Hi Shirley I have run across a similar situation. A gentleman in a small village posted banns to marry his servant, but the marriage never occurred (perhaps his family intervened). Her illegitimate son was born a few months later and was baptised with her surname and only her named as parent. Around the same time, the man married a "more suitable" wife. Over the next 12 years, the servant had 3 more illegitimate children all baptised with her surname and with only her named as the parent. Four days after the birth of the fourth child, the gentleman wrote his will, in which he gave his "best bed" to the servant woman and one-fifth shares of his farm and entire estate to the servant woman and each of her "four natural and illegitimate children". All are named, with the servant woman's surname. The will doesn't mention any relation between the gentleman and the beneficiaries. The gentleman's legal wife (who'd had no children) died a few months after the will was written. She is not mentioned at all in the will. The gentleman died 2 years later. The servant's four children subsequently used the gentleman's surname and named him as their father on their marriage certificates. The gentleman had had a much earlier illegitimate child with another servant, who was baptised with his surname and both parents named, but he wasn't remembered in the will. So it may be that in this case and yours that the man was actually living with his preferred family, rather than his legal wife. Kathy Lowe -----Original Message----- From: Shirley Smith via Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 7:11 AM 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