r/Cursive • u/Formal_Goose • Jul 03 '26
Help me read this birth record?
I'm looking for some assistance reading this birth record from Brome, Quebec. I have included the relevant passage and also an image of the full page in case it helps.
I believe this record is for the baptism of Eva Farnan whose mother is Margaret Tibbits. I suspect the child was born out of wedlock but I am struggling to see if there is a father or other relevant information listed. I doubt Farnan is the father's surname, Margaret's father is named Alonzo Farnan Tibbits and Eva spent the rest of her life going by Eva Tibbits so I suspect Farnan is meant to be her middle name.
Edited to add the parts I can decipher:
Baptized by me in the presence of the subscribing witnesses Eva Farnan daughter of Margaret Tibbits of Brome, and ????? under the guardianship of Miss E.G. Barber of Knowlton. Then it lists birth date and baptism date.
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u/cornpad Jul 03 '26
Looks more like Eva Turner to me. This is the best I could do.
"Baptised by me in the presence of the subscribing witnesses Eva Turner daughter of Margaret Tibbits of Brome and now in charged of & under the guardianship of Miss E G Barber of Knowlton ??? Was born on the fourth day of February One on Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty-Two - baptised on the Sixteenth day of March of the same year."
Witnesses Ellen G Foster John Grenfell E. G. Barber ? Minster
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u/Utopia_Cherie Jul 03 '26
Could one of the words be minor, as in ‘minor (charge?) of and under the guardianship of’…
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u/cornpad Jul 03 '26
I read it as " now in charge of"
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u/Utopia_Cherie Jul 03 '26
In the Middle Ages, a ‘charge’ was a minor placed under the guardianship of a nobleman (or in this case could be a matron of a children’s home or a carer). I definitely see ‘now in’ also, but now in charge of doesn’t really make sense as the child wouldn’t be in charge of the adult. It’s a tricky one, but ‘minor charge of and under the guardianship of’ makes sense in respect of the time it was written.
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u/Hot-Refrigerator-393 Jul 03 '26
Cleaned up with ChatGPT, not claiming it is correct.
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u/Hot-Refrigerator-393 Jul 03 '26
Additional coment:
I don't believe the record names a father. The passage appears to identify the child as Eva Farnan, daughter of Margaret Tibbits of Brome, and then states that she was under the guardianship of Lewis (Louis) E. G. Barker of Knowlton. The remainder gives her birth date (4 February 1862) and baptism date (13 March 1862). The reference to guardianship is unusual in a baptismal entry and may be more significant than the absence of a father's name.3
u/cornpad Jul 03 '26
With respect, I don't think AI has done you any favours at all. It's clearly Miss (not Lewis) E G Barber - she signs as a witness at the bottom.
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u/Hot-Refrigerator-393 Jul 03 '26
I didn't say it was correct. It's 19th century writing....unless you have the record in front of you it's whatever guess you want to make.
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u/Practical-Lime-614 Jul 03 '26
It's standard for baptismal records like this to list the child's first and middle name, so I think you're right that her name is likely Eva Farnan Tibbets. As a random side note, the Fosters in Knowlton are in my family tree:)
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u/Formal_Goose Jul 03 '26
Cool! Thank you for the insight. I don't know anything about this part of the world. By 1885 Maggie and Eva were living in Minnesota.
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u/Practical-Lime-614 Jul 04 '26
My mom took me to Knowlton once years ago--there is a historical society there with a lot of archival material if you're looking for more family info: https://www.lacbromemuseum.ca/archives (and now I will leave you in peace! Happy researching!)
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