Genealogy Chat

Can anyone tell me what ‘thus far exhibited’ means when attached to the record of a person’s baptism?

What part of the baptism record is it recorded on ?

Your vicar may be able to tell you

Welcome to the boards, Robert.

Please tell us all the wording on the record - assuming the baptised person is now deceased.

If you post the link to the image, someone will take a look.

I googled this and found a long and very convoluted article about it. After wading through it (and only understanding about half!) I THINK it is a term used by the Free Churches to indicate that the person being baptised is not fully adult.

Some Free Churches baptise babies and others only adults. A baby has no concept of religious belief and therefore cannot "exhibit" any understanding of what baptism means. An adult who decides to get baptised and become a full member of their Church should understand what they are doing and "exhibit" such understanding.

If I am wrong I'm sure someone will let me know.

Because Robert is a new poster, PM sent to ask him to return with more info.

Hi, yes I am new to this chat board. More info regarding my question re the phrase 'thus far exhibited'.
I was researching one of my wife's ancestors, one Daniel Thompson b 1809, and using Ancestry found his name in the 1809 Baptism register for the parish of Over Whitacre, Warwickshire, part of 'Warwickshire, CoE Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1535-1812'. The baptism register is, needless to say, a list of baptisms in date order, set out in three columns: date::name of person being baptised/son or daughter of/parents names::initial and last name of person being baptised. 'Thus far exhibited' appears under a few entries, written in the middle column in the same hand as the entry above it. There is no obvious break in the list e.g. in dates, nor does it seem related to the parents' origin, e.g. if they were from out of parish. It is not associated with adult baptisms as distinct from childrens'. Daniel was almost certainly less than 1 year old when he was baptised. Daniel's siblings who were baptised at different times in the same place do not have this note below their names.
I see the phrase also appears here and there in the burial records in the same register.
I look forward to any further suggestions!

Daniel Thompson
in the Warwickshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812
Name: Daniel Thompson
Event Type: Baptism
Baptism Date: 4 Jun 1809
Baptism Place: Over Whitacre, Warwickshire, England
Parish: Over Whitacre
Father: Thomas Thompson
Mother: Lettica Thompson


Having looked at this and other places where "thus far exhibited " appears on the list of baptisms , it looks to me as if it doesn't refer to any particular baptism, but more as if it's a note of when the register was exhibited to (the congregation? other church officials?).

It doesn't appear every year, but when it does, it's only once a year, and, except in 1811 baptisms, it's at the end of June - possibly the usual time for presenting church records to (whoever) for verification.

It also appears on the register of burials - so it's not anything referring to baptisms in particular.

For example, if you look at the image of this burial record below, you'll see "thus far exhibited" right at the bottom of the page, and clearly not part of this particular burial record.

Richard Williams
in the Warwickshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812
Name: Richard Williams
Event Type: Burial
Burial Date: 25 Dec 1812
Burial Place: Over Whitacre, Warwickshire, England
Parish: Over Whitacre

It's also at the end of June 1787; between April and August 1783, - and other places.


In the Church of Scotland , even nowadays, congregational records of membership, baptisms, funerals, marriages, etc, are presented annually to the relevant Presbytery for checking - usually around March, though a bit disrupted in the last couple of years by restrictions on meetings during the pandemic.
I'm sure other denominations have a similar system.

Reading these old records is fascinating.

In Over Whitacre in 1800, there's a burial record of "Ann Davis, a poor woman who died in the road".

How sad!

Thank you ArgyllGran. I believe you are correct. It sounds eminently plausible and makes good sense.

I saw that burial record of Ann Davis. Sad indeed.