Northumberland, Bastardy Bonds

[Anydogsbody]

I've just discovered within the last few days that my GGrandfather, George Bell Biggs (1856), was the illegitimate son of Susanna Biggs(1834) both of Allendale, Hexham RD.

I would like to find out who the father was if possible and thought I would see if there were any legal proceedings to claim maintenance. In Northumberland, where would those records exist? Did Bastardy Bonds( horrible title!!) exist as late as 1856? If not, what replaced them?

[c-side]

They would be at Northumberland Archives at Woodhorn

http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com/catalogue/

Searching on 'Bastardy bonds' brings some up but not for Hexham area and not as late as 1856 but the catalogue isn't easy to get around so there could be some detail elsewhere.

Christine

[JenB]

This posting on the Northumbria Rootsweb list is old, but contains some useful advice 
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NORTHUMBRIA/1997-08/0872945026

[Pammy22]

I suspect the middle name of Bell may be his father's surname.  My gt grandmother was illegitimate and her middle name was Smails which I presume was her father's surname.  This is just my view, but may give you a clue.

[Anydogsbody]

Sorry about the slow reply, been away for a few days.

Woodhorn maybe a good starting point but I wondered if there would be a separate record within the legal system.

The suggestion that the fathers surname may be Bell is a good one. The confusing factor though is that the surname Bell occurs in both the legitimate line and the potentially illegitimate one. It's difficult to know what the source is and it may be that the middle name is serving to reflect both those situations. I certainly have another situation where the father's surname was the child's middle name and the parents helped by marrying after the event but it did fox me for a while.

Thanks JenB for the link, I'll take look at that.

[c-side]

Woodhorn maybe a good starting point but I wondered if there would be a separate record within the legal system.

The documents held at Woodhorn are from the legal system at the time.  Look up Petty Sessions and Quarter Sessions to see what was dealt with by these courts. 

Christine

[Anydogsbody]

Good to know. I'm not sure what the family's circumstances were and it might be that there was some additional support from the parish, such as it was in those days. I thought that if Woodhorn had anything it would have been the parish records and I'm interested to hear that the legal records are there.

However, I think the family's circumstances were such that they didn't need support from either the alleged father or the parish which might mean there is a scant or no record of the event.

[c-side]

Woodhorn have massive amounts of stuff that aren't parish records.  Records for schools, local authorities, hospitals etc., documents relating to the major families in the area and so much more.  I've been going to Northumberland Archives for almost 20 years and still come across things I didn't know they had 

Christine

[Westoe]

author=Anydogsbody link=topic=764348.msg6164228#msg6164228 date=1486463117
However, I think the family's circumstances were such that they didn't need support from either the alleged father or the parish which might mean there is a scant or no record of the event.

Hello anydogsbody,

If they were well-off enow not to need parish help, then they probably left wills. That's how we discovered an illegitimate relation. The residual heirs sued (in the eighteen-teens) the trustees of the will in Chancery and in their rebuttal evidence, the trustees listed everything they had spent and on what incl. payments to a woman for the upkeep of her natural child "for whom the testator was bound". No bastardy bond survives but obviously there had been one.

Sometimes information lurks in unsuspected places.

Cheers,
Westoe