Whilst undertaking some family history research in Somerset this week, one of our genealogists chanced across a baptism with a very unusual forename. Spelling variants are by no means unusual within parish registers, particularly when so many people were illiterate and would not have been able to correct the clergyman recording the information, although in this case it was a little unclear what name was meant.
The baptism of one child, in 1785, seems to have foxed the person the recording the information and "Libeahthe" was recorded.
Was this the minister's spelling of the unusual forename Liberty, which he wasn't sure how to spell? Or was the name Elizabeth being attempted but he was having an off day? Was he interrupted whilst recording the baptism, or were the parents clear that this was the name they meant? For now, clearly more research is required in the parish register to ascertain her forename!
