'Base Born' What does it mean?

[SooCatt]

Hello

I have an ancestor in my tree (Sarah Ann Rymer) who was the 'base born' daughter of Jane Rymer.

Because of there being no father named in the parish records I have always assumed that 'base born' was just another way of saying illegitimate.

Could it mean anything else? Could it be more specifically that she was the daughter of another family member perhaps?

I have just received her marriage certificate and her father is given as William Rymer. Could she just have 'made him up' for the wedding?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Susan

[allibaker]

hi susan
base born means illigitamate so ive been reliably informed
regards
alli

[allibaker]

i too have a relative that married twice and on both wedding certificates he has different fathers.
his first one said his father was a nathaniel gardener and the second said nathaniel board same surname as his.i think maybe he was just too embarassed to admit he was illigitamate
alli

[SooCatt]

Mm
That thought had crossed my mind.  I also wondered if perhaps William was an uncle who had brought her up.

Susan

[Rick]

Hi Susan

"Base Born" is an euphemism for Illegitimate and I think that you are probably right to be  suspicious  that the father mentioned on her marriage certificate may have been put there to "save face" with her in laws.  This is not uncommon I'm afraid.

The William mentioned could as you say be a close family member who she thought of as a father figure, or even her real father who never married her mother. As he had the same surname, a cousin perhaps?  On balance though, I think this unlikely.

Rick

[SooCatt]

I'm glad that everyone agreed I was right in thinking that 'base born' meant illegitimate as I was sure that I had been trailing the right Sarah Ann - but when the certificate arrived this morning I suddenly had doubts.
I have posted a request for a look-up on the 1841 cencus in the hope that this might throw some light on who (if anybody) William is.

Thanks everyone
Susan

[AnneMc]

Hi There:

It is very possible that the father listed on the marriage certificate could be a grandfather as my 3xgrgrandmother listed her grandfather as her father. It took my many years of looking for a Sarah Frankish with a father named Francis Frankish before I finally found out that he was her grandfather!!!  I finally found a her baptish record with only her mother Tamar Frankish listed.



Anne

[SooCatt]

This possibility had occurred to me actually but unfortunately Sarah's grandfather was Robert.  It'll probably turn out to be the milkman

Susan

[Guy Etchells]

Hello

I have an ancestor in my tree (Sarah Ann Rymer) who was the 'base born' daughter of Jane Rymer.

Because of there being no father named in the parish records I have always assumed that 'base born' was just another way of saying illegitimate.

Could it mean anything else? Could it be more specifically that she was the daughter of another family member perhaps?

I have just received her marriage certificate and her father is given as William Rymer. Could she just have 'made him up' for the wedding?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Susan

The History of Parish Registers in England, a book scanned to CD by Anguline Research Archives and available free on the cover cd of Your Family Tree this month shows around 20 different terms used for illegitimate infants.
One of the commonly used terms was base or base born, others include -of no certain man - scape begotten - begotten in fornication - unlawfully begotten - bye-blow - fil populi - ex fornicatione gravitae - filia vulgi and of course the legal term bastard.
Cheers
Guy