Index to Renfrewshire Paternity Cases

[ScottishAncestry]

Hello everyone,

Just to let you know that the Scottish index to paternity cases found in the Sheriff Court records has now reached Renfrewshire. Our volunteer has begun indexing the records and cases from 1830-1837 are indexed and available to search on www.scottishindexes.com.

The indexes are free to search and you don't need to create an account. If you want more than the index information you can either go to Edinburgh and view the original (we give the full reference number) or use our online service.

These are cases where the mother of an illegitimate child takes the father to court for aliment. You can learn more about the project and how to use these records in our Learning Zone: http://www.scottishindexes.com/learningcourt.aspx

Emma

[ScottishAncestry]

Just to let you know this index has been updated and now covers cases from 1830-1847: www.scottishindexes.com

Emma

[ScottishAncestry]

Our volunteer has now indexed the paternity cases found in the Paisley Sheriff Court records of extracted decrees from 1830-1868: More will follow shortly!

Emma

[dodger123]

Thanks Emma the site allowed me to remove a brick wall I had with regard to some of my ancestors.

[ScottishAncestry]

Thank you so much for letting us know that the site has helped you!

Emma

[ScottishAncestry]

I should have said, the index to Paisley Sheriff Court extracted decrees now extends to 1916!

Emma

[anne_p]

Thanks for this Emma.

Looking at the Paisley cases, I can see that one of my male relatives was named as the alleged father,  in a paternity case.
Will now hunt down the birth record to see if there is an RCE attached.
Having completed a great deal of research on this relative, I suspect that the year of birth is significant to changes in his personal life at the exact time


Certainly a first for me.
Unless we're aware of a birth in the first instance, we would probably never realise that our male relatives were named as the father!

[ScottishAncestry]

So pleased you have found something useful!

In cases after 1855 there should be an RCE if it was a case of 'affiliation and aliment'. If it was simply an aliment case, in other words a man was made to pay for upkeep of the child but not declared to be the father, there will be no RCE. By far the majority of cases are affiliation and aliment.

In cases before 1860 there are also court processes and for some courts these survive after 1860. Processes contain the evidence, generally witness statements which are very interesting! Sometimes you strike gold and there are items such as love letters in the court processes!! You can see an example case in our Learning Zone: http://www.scottishindexes.com/learningcourt.aspx#q5

Emma

[anne_p]

Thank You Emma,
I did find the 1881 birth  cert with the RCE attached.
I have a tiny doubt that the alleged father was my relative.

His name, occupation and place of residence all match.( no actual address given on RCE)
Also described as Mr Xxx (Junior) and of course, my relative and his father did have the same first name.
Most family records actually refer to him as Mr Xxx (Junior) but, I also know that he married in London about 6 months before this child was born... which is my niggling doubt!

I cannot positively identify the child or his mother on any census after the birth so, I think I need to obtain the case papers to satisfy my curiosity.