Until the law changed (ca. 20 or 30 years ago), not in England Shirley, but in Scotland, an illegitimate child was legitimated if his parents married later AND they had been free to do so at the time of his birth. Quite a few years ago now, there was an article in a family history magazine on this subject. An an example, the article used the case of a member of the nobility who had both a Scottish and an English title. The man first had an illegitimate son, then married the mother of his son, and after the marriage had a second son. In other words, he had two sons by the same woman, one before, and one after his marriage. When he died, the first son inherited the Scottish title because he’d been legitimated in Scottish law by his parents subsequent marriage. However, the English title went to the second son as he’d been born after the his parent’s marriage. Regards David Armstrong Maylands Western Australia From: Shirley Smith via Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 10:11 PM To: fermanagh-gold@rootsweb.com Subject: FERMANAGH-GOLD Late marriage off topic I have just discovered I had an ancestor in England whose father was married, and the father was in love with another woman by whom he had twelve children before his wife died. He then married the mother of the 12 children. His son, my ancestor, used his mother's surname until his parents married, then he started using his father's surname. Does anybody know if these illegitimate children became legitimate when the parents married? I think it doesn't matter at this point but am just curious. I have had him listed under his father's name from the beginning but have put in a note that he used his mother's surname until the marriage. Makes me think of Leah and Rachel in the Bible except that the women were not sisters. Shirley --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com

Then there was John of Gaunt, way back in the 14th century, who did much the same thing and what a mess that all turned out to be! Back in the world of we plebs, these days you can disinherit your children, as long as you give them a set small percentage which usually cannot be challenged in court except under certain circumstances, and give your money to charity or to whoever you wish to. So seeing the will of Shirley's ancestor still may not answer the question. Shirley, your ancestor was nothing if not virile! Eilish On 15/04/2015 12:52 AM, DSA2003 via wrote: > Until the law changed (ca. 20 or 30 years ago), not in England Shirley, but in Scotland, an illegitimate child was legitimated if his parents married later AND they had been free to do so at the time of his birth. > > Quite a few years ago now, there was an article in a family history magazine on this subject. An an example, the article used the case of a member of the nobility who had both a Scottish and an English title. The man first had an illegitimate son, then married the mother of his son, and after the marriage had a second son. In other words, he had two sons by the same woman, one before, and one after his marriage. > > When he died, the first son inherited the Scottish title because he’d been legitimated in Scottish law by his parents subsequent marriage. However, the English title went to the second son as he’d been born after the his parent’s marriage. > > Regards > > David Armstrong > > Maylands > Western Australia > > > > From: Shirley Smith via > Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 10:11 PM > To: fermanagh-gold@rootsweb.com > Subject: FERMANAGH-GOLD Late marriage off topic > > I have just discovered I had an ancestor in England whose father was married, and the father was in love with another woman by whom he had twelve children before his wife died. He then married the mother of the 12 children. His son, my ancestor, used his mother's surname until his parents married, then he started using his father's surname. Does anybody know if these illegitimate children became legitimate when the parents married? I think it doesn't matter at this point but am just curious. I have had him listed under his father's name from the beginning but have put in a note that he used his mother's surname until the marriage. Makes me think of Leah and Rachel in the Bible except that the women were not sisters. Shirley > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > http://www.avast.com > ================================== > > https://www.google.ie/ > ================================== > http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/placenames/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FERMANAGH-GOLD-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message