In the last two notes, I discussed anomalies (?) in the usual patterns for choosing sponsors. In this note I will discuss much more normal patterns in the selection of sponsors. Still, the family to be discussed here had some problems in choosing their sponsors.
The father was Christopher Blankenbaker, and the mother was Christina Finks. Part of the problem was that the Finks did not participate much at the Lutheran church. Another part of the problem was that Christopher had only one brother, and no sisters. This one brother seemed to have had an objection to the church, so he never appears. This left Christopher without any siblings who would be sponsors. He did have cousins and these were asked very frequently. Eight baptisms were performed from 1754 to 1775, so that at least three different ministers were involved.
For the infant Maria, Adam Barler was a sponsor. Adam had married Maria Schmidt, who was a cousin once removed to Christopher. Adam was asked five times; Adam's wife was never asked. It would appear that Christopher and Adam were friends above and beyond the relationship by marriage.
Seven times, Adam Weyland was a sponsor. Adam had married Elisabetha Blankenbaker, a first cousin of Christopher. Elisabetha and Anna Barbara, her sister, were daughters of Balthasar Blankenbaker, and lived next door to Christopher. On seven occasions, Elisabetha was also a sponsor, usually when her husband Adam Weyland was a sponsor.
Christopher never asked Anna Barbara, who married Lewis Fischer, to be a sponsor. Why Christopher was so much closer to Elisabetha than to Anna Barbara is not known. It may have been a question of age. Christopher had another cousin, Jacob Blankenbaker, the son of John Nicholas Blankenbaker, and Jacob was a sponsor seven times. On the first two of these occasions, Jacob's wife, Barbara Thomas, was a sponsor. Barbara was also a relative of Christopher, as she was his cousin once removed.
Toward the end of the children, a few new names were introduced. One was Martin Christopher, who had married Elisabetha Weyland, the daughter of Adam Weyland and Elisabetha Blankenbaker. In 1772, there was a sponsor who was the first and only sponsor not related by blood or marriage. This was Margaretha Schwarbach, who was the minister's wife. For the child in 1775, two new names appear, Hanna Fincks and Jemimah Barler. Hanna was the unmarried sister of the mother, Christina Finks. Jemimah was the young unmarried daughter of Adam Barler. By the time one is baptizing the eighth child, the strict adherence to rules becomes less important.
I may have given credit to some people for being sponsors more times than they were, as the original document is so badly worn that it is not always possible to tell whether it is saying, "Adam Weyland's wife Elisabetha," or it is saying, "Adam Weyland & wife Elisabetha."
(26 Jul 03)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.