Hi Robert The procedure you refer to had been repealed before your great-grandfather's birth, with the introduction of the New Poor Law in 1834. It was thought to have been liable to abuse, with some mothers using it to force men into marriage - though many Welsh people were adamant that this didn't happen in Wales! After 1834, initially the right of a mother of an illegitimate chid to obtain support for the child from its father was abolished, but there was a great deal of resistance to this, as it was seen to be against natural justice (particularly in Wales). A new system of affiliation was introduced in 1845, whereby a mother could take her case to Petty Sessions within 12 months of the birth. If her evidence was corroborated 'in some material particular', then the man could be ordered to pay up to five shillings a week for its maintenance. These cases were often reported in the local papers. I hope this helps Anna At 15:58 07/02/2013, Robert Price wrote: >Hello All, >A cold greeting from the USA. My great grandfather was born >1858-1859 out of wedlock around Llangammarch Wells. From his own >account I have his birth date and the name of his mother (Elizabeth >Price...not many of those in the area!!). There is not a birth >registered in either the Builth or Brecknock district for the birth >date he says he was born on. He was living with his father and >grandparents on the 1861 census in Merthyr Cynog. I have searched >the census records up and down for his mother and have a few possibilities. >I have read that if a child was born out of wedlock the father could >be brought before a magistrate by the mother to swear that he was or >not the father? >Finding the mother of my great grandfather has been my greatest >brickwall. Can anyone out there give me any suggestions of any >other records that might exist?? >Thank You >Robert Price >=================== >Visit the Powys Mailing List webpage at: www.jlb2011.co.uk/powyslist.htm > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >POWYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >quotes in the subject and the body of the message