It has been my experience that the child USUALLY took the mother's surname if not married.....but not uncommon for the child to then go by the surname of a man she would later marry. I have one man in my genealogy that was born out of wedlock, he took on his mother's surname, she married, he started using her husband's name, then he moved away from Hampshire County to Springfield, Clark Co., OH and when he moved back to WV, someone convinced him that a certain man was his biological father and he then took that surname until his death. Upon finding birth information for children out of wedlock, most carry their mother's surname and maybe at a later time, are adopted by the man she marries and will assume that surname. Clear as Mud?! Kathy Heare Watts Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... ~ WOW ~~ What a Ride!