Illegitimacy

Illegitimacy, how would you handle it, the absence of a fathers name on a baptism record or a birth certificate? In your family trees you are bound to come across some illegitimate births from time to time. Illegitimacy is the birth of a baby to parents who were not married to each other. In the 1850s about 4% of births were births out of wedlock. Birth certificates from 1837 onwards may have a line through the name of the father and his occupation, indicating the baby was born out of wedlock. Parish registers often list the child with just the mothers name, but also sometimes the reputed father's name.
==Introduction to illegitimacy==
There are several reasons why illegitimacy occurred. It could be a brief encounter the mother had with a man she barely knew, or she worked as a servant and was taken advantage of by her master. It could be the father couldn't or wouldn't marry the mother, or he died during the pregnancy before they could get married or he ran off knowing his fiance was pregnant. Sometimes it could be down to rape or incest. Or the parents were just not married at the time of the birth and married later, or they could not marry until after the birth. Maybe the father was already married and awaiting a divorce or even the death of his wife. Divorces were expensive and only rich people could get divorced.
==Finding the father of a illegitimate child==
It can be done. If you come across a birth certificate and the fathers name and occupation is left blank and the certificate just lists the mother, this does not always mean the father will never be found, unfortunately in a lot of cases it does mean you will never be able to find the father. But in some cases he can be found, it is not always hit and miss but more a case of doing research and examining documents, circumstances of mother, and even if you find a candidate for the father, do some research into him. However as said, in many cases the identity of the father may never be established, making you do more research into the mothers line. But you may be in luck. Here are some tips.
*Look for a baptism record, this may name the reputed father.
*Bastardy bonds, these will list the alleged father. After 1834, due to the Poor Law Amendement Act such cases can be harder. You need to try Afilliation orders.
*Does the illegitimate child have a distinctive middle name? Is the baby named James Hamilton Smith on the birth certificate or baptism? This may give a clue to the fathers name.
*Did the mother marry shortly after the birth? It is a clue but you need to find more documents to see if the new husband was the father of the baby. Was the man listed as the alleged father on the baptism the man who the mother married?
*Examine the birth date and calculate the likely conception date. If it was a small rural village it can be easier than a town or city. If the birth took place in 1841 or after, then census records can help in tracing likely candidates. Research the men in the village, the neighbours of the mother, local male servants.
*When birth certificates were introduced in 1837, the mother could name the reputed father if she informed the registrar but in 1850 this was changed. If the parents were not married at the time of the birth then no reputed father is allowed to be on the birth certificate. This lasted until 1874 when the father could be named if he was willing to sign the register and be present at the registration.
==My own experience with illegitimate births==
*In 1869, my relative Ann Elizabeth Roberts (1851-1932) who was the half sister of Mary Ann Katherine Roberts (1863-1943), had an illegitimate child Annie Luff Roberts (1869-1957). In 1873 she married Sidney Luff. The middle name of the baby indicated very strongly that Sidney was the father.
*On the 31st December 1863, Mary Ann Walder (1839-1886) had an illegitimate baby. She named her Mary Ann Walder. In July 1864 she wed Thomas Roberts (1813-1889). Thomas and Mary then baptised the baby as their daughter, his name was on the baptism, Mary Ann Kate Roberts, daughter of Thomas and Mary Ann Roberts. The baby was 10 months old and baptised at the same church her parents wed at 3 months previously. At the time the baby was conceived, Thomas was still married to his first wife Esther Roberts (c1820-1863). Esther died after a long illness on 14th November 1863, phthisis, years, certified. Mary Ann Walder was heavily pregnant at the time. Thomas was a servant. They were seeing each other before his wife died. They then moved away after the birth. It is with 99.9% certainty that Thomas was indeed the father. In genealogy it is hard to get 100% certainty but in the 2 cases I have mentioned, it is pretty rock solid. To back this up Mary Ann Kate shares similar traits to her father Thomas's mum and auntys occupation as dressmakers, and Kate's children share similar facial features to Thomas's grandchild Essie by Ann Elizabeth Roberts (1851-1932) the daughter from his first marriage to Esther and Kates son Albert Edward Coombs (1902-1956) was tall and had brown hair, and Thomas Roberts army records say he was 5 ft 10" and had brown hair. Read the story in full here - Thomas Roberts and Mary Ann Walder (1863-1864) A Story.
*I think such cases always hinge on the baptism. Isabella Wilson (1855-1921) had a bastard child in 1876. She named him William Wilson. She later married George Musgrave (1856-1922) in December 1876 but the baby was baptised under the mothers maiden name, after she married. George was not listed as father. It would appear that the man she married, George Musgrave, was not William's biological father. I descend from George Musgrave through his son George Musgrave (1891-1968).
Category:Tips and hints.
Category:Useful info for tracing ancestors.