Hello I was wondering if common-law marriages in the 1860 era did not need to be sanctioned why were the children still noted as illegitimate on the birth certificate? Thanks for a reply Liz ________________________________ **

Liz, I hoped someone else might have contributed to this question. I think it needs research and we all have a different view point. In earliest times it was the Church that was the law maker. One had to go to the Church to dissolve a marriage by an Act of Parliament prior to the Matrimonial Acts in about 1857. A child was either a bastard or it wasnt. In the eyes of the Church a child was/is illegitimate if the parents weren't married. I doubt it has changed, its just that tolerance has become more widespread. One cannot change the definition of the word illegitimate for record keeping purposes and there would have had to have been some conformity. Janet ----- Original Message ----- From: "liza stuart" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 8:59 PM Subject: [ABERDEEN] Irregular marriage > Hello > > I was wondering if common-law marriages in the 1860 era did not need to be > sanctioned why were the children still noted as illegitimate on the birth > certificate? > > Thanks for a reply > Liz