LONDON-L ArchivesArchiver > LONDON > 2000-06 > 0960167952
From: Eve McLaughlin <>
Subject: Re: [Lon] Meaning of 'ombre'
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 02:19:12 +0100
>A relative's baptism (1790s) was recorded in the church register with 'base
>born' and the word which looks like 'ombre' beside it.
>We know the meaning of base born, but ombre is defined in a dictionary as
>shading of colour in a fabric, from dark to light, giving a shadowy
>Can anyone explain why 'ombre' is used in the register? Does it just
>emphasise the 'shadowy' circumstances of the child's birth?
They don't get very fanciful in registers. Most likely the notation
refers either to the location of the mother or to the name of the
father. Unless I saw it I could not decide, but if, for instance, there
is a hamlet name Ombreton, thatis it. If there was a local chappie
named John Ombret or Ambrose, then suspect him
Author of the McLaughlin Guides for family historians
Secretary Bucks Genealogical Society