Ancestry Daily News 8/9/2005 - _Archive_ (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/category.aspx?category=&type=1&page=1&bydate=1) • _Ancestry Daily News, 9 August 2005_ (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=10306) • Illegitimacy in England and Wales ____________________________________ Illegitimacy in England and Wales – Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FSA (Scot) Somewhere among our English or Welsh ancestors most of us find at least one instance of illegitimacy, either in the direct line or among close collateral relations. There are a few generally known facts about the topic. Bastard children suffered because their parents did not conform to what was considered moral behavior, local authorities would do their best to avoid costs, and records exist relating to identifying fathers and obtaining support payments. Some of us have used these records, either those generated locally and found among the collective collections known as records of the parish chest, or those from the court of quarter sessions. Not many see the need to understand the intricacies of the law, but the legal background is interesting and could be useful to a search. There is certainly good evidence of this in a recent book, My Ancestor Was a Bastard, by Ruth Paley and published by the Society of Genealogists, (2004). Complexities of the Law Church courts were involved in illegitimacy as far back as the 1500s and beyond. Care of children had a moral side to it and it was the duty of parents to look after offspring born in and out of wedlock. This role was affected by legislation in 1576 that gave justices of the peace the authority to deal with paternity and maintenance cases. In other words, up until the middle of the 1800s there were two types of law that could apply, church law and common law. They did not always agree on whether or not a child was illegitimate. That is not the only complex aspect; inheritance matters could be difficult, and potentially a (http://www.ancestry.com/s19285/t6177/rd.ashx) genealogical gold mine. In her book, My Ancestor Was a Bastard, Paley sets this out in a clear and interesting manner, highlighting legal absurdities along the way. Differences arose depending on how the law was applied and because legal systems around the British Isles were not all the same. What is known as common law applied in England and Ireland, but courts in the two regions acted independently and could interpret the law in different ways. Scotland's legal system was based on Roman law, a factor that contributed to similar types of cases producing dissimilar outcomes. Inheritance issues were also influenced by the view in common law that an illegitimate child was no one's child and legally had no relatives. Provisions had to be made in a will for illegitimate children to receive anything from the estate of a parent. This was an issue for Catholics because their marriage was not always recognized as a legal union.

A little outside Hampshire, I know, but there's a fascinating booklet from the Westbourne Local History Group called 'The bastards of Westbourne'. The records for that village are very full and I'm hoping to delve into them. One of my ancestors, George Bettesworth, moved from Westbourne to Hayling in 1819 when he married Mary Anne Terrey. For some years he was paying money to the North Hayling overseers, but I haven't been able to find out why. Maybe the bastardy records for Westbourne will tell me. David Blake Knightroots@aol.com wrote: Ancestry Daily News 8/9/2005 - _Archive_ (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/category.aspx?category=&type=1&page=1&bydate=1) • _Ancestry Daily News, 9 August 2005_ (http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=10306) • Illegitimacy in England and Wales ____________________________________ Illegitimacy in England and Wales – Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FSA (Scot) Somewhere among our English or Welsh ancestors most of us find at least one instance of illegitimacy, either in the direct line or among close collateral relations. There are a few generally known facts about the topic. Bastard children suffered because their parents did not conform to what was considered moral behavior, local authorities would do their best to avoid costs, and records exist relating to identifying fathers and obtaining support payments. Some of us have used these records, either those generated locally and found among the collective collections known as records of the parish chest, or those from the court of quarter sessions. Not many see the need to understand the intricacies of the law, but the legal background is interesting and could be useful to a search. There is certainly good evidence of this in a recent book, My Ancestor Was a Bastard, by Ruth Paley and published by the Society of Genealogists, (2004). Complexities of the Law Church courts were involved in illegitimacy as far back as the 1500s and beyond. Care of children had a moral side to it and it was the duty of parents to look after offspring born in and out of wedlock. This role was affected by legislation in 1576 that gave justices of the peace the authority to deal with paternity and maintenance cases. In other words, up until the middle of the 1800s there were two types of law that could apply, church law and common law. They did not always agree on whether or not a child was illegitimate. That is not the only complex aspect; inheritance matters could be difficult, and potentially a (http://www.ancestry.com/s19285/t6177/rd.ashx) genealogical gold mine. In her book, My Ancestor Was a Bastard, Paley sets this out in a clear and interesting manner, highlighting legal absurdities along the way. Differences arose depending on how the law was applied and because legal systems around the British Isles were not all the same. What is known as common law applied in England and Ireland, but courts in the two regions acted independently and could interpret the law in different ways. Scotland's legal system was based on Roman law, a factor that contributed to similar types of cases producing dissimilar outcomes. Inheritance issues were also influenced by the view in common law that an illegitimate child was no one's child and legally had no relatives. Provisions had to be made in a will for illegitimate children to receive anything from the estate of a parent. This was an issue for Catholics because their marriage was not always recognized as a legal union. ==== ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT Mailing List ==== Spring clean your tree and see if you can dust off some new rellies ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 --------------------------------- To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre.