Between 1837 and 1875 if the mother informed a registrar of an illegitimate child's birth and also stated the father's name, the registrar could record him as the father, otherwise the space for the father's name and occupation will be blank. This applied until The Registration Act of 1875 which stated: "The putative father of an illegitimate child cannot be required as father to give information respecting the birth. The name, surname and occupation of the putative father of an illegitimate child must not be entered except at the joint request of the father and mother; in which case both the father and mother must sign the entry as informants" Therefore a man could only be named as the father of an illegitimate child on the birth certificate if he consented and was also present when the birth was registered. The Poor Law Amendment Act enabled a mother of a child born out of wedlock to apply at Petty Sessions for maintenance from its father. These applications were sent in the form of annualreturns to the Clerk of the Peace. Regards Stan Mapstone
Many thanks Stan for that information. It clarifies things very well. Regards Anne ----- Original Message ----- From: <Stanmapstone@aol.com> To: <ENG-DURHAM-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 11:49 PM Subject: Re: [ENG-DUR] born out of wedlock query > Between 1837 and 1875 if the mother informed a registrar of an illegitimate > child's birth and also stated the father's name, the registrar could record > him as the father, otherwise the space for the father's name and occupation > will be blank. > > This applied until The Registration Act of 1875 which stated: > "The putative father of an illegitimate child cannot be required as father > to give information respecting the birth. The name, surname and occupation of > the putative father of an illegitimate child must not be entered except at > the joint request of the father and mother; in which case both the father and > mother must sign the entry as informants" > > Therefore a man could only be named as the father of an illegitimate child > on the birth certificate if he consented and was also present when the birth > was registered. > > The Poor Law Amendment Act enabled a mother of a child born out of wedlock > to apply at Petty Sessions for maintenance from its father. These applications > were sent in the form of annualreturns to the Clerk of the Peace. > > Regards Stan Mapstone