General Chat

Hi Ben, How wierd to read your thread and to know Warninglid, it is just down the road from me, I also knew of some Walders that lived in the village I'm in, in fact there graves are in our local Church yard.

On the illigitimacy, I have many in my family but none that married the girls they got pregnant.

Gillie XX

OOOO Kitty I had a lady with Akehurst for her name when I was a child, she died in my road!!

Hi Janet

Very good point. Yes, Mary may have nursed Esther Roberts through her illness. Esther had tuberculosis, so was ill for a while before she died.

Maybe, she was a friend and fell for Esthers husband Thomas by getting pregnant. Thomas only had 1 other child who was then aged 12. Of course, Thomas had to wait until Esther popped it (pardon the slang lol)before he could make an honest woman of Mary. After her dad wed, she went to live with her aunty.

ForgetmenotBlue that is amazing. I wonder if there are any stories to tell from the past. My Walders were wheelwrights, and when John died in 1876 he had an estate worth £4000.

Ben

No illegitimate as yet found. But was most surprised to see that my own father was on the way when my grandparents married. - Now if I had done that - well all hell would have broken out lol.

Tina

Am not to sure about my granddad its still a mystery that I cannot solve yet

My materal grandma was illegitimate, she was one of two daughters my grt gran had before she married, also grt grans sister also had two daughters before she eventually married, they also had a cousin who had five children and never married, She is on the 1901 census as a single women with her children and they lived in a small village so everyone must have known.
Gill

My tree is loaded with illegitimacy, including me lol, and would be a lot worse if it wasn't for the amount of shotgun weddings:)

We have none of them...
Goings on in our family...
We can all read and write lol ...

I wouldn't imagine there is a family tree anywhere in the land without illegitimacy - if there is one I reckon they are fibbing!!!!

M greatgreatgrandmother , on father`s side had twin sons, one of whom is my greatgrandfather, to one man , then a daughter to someone else , then married someone else and had 2 more but died of liver disease when baby was 3 months. When my daughter had a baby at 16 there was an uproar !!
Ros xx

Ow those "Moral" Victorians LOL
Gill

Hi

I think I have more evidence than some other people have about the proof of fatherhood of an illegitimate child after the father wed the mother. Thomas was the father, otherwise he wouldnt have baptised her as his if she wasnt as that would be fibbing in church - a sin in those days.

I am glad that you have shared your stories, and dont worry for fellow posters with an illegitimate baby born but parental marriage afterwards as I think you have the right father if he wed the mother shortly afterwards.

I wonder if any of them found out they were actually born before their parents marriage???

Ben

Surely the question should be who has not got any illegitimately in their family!!

James

My ggt grandfather (on my Dad's side of the family) was illegitimate and to make matters worse his surname was Smith! He did have an unusual middle name, which could have been the fathers surname, but it hasn't helped me trace him yet.

Frances

Grandad's mum was unmarried and the situation tsk never spoken about

I found a baby born to my GtGt gran at her aunties house, a little boy, no fathers name and no further mention of him anywhere!!!

Both my maternal grandparents were illigitimate but I don't think mother knew the truth about her father, as he never spoke of it.
Grans parents didn't get the chance to marry as her father was married to someone else.......he then up and died at 33, and his legal wife re~married 2 weeks later.

I wonder if the parents who wed within a year of their babys birth in the 19th century ever "adjusted" their wedding date, eg if the really wed in February 1864 and their firstborn arrived in October 1863, I wonder if the parents pretended they had wed in Feb 1863 instead of Feb 1864 to make it look as if their firstborn was legitimate?

As my Oh has always said

In those days, you walk 5 mile there and 5 back to do ya courting, you ain't leaving without getting nowt lol

Kim

I am - my mum & dad married in 1982 (I was then 35 and would have loved to have been there but didn't know it was taking place - my dad was 78 and my mum 73) and my Dad was.....my great gran had 10 children and never married.....

Yes