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Archiver > BEDFORD > 2007-08 > 1187653318
From:
Subject: Re: [BDF] WINTERS
Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:41:58 +0100
References: <000401c7dc9c$f8228810$e8679830$@co.nz>
In-Reply-To: <46C017A9.6000708@tesco.net>
On 13 Aug 2007 at 9:34, Dianne Sutton wrote:
> Putting Millow as a place search in to http://blars.adlibsoft.com/
> produces a few results.
>
> Have a look for bastardy bonds, also the local Poor Law Guardians
> papers and church vestry minutes as Susan may have applied for
> maintenance for the child.
This is not very likely to work.This is too late for bastardy bonds to apply (after
1834). There is also confusion over the source of poor relief - it was (pre 1834) dealt
out by the Overseers of the Poor, not the church or vestry. The Overseers handled
allowances for single mothers/their babies, collected from the father.
After 1834, ordinary poor relief came (ultimately) from the Board of Guardians of
the Union of parishes, and was physically paid over by the Relieving officer. But this
did not usually apply in filiation cases. There possibly could be a record of the birth
in a workhouse. Not many Workhouse records for the Unions exist in the early
years.
In any case, maintenance had to be applied for from the Petty sessions, so by far
the best source is newspaper reports of the proceedings of magistrates, which could
well name the father. The court proceeding should be reported in the local
newspaper within about 3 weeks of the child's birth - assuming that the father was
not careful and generous enough to pay up a lump sum without prompting, thus
keeping his name out of court.
If he paid something on account, or promised to pay and stopped doing so after a
while, then there could be a filiation case later, even after a matter of a couple of
years.
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