ABERDEEN-L Archives

Archiver > ABERDEEN > 2010-06 > 1277247056


From: "Martin Samson" <>
Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Upbringing of illegitimate children
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:50:56 +0100
References: <001101cb119a$fea6a140$fbf3e3c0$@co.nz> <6195590A02D548569237FDD67064AC60@Pointblanc><FCDE68FF91FC4416A2A464D342716B3A@computer>
In-Reply-To: <FCDE68FF91FC4416A2A464D342716B3A@computer>


The most obvious reason is financial - who could best afford to bring up the
baby

Back in those days families were often very large 8 to 10 children was not
uncommon (although infant mortality was high), wages low and cottages
fairly small

It was common for slightly older children to be sent off to live with
grandparents or aunts to make room for the new one coming along

If you look at the snippets from the local newspaper on the excellent Buckie
Heritage site on the web you will find several examples of babies being
offered to good homes (rather like we do with kittens) often through a local
worthy such as the minister.

In one of my own families in the early 1900s one of the younger daughters
became pregnant and the child was given away to a wealthier local family

Life was tough, the welfare state did not come into being until the 1940s,
no single parent's allowances or council flats in them days

Martin

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:]
On Behalf Of goldie and Lido Doratti
Sent: 22 June 2010 11:21 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Upbringing of illegitimate children

Just to add to this thread. I have a case where a child was born to a woman

"in fornication" who lived with the paternal grandparents and was raised by
them. There must have been a reason for that, but ironically her parents
were the witnesses to the baptism. Sometimes things just 'don't wash' no
matter how we turn them over in our minds.
Why would they baptise the babe but turn it away to be raised by the other
set of grandparents? I guess some things we will never know.
Goldie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kia" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 3:46 AM
Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Upbringing of illegitimate children


> Hi Gaye,
> How sure are you that they were illegitimate? In Scotland (unlike England
> and Wales) common law marriages were recognised (I forget
> the official term for them).
> In England and Wales a marriage had to take place in a church to be
> recognised.
> Even if they are illegitimate, it may have been the case that the mother
> and father were living together but the mother died and the
> father kept the children. Do you have the mother's alive on later
> censuses?
>
> Kind Regards
> Kia
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Gaye Ruru" <> Subject: Re: [ABERDEEN] Upbringing of

> illegitimate children
>
> Hello Listers,
> I am wondering if anyone can assist please. I have two direct ancestors
> both of whom were illegitimate and both of whom had the
> father's surname and were brought up in the family of the father, with the

> actual mother appearing to have played little or no part
> in the upbringing of the child. As both these ancestors were born in
> Scotland [Newhills, Aberdeenshire and Moffat, Dumfriesshire] I
> would appreciate any advice as to why this was so in Scotland but does not

> appear to have been the case in other U.K.
> countries or indeed here in New Zealand.
>
> Thank you,
> Gaye
>
>
>
> -------------------------------
> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the
> quotes in the subject and the body of the message
>


-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes
in the subject and the body of the message

This thread: