Hi, Everyone, This is a follow-up, from Monk, on the above subject. "In NC, bastardy cases specified that the women would have to name the father of the child and the father would have to post a bond for the maintenance of the child. If the father could not post the bond, he would ask his friends, neighbors and relatives to help him out. These people became sureties, co-signers of the bond, and guaranteed that the upkeep of the child would be paid. If on the other hand, the woman refused to name the father, she would have to post the bond herself. (No such thing as welfare in those days.)" Lucy Ruffin