This is not Norcal related, but I would like some advice. Does anyone know how to find records regarding illegitimate children? My gggrandmother was supposedly the daughter of "The Prince of Hague" and Bridgette Calvin (Colvin). Bridgette was apparently a maid/lady in waiting/nurse, etc, in the castle. We don't know the "Prince's" name. Mary Annie Calvin was born about 1852/53. She first married Ambrose Kern and then Charles Brock (Brach, Broch). By this time she was in Lancaster PA. We have traced Charles and Annie in PA, and I am working with several cousins to try to solve this mystery. I have no knowledge of Ambrose Kern or any children from that marriage. Betty

Hi Betty, What an interesting family story! It most certainly is NORCAL related in the sense of asking advise on how to pursue a thread of research. I would recommend that you write down the story and document the source (your parents, grandmother, aunt etc.) If you come across different details, get those on paper also, along with the source. Keep it and like stories filed in a Notes of Interest file by surname. I am not saying, then forget about it, but do then set it aside mentally. In the meantime, keep researching in the time honored way--getting family groupings in order, dates of life events such as birth, marriage and death. Use the census!! I found a number of references to an Ambrose Kern in Pennsylvania, on census. I also found one death reference for someone of the same name on Ancestry. There is no way to tie this Ambrose Kern to your gggrandmother however without getting into the source material and if you get hooked on researching your family, you will soon be adept at that. Nothing is more annoying as to have relatives discourteous enough to marry and die in between visits of the census taker, but it happens all the time. It teaches us to take cookies to the nice ladies at the library or county courthouse to thank them for their help in tracking people down the hard way. Finding your gggrandmother on census should tell you where she was born and where her parents were born. You should get an idea as to names.....was she Mary Anne, Anna Marie, Annie or all three? Was she born in Pennsylvania? If so, then you may find her mother on the 1860 census with the small child and maybe a new husband and other children. Every *fact *(tidbit of information that can be documented) that you find will add to your knowledge of your family and the particular family group upon which you are focusing. Perhaps you will encounter others working on the line and you can share information. It may well be that one day you will come across something that will shed some light upon the old family story of a connection to royalty. It might be literally true.....or something as simple as your ggggrandmother coming to America from a German or other european principality after finding herself with child. If you never find anything to back up the story, you treat it just as is---an unsubstantiated story. We all have them--sometimes more than our share. If you write up your family history, it can be included in a notes section. Good luck to you! Jan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Betty Loose wrote: > This is not Norcal related, but I would like some advice. > Does anyone know how to find records regarding illegitimate children? > My gggrandmother was supposedly the daughter of "The Prince of Hague" > and Bridgette Calvin (Colvin). Bridgette was apparently a maid/lady in > waiting/nurse, etc, in the castle. We don't know the "Prince's" name. > > Mary Annie Calvin was born about 1852/53. She first married Ambrose > Kern and then Charles Brock (Brach, Broch). By this time she was in > Lancaster PA. > > We have traced Charles and Annie in PA, and I am working with several > cousins to try to solve this mystery. I have no knowledge of Ambrose > Kern or any children from that marriage. > > Betty > > > ----------------------------------------- > NORCAL ARCHIVES: > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ > Enter NORCAL. Browse by month. > Or click the "Search all archives" link to search by keyword. > ----------------------------------------- > To post a message to the NORCAL mailing list, send an email to NORCAL@rootsweb.com > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORCAL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2651 - Release Date: 01/28/10 02:36:00 > >