How attitudes have changed .... My great grandmother Margaret was born in Great George Street Liverpool in 1862. Her parents worked from home as Window blind makers .She lost both parents to chronic lung diseases before She was 10 years old. For a while her 17 year sister Annie tried to keep the family together and Then Margaret and 11 year old Robina were placed in the care of the Bluecoats school. Tragically Robina died there from a horrible louse borne disease called Relapsing fever. >From Bluecoats Margaret was placed as a housemaid in one of Cheshire's Great houses. She attracted the attention of one of the young masters there and became Pregnant with my grandad. Shortly after his birth in 1881 my grandad was placed in a foster family Whose name he eventually took. Margaret never married, she went back to live with Annie and they carried On the family trade in Birkenhead. I don't believe she ever had any more contact with my grandad, and on the 1911 census didn't acknowledge that she had a child - such was the shame of The unmarried mother and her child. My grandad's family only whispered of his birth situation, they were so deeply ashamed, it took me five years of Internet searching to discover Margaret's name and her life. I believe she died in the 1930s after living her life within a half hours journey of the son she never knew.....

Interesting story. I have a similar and yet much different situation in my family. My great grandmother, Ellen was born 26 Nov 1852 in Haskayne, north of Liverpool. Her mother died in 1865 and her father in 1866. By 1871, she was living in Liverpool and in Jan 1872, she had her first child, Ellen, although she was unmarried. She baptised the child and gave the parents as James and Ellen, James being a labourer. Baby Ellen died in August. In March 1874, she had her second illegitimate child, Elizabeth, and in 1875 her third, James. Both these children were baptised and the parents named as James and Ellen, but now James was a sailor. I suspect it was easier to explain and absent father if he was a sailor. She had three more children in 1877, 1881 and 1883 - all illegitimate. (I don't have baptisms for these children). Ellen doesn't appear on the 1881 census, but is there in 1891 with 4 of her children, and listed as a widow. She misses 1901 but is back in 1911, again as a widow. When she died in 1938, her death certificate also shows her as a widow. So, not everyone had the same approach to illegitimate births. Vern in Ontario, Canada On 30 March 2014 18:23, faraway@xtra.co.nz <faraway@xtra.co.nz> wrote: > How attitudes have changed .... My great grandmother Margaret was born in > Great George Street Liverpool in 1862. Her parents worked from home as > Window blind makers .She lost both parents to chronic lung diseases before > She was 10 years old. > For a while her 17 year sister Annie tried to keep the family together and > Then Margaret and 11 year old Robina were placed in the care of the > Bluecoats school. > Tragically Robina died there from a horrible louse borne disease called > Relapsing fever. > >From Bluecoats Margaret was placed as a housemaid in one of Cheshire's > Great houses. > She attracted the attention of one of the young masters there and became > Pregnant with my grandad. > Shortly after his birth in 1881 my grandad was placed in a foster family > Whose name he eventually took. > Margaret never married, she went back to live with Annie and they carried > On the family trade in Birkenhead. > I don't believe she ever had any more contact with my grandad, and on the > 1911 census didn't acknowledge that she had a child - such was the shame of > The unmarried mother and her child. > My grandad's family only whispered of his birth situation, they were so > deeply ashamed, it took me five years of Internet searching to discover > Margaret's name and her life. I believe she died in the 1930s after living > her life within a half hours journey of the son she never knew..... > >