Hi Liz, I agree with what others have suggested, and which you may have already done, but a few things that at a quick look I haven't spotted mentioned. You may already have tried these too but just in case: 1. while I agree that Ann is probably one of the 2 mentioned bapt in Hartland, I think it is a real possibility she moved out and another in - I have this happening on my family tree (relatively uncommon name, people the same age, I would have guessed the wrong families BUT one lived into the census era, plus the name was locally common). So check for Anns in neighbouring Parishes as well. Your Ann is far more likely to be one of those baptised in Hartland if there weren't any others in neighbouring parishes. Ann Evans from a neighbouring parish could have gained settlement through apprenticeship, or her father may have had settlement there although living elsewhere when Ann was born. (and of course if you find / have found other Ann Evans locally do check the marriage records and censuses; you may be able to rule them out as possibilities) 2. Being Devon the chances are slim, but do look for relations' wills. Did anyone mention their grandson / nephew / great nephew John Kinsman alias Evans? 3. You've clearly looked at some 'parish chest' documents, have you tried the overseers accounts? A quick look at A2A and I think for Hartland they only survive from 1802, but they could still help. They sometimes record names of people to whom payments were being made - and sometimes don't. You mention there being a number of illegitimate Evans children in Hartland. If any died as children and paupers you will probably find the oveerseers paying the burial expenses and if you're very lucky get more info about the mother. Or they could help you putting together a fuller picture of the family in the area (When a priest only recorded 'Joe Bloggs infant' or even just 'Joe Bloggs' in a burial register, you can sometimes get extra info as to which Joe Bloggs it was from the overseers accounts) Teresa On 07/01/2014 23:13, devon-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > From: Liz Loveland<lovelandfamilyhistory@gmail.com> > To:devon@rootsweb.com > Sent: Tuesday, 7 January 2014, 17:57 > Subject: [DEV] Tracing mother of an 'illegitimate' child > > > Hi all, > > I am seeking suggestions on tracing the mother of an 'illegitimate' child. > John Kinsman alias Evans was born to Ann Evans in Hartland in 1796 and > baptized at the parish church in Hartland, also in 1796. I have his baptism > record and his bastardy bond and have traced him forward in time through > his long life to his death. The bastardy bond lists the father, John > Kinsman, and the child's exact date of birth. Ann's bastardy bond testimony > indicates that she had an ongoing relationship with the father John at the > time, though it does not specify whether it was exclusively a sexual > relationship and I have found no evidence to date that they ever married. I > located a second bastardy bond with the same father's name, John Kinsman, > and a different mother (Sarah Wakely); that child was born in 1799 and > there seems to only be one local candidate for the father of both children, > as John Kinsman/Kingsman was not a common name in that place and time. > However I have been completely stuck on tracing Ann Evans since discovering > all of this a couple of years ago. > > There are a number of other 'illegitimate' births to women with the surname > Evans in the latter part of the 1700's and the earliest 1800's in Hartland, > including some with mothers named Ann Evans. The North Devon Record Office > told me that that they think it is plausible that all the 'illegitimate' > births to Ann Evanses could be to a single Ann Evans. However there appears > to only be a surviving bastardy bond for one other Evans child (1804, > interestingly specifying "Ann Evans the younger") and the baptism records > for the 'illegitimate' Evans children only list the mothers. The other Ann > Evans bastardy bond doesn't provide anything to indicate whether it is the > same Ann Evans as the mother of John Kinsman alias Evans, and I have found > no records so far that indicate anything specific about Ann Evans herself > (parentage, age, etc). The younger John was placed in a husbandy > apprenticeship at age 8 via the parish so he ceased to live with his mother > at that point (if he was still living with her then), and his baptism and > bastardy bond are the only records I have on him that list any parents at > all. > > I have a hypothesis that the Evans women who were having 'illegitimate' > children in Hartland around the same time may have been related to each > other. But without any documents showing whether any of these things are > true, both North Devon RO's theory and mine will stay in the realm of > only-theories. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can try next? > > Thank you, > Liz Loveland > Massachusetts, USA