To "recognise" a child in Dutch law is partway between legitimate and illegitimate. It's something we don't have in England. One of my ancestors, Wouter van de Waal, married a girl called Grietje Berendse about 1815. At their marriage, they said they had 2 children born before marriage, whom they "recognised". The elder of these two children was a boy. His first name is not a van de Waal name or a Berendse name and the baby was registered by Grietje's father. The second child, a girl, was registered by Wouter and has a family name. So the boy was not Wouter's, but the girl was. If you Google Dutch Law and look for this you will find a number of articles. claytonbradley