Bastardy Order

[JosiahS]

I have an ancestor, Margaret Lamb,  baptised in Alnwick 13/10/1712.  She is marked as being the illigitimate daughter of Charles Lamb of Rock.

How would I track down the bastardy order served against him?  Am I right in thinking that at that time Rock was part of the parish of Embleton?

Many thanks

Ashley

[Jebber]

Bastardy Orders, if they survive, should be in the County Record Office. It is very much a hit and miss affair with this type of record.

I have no experience of Northumberland, but suggest you contact the RO and ask about their holdings.

Jebber

[behindthefrogs]

I think you are right about Rock being in the parish of Embleton.  It became a parish in its own right in 1768.

The best place to start if they exist are the records of the Overseer of the Poor.  Assuming that she was considered likely to be a burden on the parish he would have conducted an examination of her under oath with the churchwarden.  This might also be recorded in the vestry minutes.

As a result an Indemnity Bond would be requested of the father although sometimes even that would not be required if the father agreed to pay.  In this latter case the payment would usually be shown in the accounts of the overseer as it would be paid through him.

Only if none of these were forthcoming would the matter be taken to the Quarter Sessions and a bastardy order issued.

If the child was unlikely to fall upon the parish because either the father or mother had sufficient money then you are unlikely to find any record.

It is worth checking in the following site to see if there is a record of a deposited bond.

http://www.a2a.org.uk/

David

[JosiahS]

Hi David

Many thanks for your useful advice as ever.

I realise that this is going to be a long shot, but for some reason on the baptismal record the father was named but not the mother.

I can't find much evidence of families called Lamb in Embleton - maybe they were non-conformists?

Ashley

[behindthefrogs]

I have a few problems with this.

If she was baptised Lamb does that mean that was also her mother's surname?  Was the father a relative?

As she was baptised in Alnwick I would suggest that this was her mother's parish and you need to look in the Alnwick registers and records.

It may well be that although Charles was recorded as "of Rock" he was only working there and his home parish was also Alnwick.  It might just be worth looking for removal orders as well.

David

[JosiahS]

Hi David

I know it is a bit confusing - I was looking at a transcript of the full register, not an index, and only the father's name was mentioned.  Normally I would expect the child to take the mother's surname if illigitimate so maybe you are right, I should be looking for Lambs in Alnwick.

I've never heard of a removal order - what is that?

By the way I checked A2A and no luck.

Ashley

[behindthefrogs]

When a person was liable to become a burden on the parish, if they did not have a residency qualification which involved either being born in a parish, or married to a man who was qualified, or having been in continuous employment for over a year, or owned property worth more than £15, they would be removed.

This involved issuing a removal order back to their parish where they were qualified.  Most people were hired for one day under a year to avoid them getting such a qualification.  An unmarried pregnant woman would be regarded as likely to fall on the parish for relief and so could be subject to a removal order.

David

[Davidjc]

If you look on the <communities. northumberland.gov> website some of the bastardy orders are shown.
I was luckey enough to find by G.Grandmother Elizabeth Ogle in there, she had a child by Robert Wilson, farmer of Hermitage Farm Birling which makes him my G.Grandfather!

[JosiahS]

Thanks for the information David - I'll see if I can seek it out.

Thanks also for the link to the communities website - I'll have a play on that one tomorrow!!

Ashley