Author Topic: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?  (Read 4725 times)

Offline Sharpshooter

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Hi all,

I'm currently tracing my ancestry back to my great-great-grandparents in Aughnacloy.  As you can see here in the 1901 census Patrick & Sarah Slavin have a child who not only has a different surname, but a different religion.  The whole entire family is RC (Joseph Slavin, the eldest son, is my great granddad) but Jane Campbell, who is only 15 and single, is reportedly Church of Ireland.

1901 - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Tyrone/Aughancloy_Urban_Aughancloy_Town_in_17_files/Mill_Street/1724189/
1901 transcript - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001182229/

1911 - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Aughnacloy_Urban/Mill_Street/854156/
1911 transcript - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai003412197/

Both Patrick and Sarah are 40 and 36 respectively in 1901, but dramatically have aged 56 and 57 respectively in just 10 years in the 1911 census (pensions act came into effect in 1908, possibly causing them to lie).  in 1911 they've stated also they've been married for 24 years.  However I have found only one document matching a Patrick Slavin and Sarah across a 30 year span, that was in 1897 in Aghaloo (the RC parish next to Aughnacloy) meaning they were married 14 years by 1911, not 24 (again they've lied to tie the whole thing in I assume).

I have a printscreen of the marriage certificate from rootsireland.ie:

http://oi60.tinypic.com/2mec1o6.jpg (if you open it up the first time there are adds, close it and open it up again there are none and its clearer)

What is interesting from that is Sarah's maiden name is also Campbell, the same surname as Jane.  So we can assume that's her daughter from a previous relationship.  Now I did some research on this and found a birth certificate for a Jane Campbell in Clogher in 1886 (matching her age), with mother Sarah Campbell and an unknown/not stated father.  The child was therefore illegitimate.

http://oi60.tinypic.com/dxh6xd.jpg

But what I am most confused about and I would like to resolve if possible is that Jane Campbell is protestant and her mother in both 1901 and 1911 is stated as catholic.  I have absolutely no idea why this is?  I'm curious to know about what my great-great-grandmother's religion is and is it possible this was a mixed marriage?  I'm stuck on this and would appreciate some help!

Offline Elwyn Soutter

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #1 on: Friday 31 October 14 10:09 GMT (UK) »
Perhaps when Sarah had the illegitimate daughter she could not bring it up herself, and so farmed it out to someone who brought it up Church of Ireland? (Perhaps Sarah herself was originally Church of Ireland, and converted when she married? There was often pressure to do so).
Elwyn

Offline hallmark

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #2 on: Friday 31 October 14 19:05 GMT (UK) »
..."Both Patrick and Sarah are 40 and 36 respectively in 1901, but dramatically have aged 56 and 57 respectively in just 10 years in the 1911 census (pensions act came into effect in 1908, possibly causing them to lie)..."

So what's on their Pension Application?
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Offline joemc

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 01 November 14 18:51 GMT (UK) »
I would agree with Elwyn that Sarah campbell was probably church of Ireland and when she married Patrick converted to catholicism, which would have been common practice at the time, as marriage took place in catholic church. Her daughter then 15 would not have been under the same pressure to convert so would have remained CoI.

Unfortunately I cannot find civil record of Sarah's marriage which would have given her fathers name, as you can see from catholic marriage record parents were not included so hard to find birth record for Sarah, there are several possibilities but without fathers name they would be speculation.   

Update: Sorry my mistake re. Sarah's daughter, must learn to read posts fully before reply :-[
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Offline hallmark

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #4 on: Sunday 02 November 14 09:57 GMT (UK) »
Her daughter Jane would only have been 1 or 2 when mother married as next daughter Sarah is only 3 years younger than Jane.
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Offline Elwyn Soutter

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 02 November 14 10:45 GMT (UK) »
Her daughter Jane would only have been 1 or 2 when mother married as next daughter Sarah is only 3 years younger than Jane.

Yes, I had that in mind when I suggested that Jane might have been farmed out for some years, till she grew up, otherwise you’d expect her to be the same denomination as her siblings.
Elwyn

Offline rathmore

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #6 on: Sunday 02 November 14 11:16 GMT (UK) »
it does say on the census that pages are missing, also if you were not in the house when the census people came your name was not put on the census.  A lot of RC would not conform to the English rule that's why a lot of names and ages are wrong.

It says that Jane Campbell is a General Servant domestic


Offline hallmark

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #7 on: Sunday 02 November 14 12:10 GMT (UK) »
Her daughter Jane would only have been 1 or 2 when mother married as next daughter Sarah is only 3 years younger than Jane.

Yes, I had that in mind when I suggested that Jane might have been farmed out for some years, till she grew up, otherwise you’d expect her to be the same denomination as her siblings.

Certainly possible, but if they only married in 1897 and they have kids 15, 12, 10, 7 etc in 1901 Census, after 4 years of marriage then they had those kids before they married too.

BUT... as these Roots records are notoriously inaccurate, put together but unemployed people as part of an unemployment scheme it is VERY possible that the date of 1897 could be entered incorrectly, and actually be 1887!!

If one reads this thread  http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=670189.0 then one can decide on their reliability and make up their own mind.
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Offline hallmark

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Re: Illegitimate child has a different religion to the mother - can anyone help?
« Reply #8 on: Sunday 02 November 14 12:14 GMT (UK) »
it does say on the census that pages are missing, also if you were not in the house when the census people came your name was not put on the census.  A lot of RC would not conform to the English rule that's why a lot of names and ages are wrong.

It says that Jane Campbell is a General Servant domestic



Yes I can read and observe there are Pages missing, and as it says Form A is missing, which wouldn't have given and other data on the family. These were removed to make room for the new Census data added recently on the site.
Give a man a record and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to research, and you feed him for a lifetime.