Bastardy Bond - Guisborough - completed

[genie.fan]

Could anyone tell me how I go about finding out about an ancestor who was born illegitimate.  Her father was never named on the birth or marriage certificate.

I have heard of Bastardy Bonds...would the records be kept in the local archives do you think.

[wamwig]

Hi Genie.fan

Well the answer is possibly, in the one I was looking at his mother was mentioned in the Bastady bond but the father wasnt although it varies from record to record, although surprisinly for 1841 his father was on the birth certificate.

The link below is for Lincolnshire although I'm sure similar records exist for North Yorkshire.

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/poorbastard.html

Regards

Anthony

[sillgen]

What date are we talking about?    Bastardy bonds were the equivalent of the child support system today - an attempt to get money out of the father to support his child, if he was known.  They were kept in the parish chest and many have not survived.   They are really pre the Union Workhouse system when the poor were the responsibility of the individual parish so early 1830s back.
I think there have been several threads recently when more knowledgable people have spoken about this so it might be worth doing a search for them.   The local Archives office will be able to tell you if any survive.
Andrea

[genie.fan]

Thanks for your replies.  The date that I'm concerned about is about 1897.  Will do as you both suggest and look into it further.  Many thanks for your help.

[genie.fan]

Sorry got the date wrong....it's  1878!