Genealogy Chat

Keith Try and find out who the mother and child were living with. This could be a clue. Sometimes unmarried girls were sent away to live with a maiden aunt or whatever while they gave birth to illegitimate babies. If you can find out who she was with, it may provide another line to your tree. Good Luck

Perhaps the baby was born in the countryside and the Wesleyan chapel was nearest, or offered help to the mother. nell

Thankyou Gwyneth and Brenda The baby in question was baptised in a Weslyn chapel near Evesham, Gloustershire, and the mother came from London. There is no birth cert. Ashamed is the answer? Keith

I have also seen entries far from the woman's home area. eg. In the parish registers of a Hampshire village I saw the entry for the baptism of the illegitimate daughter of a servant girl. 'of Whiteparish, Wiltshire'

Parish registers are so full of the baptisms of illegitimate children, it is more likely that the mother did not wish to be named and shamed in the registers.

I have seen many such baptisms around that time,but there's no accounting for individual vicars I guess. The most recent ones that I looked at named the father in each and every such entry, - but you won't always be so lucky.

Hi Does anyone know if the Church of England refused to baptise illegitimate children in 1880`s. Keith