bastardy bonds

[Crumble]

According to the IGI Mary Good of Diss had a daughter (Eliza) in 1807 and two sons William 1814 and Alfred 1821 and I'm wondering whether  Bastardy Bonds might have been issued.  Was a register of Bonds kept? 
 Also I wonder whether there is any significance in the 7 year gaps between children!!!  (Do they coincide with any military campaigns?)

[LizzieW]

I don't know about Norfolk, but Lincolnshire Archives certainly has a record of Bastardy Bonds and I have them on microfiche.  I found one for my 4 x g.grandmother and strangely it is not my 3 x g.grandfather, who was illegitimate, but another earlier child.

Perhaps you could contact the Norfolk Archives and ask for their help.

Lizzie

[peggypatch]

There are a number of different bastardy papers that might help, bastardy bonds, bastardy examinations, bastardy orders and bastardy warrents. However, survival of these papers is patchy and many parishes do not have any surviving papers at all. If there are any they will be amongst the parish deposit for Diss at the Norfolk Record Office. You can search the parish deposit online at:
NROCAT
Just put PD 100 into the catalogue reference field and you can then search through to see if there are any bastardy papers listed.

If you don't find any all is not lost, as there may be records of monies collected from reputed fathers and then paid out to the mothers in the Overseer's accounts books. So while you are searching the parish deposit keep an eye out for any of those from the right date.

Finally, some bastardy orders are recorded in the quarter sessions books. However, as you can see if you don't find bastardy papers, then you have quite a search ahead of you and of course, if the mother and father came to a private agreement about money then there will have been no official record anyway.

Good luck, it is a lot of work, but it can pay off. Oh and just a final thought, it may be worth having a look at the actual baptism as sometimes the reputed father was named in the register. I don't know whether the transcribers would have added that information to the IGI or not.

[coombs]

Hi

Quite often baptisms may note a reputed father. Like "Mary Smith daughter of Jane Smith and reputed father Thomas Jones". etc.

Ben

[crunchie01]

i found this thread very interesting, as i though i had come to a stop after finding a illegitimate relative, will now keep digging and see if i can find out more.

thanks

[coombs]

Hi

Often aprish officials wanted the mother to name the putative father. Often though, the man admitted paternity and either married the mother or paid maintenance.

If he had admitted fatherhood then wed the mum then I doubt that there would have been any action taken before the wedding if he admitted it as if he did then the poor law quite often need not get involved.

Ben

[crunchie01]

hi,

in this case the mother didnt marry, she had 5 illegimate children over a period of 10 years, i believe 2 of them to the same man, 1 to a different man. she died at the age of 73, a pauper and still unmarried

no bastardy bonds remain for the parish, so i thought i had met a dead end, now it seems there may be avenues to explore.

thanks all

[coombs]

Hi

Finding the father of an illegitimate child is not as impossible as people think. I did with Thomas Roberts, an ancestor of mine who fathered my 2xgreat gran out of wedlock but married the mother as soon as he could and I have found more evidence on Thomas as well. This was in the 1860s though. Before 1834 bastardy bonds and churchwardens account or parish baptisms are the best.

Ben

[crunchie01]

my illegimate child was born in 1805, what are my chances? with no bastardy bonds for the parishm what we be the best road for me to take next.

thanks in advance