On 28 July 2013 20:47, George Brander <[email protected]> wrote: > I have been told that it is possible for an abbreviated version of the > birth certificate to be issued where the pejorative and judgmental wording > "illegitimate" does not appear. > I much prefer the wording which appears on old Scottish records of > "natural" son or daughter. > > George Thank you, George, for that info. As you might guess this applies to some of our grandchildren and I spit tacks every time it comes up. If the moralists want to bang on in this way they should consider that it was not the child's doing! Fortunately there are fewer and fewer of these bigots around nowadays. Anecdote: When my cousin moved in with her boyfriend and had a child, my aunt was mortified and told no-one about it - pretended they were married. Over ten years later a long term friend said, Oh, Ann [her daughter & friend of my cousin] has had a baby" … later … "no she isn't married, why do you ask?" At this point my aunt 'confessed' about her lovely granddaughter. Luckily the granddaughter doesn't know she was a shameful secret for so long and helped look after her grandmother in her final illness. Given that five of my cousins either 'had to get married' or didn't bother, I still cannot fathom the reason for this sort of 'shame' in this day & age. None of the offspring have been any the worse for this situation - all have been loving, caring, and well-rounded members of the clan. Ray Hennessy www.whatsinaname.net