947 baptisms from the large parish of South Shields St. Hilda’s, from the beginning of 1813 to the end of 1814. As a port town, South Shields had lots of mariners, shipwrights, and associated professions, but also lots of people passing through on their way to and from other places. Sometimes if you can’t find the baptism of an ancestor where you expect it to be, it’s because the family went travelling and the baby was born “on the road” and christened in a parish far from their usual home.  This was especially true in port towns, which had more traffic than the average town and therefore more baptisms of non-residents. Try expanding your search to the ports and maybe you’ll find an ancestor far from home!