Foundling Registers

[janec123]

Hi ,Does anyone know when foundling registers were started ,my GGG Grandmother has parents unknown on her marriage cert ,i can only assume maybe she was abandoned ,Are there any registers that could confirm this ,thanks in advance Jane

[dawnsh]

Hi Jane

An official register in England only started in 1977, I would imagine the situation in Scotland may be similar.

Before that their births appear in the England & Wales birth index with the surname 'unknown' and mothers maiden name 'unknown' after 1911.

Surprisingly freebmd has over 2000 such entries from 1837 to 1911.

I think finding records may be difficult.

You would need to be looking at other sources, have you tried looking for a baptism or birth where the surname is recorded as 'unknown'?