the 2d of Apryle 1701, called Helen after my mother and Provest Sutherlands Lady. She lived about four moneths." She was baptised at Keith, April 30, 1701; witnesses, Charles Gordon of Glengerach and John Ogilvie of Kempcairn (Keith Parish Register)."

from Birkenburn




"GORDON HELLEN
WM. GORDON/
F
08/04/1701
159/ 10 31
Keith"

from Births and Baptisms

Old Parish Registers
Keith parish Banffshire
Baptisms

(indexed as 1701)
Aprill 8
Wm Gordon of Birken burn had a chyld baptiz(edge of page obscures text) called Hellen witnesses Charles Gordon of Gl(edge of page obscures text) Gerack John Ogilvie of Kempcairn & (edge of page obscures text)"

So was Helen baptised on the 8th April, as the parish register states, or on the 30th April, as Birkenburn states? In the parish register the entry is at the bottom of a page, preceded by baptisms recorded as performed on the 16th April, and is therefore out of sequence.
Customer service personnel at Scotland's People (GRO Scotland) wrote in answer to a question about whether the date in the baptism text was the 8th, following 16th April baptisms, or the 30th, as stated in Birkenburn:

"The date of the baptism does look like the digit 8 and I would go with this date. On the next page the baptisms are all out of date too, as some are recorded May the 15th before the 21st May etc. - recording in order was sometimes not necessary." ^{1 2 3}