Dear Gareth
From 1844 women were able to seek affiliation
orders against the father of their child at Petty
Sessions. In order to prove their case mothers
would need to provide some corroboration of their
relationship. If successful the mother would get
a weekly allowance which in S Wales was about 2-3
shillings - sufficient to keep the child but
probably not enough to support the mother as
well. In Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan (the only
areas I have looked at) roughly a third of
mothers of illegitimate chidren took this course
of action. I have found lists of such cases
among petty sessions papers in local archives,
and the cases were often reported in local
newspapers. So these are sources worth investigating as well.
Best wishes
Anna
At 15:55 27/02/2013, Gareth Jenkins wrote:
I´m trying to fill in gaps in the life of my
Great Great Grandma Rebecca James. So far I know
that she was born in Cwmdu, Breconshire in about
1825, but I don´t know who her parents or
siblings, if any, were. On the 1841 census she
is a servant in the house of William Stephens, a
wheelwright, in Llanfihangel Talyllyn, but in
1851 she and her 1 year old son William James
are found as pauper inmates of the Union
Workhouse in Crickhowell. Her occupation is
described as "formerly House Servant" so maybe
she was dismissed because she was pregnant? I
can´t find a birth entry for this William so
can´t ask for a birth certificate, but
presumably the father´s name will be blank
anyway. In 1852 she married my Great Great
Grandfather Thomas Williams of Crickadarn (born
about 1832) and in 1861 their address is Pond
Row, Llangattock .He accepts William as a
stepson so he wasn´t the father, I guess. They
had further children including my Great Grandma
Ann(e) Williams. All and any info gratefully accepted!
Gareth Jenkins
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