Once again many thanks for all  your interest. I have now decided to try and find any records for maintenance orders for illegitimate children where the mother was trying through the Court to obtain money for upkeep of child. However this may be very difficult indeed. to achieve.   There is also the likelihood that  Lettice Peregrine had become pregnant in Pembrokeshire before moving on to Aberdare and  Dowlais.  She had two sisters in those areas and may be had to go to them  for care and sustenance.   In that case I shall need to look at Pembrokeshire Archives. for any court orders.   In 1851 she was a dairy maid at a large farm in Templeton, Narberth Pembs.  That leaves me with the puzzle regarding Italian Spanish ancestors!!   Yvonne ________________________________ From: Jeff Coleman <[email protected]> To: ANNE EVANS <[email protected]>; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013, 0:00 Subject: Re: [GLA] spanish and Italians at merthyr Let's broaden the possibilities. I know of little evidence of Spanish or Italians at Merthyr as early as 1850s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vale_of_Neath_Railway shows that the Vale of Neath Railway connected Neath with Aberdare and Merthyr by 1853. Neath and Swansea were on the GWR main line from 1850 I seem to recall. Shipping arrivals in Swansea from northern France - particularly Nantes in early 1850s with wheat and oats and from Spain with copper ore were fairly frequent, as were ships from Cuba and Chile with copper ore(though those were very largely British ships with British crews). There were a huge number of pubs along the Strand and elsewhere in the town of Swansea, and they and other establishments thrived on entertaining newly-paid mariners just back from the sea.  I can't remember whether there was evidence where Lettice was in 1851. Jeff ----- Original Message ----- From: "ANNE EVANS" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 17, 2013 10:45 AM Subject: [GLA] spanish and Italians at merthyr Hi List, Many thanks for all your replies concerning Italian and Spanish immigrants to Merthyr(slight possibility one of whom was my g.g. grandfather!) To save headaches in general re this, can you tell me where I could obtain records of any court cases where Lettice could have sued the father of her child Anne for money for upkeep of Anne? Anne was born Aberdare but the father could have been Merthyr as Lettice had relatives she could go to at Aberdare for the birth of baby. The year would have been 1854. - child Anne Peregrine and mother Lettice Peregrine. I am still involved in tracing who the Peregrines were who settled in North Pembrokeshire about 1700's - that is another story!!! My father was a very dark man as was my uncle his brother. However that colouring could have come from other ancestors. Many thanks for all your interest Yvonne