HATCHER website: http://hatcherfamilyassn.com HALL DNA project: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~nhatcher/hall/HDNAtest.htm "One of the tragedies of life is the murder of a beautiful theory by a brutal gang of facts" - La Rochefoucauld Joshua Gregg Hatcher, bn 1857, was illegitimate yet from the age of 3 yrs old, he never used his mother's maiden name [Haney]. My understanding is that an illegitimate child would carry his mother's maiden name unless his father legally admitted paternity. And "legally" means there should be a record at the courthouse or "somewhere." Am I correct on this? And if so, which group of records might this be found in? Nel