Genealogy Chat

Anyone have any hints, tips, suggestions for tracing fathers of illegitimate children in 19th century, in cases where the mother did not fall back on parish relief & birth/marriage certs have no fathers name?

Julie

We traced my grandmother's father, who wasn't named on her birth certificate, by searching the records in Shrewsbury and finding a bastardy order with the record of the court case. This was in 1896. There were often father's names recorded in the church records because the church officials were very cruel and would enter things like " Joe Bloggs bastard child born to the whore of this parish Gladys Grimwinkle". Mothers were often forced to name the father to avoid the disgrace of this being recorded in the records.


Apologies to everyone everywhere called Joe Bloggs or Gladys Grimwinkle.

The child's middle name 'might' be a surname. If it isn't a previously known family name, it might suggest its the father's.

A good guide to research resoures for England and Wales

My Ancestor Was a Bastard: A Family Historian's Guide to Sources for Illegitimacy in England and Wales
Author Ruth Paley

I got a copy on loan through my local library.

Chris

Thanks for the tips so far. As far as I can see the child wasn't baptized in the parish where her mother lived when she was born & she doesn't have a middle name that could relate to her father. The book mentioned looks like a good resource, but any other suggestions would be welcome.

I'd be a little wary of a father's name on a marriage certificate in these circumstances. My grandmother had a father's name on hers but he wasn't the natural father. Her mother had married him when my grandmother was three years old. We proved this with the bastardy order but. if we had not found this by chance, we would have been none the wiser. It's very difficult to trace these missing fathers and luck can play a big part, as in our case.

ie tried everything to find my grandfathers natural father but ive had no luck.he was reg and not adopted(he was given away,formal adoption was not legal until the 1917-20) until he was about 9m old,his mother was a servant(how did she keep her child?)cant find father anywhere,he was born in 1915 so it was a bit harder to trace then....good luck in your search.x

At that time servants in a house were often at the mercy of the people "upstairs" and many children were fathered in this way. The birth was usually hushed up to protect the father and the family, thus avoiding any scandal. If the mother kept quiet about the child's parentage the family "upstairs" paid towards the upkeep of the child.