Who were the godparents of your ancestors?

Have you found the godparents of your ancestors? What was their role in their lives? Here are some tips.

The role and place of godparents in religious baptism

If baptism holds an important place in the Christian religion for centuries, it is only in the 12th century that children began to be baptized (and a few centuries later that parish registers recorded it).

The goal? Protect children and offer them the sacrament of baptism as soon as possible when infant mortality was terrible at the time. This is why they no longer immersed babies but started simply pouring water on their foreheads.

Newborns therefore had to be presented very quickly - within three days.

Godparenthood is an ancient tradition adopted by Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and even some Protestants.

The role of the godfather and godmother is to commit to supporting their godchild in their Christian life and helping them grow in faith. They can also participate in the child's education and help the parents.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, godparents must be Catholic. By their role, they develop a spiritual kinship with the child, which will prevent them from marrying each other in the future.

🚀 Good to know : Civil baptism might have been practiced for the first time on June 13, 1790, by the Strasbourg Federation. Its established origin dates back to June 8, 1794 (20 Prairial year II), the date of the separation of Church and State. Civil baptism takes place at the town hall of the residence. It creates a moral (but not legal) bond between godparents and the child.

The rules for choosing godparents

In many regions of France and at different times, the choice of godparents was not left to chance. Of course, this choice varied from one region to another.

At the end of the 17th century, little boys could have two godfathers and one godmother; and little girls, two godmothers and one godfather.

At the beginning of the 18th century and following the conferences of Angers in October 1703:

• the baptized boy must have a man over 14 years old as his godfather; the age of his godmother did not matter.

• the baptized girl must have a woman over 12/14 years old as her godmother; the age of the godfather did not matter.

At least one of the two should have made their first communion and/or know their catechism.

It is up to the godmother to choose the godfather. But in practice, there were some rules:

• for a first child: the paternal grandfather and grandmother were designated as godfather and godmother.

• for a second child: the maternal grandfather and grandmother were in turn godfather and godmother.

• then uncles, aunts, and siblings.

Additionally, at the time, it was customary to give children three names, including the godmother's name for a girl and the godfather's name for a boy.

Even today, parents are not allowed to be godparents. They cannot baptize their children either, except in cases of extreme emergency and necessity.

Finding godparents in archives

The mention of godparents in archives is only made in baptism records (in parish registers).

They may be mentioned as godparents or as witnesses to the event.

Their mention in the records is important and can help you unlock your genealogy. Indeed, each witness is a lead in itself to find information about the family since, most often, witnesses were chosen from the family circle. By searching for information on godparents, you will save time for future record searches (in known parishes).

Moreover, and because our ancestors' lives were not limited to birth and death records, the social position of godparents can tell us a lot about the place our ancestors held in the village. Indeed, it is not uncommon to find important people in baptism records such as lords, notables, or a priest.

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