Looking for help from Shifnal specialist
Hello — hoping a Shifnal specialist can point me in the right direction.
I'm trying to find the baptism of a John Rixon at Shifnal, roughly 1728–1745, and especially the names of his parents. I've hit a coverage gap: Findmypast's Shropshire Baptisms seem to start around 1739 for Shifnal, the Shropshire Parish Register Society never published Shifnal (so it's not on Mel Lockie or in the Internet Archive volumes), FreeREG doesn't cover the parish, and FamilySearch's Shifnal films begin in 1813. So the pre-1739 baptisms don't appear to be transcribed online anywhere I can find.
What I already know about this John, to identify the right one:
- He married Rebekah Hand at Shifnal on 7 June 1762 (by banns), a bachelor "of this parish."
- He was buried at Shifnal on 2 December 1787.
- He and Rebekah had children baptised at Shifnal from 1764 onward (John 1764, Thomas 1766, William 1769, twins Elizabeth & Richard 1772, George 1776).
The surname is spelled very inconsistently — Rixon, Rixom, Rixam, Rixan, Rixsom, and even W-forms like Wrexham / Wrixham / Wrixon — so it's easy to miss.
Two things I'd be grateful for:
1. Does anyone have access to the pre-1739 Shifnal baptism register (the volume beginning 1678) and could check for a John of any of those spellings around 1728–1745?
2. Or can anyone advise where those early Shifnal baptisms are held or transcribed, beyond the original at Shropshire Archives?
Many thanks for any pointers. Tom
I am not an expert but in the course of my researches I have come across the lack of early Shifnal registers. As I have ancestors in many parishes in Shropshire, I never got round to tracing my pre 1680 Shifnal ancestors but I do have some old notes on where they might be.
1) they might be part of some documents now in the Huntington Library in California - not wholly unlikely. This was word-of-mouth so take with a large pinch of salt.
2) FamilySearch says they are all in Shropshire Archives but I’m sure you would have found them if they were really there!
3) Shifnal was part of the Lichfield Diocese and some of the registers are in Staffordshire Archives.
Treat all of these with caution as I have never tested them out.
Annie