Bastardy Orders

[Comosus]

What would happen if the father had been entered on the certificate, and the mother never went into the workhouse?  Her parents were still alive and so she lived with them.  Would the father have had to pay the mother to look after the child and would there be any records available?

Andrew

[Lemontree]

Hi

The couple may have had a private arrangment between themselves and therefore the child and mother did not become a "burden" on the parish poor relief - so the parish would not need to get involved and there would be no record. Even if the father didn't pay the parish was not concerned until the woman and child started asking for money from the poor relief - then they would do everything they could to get the father to pay instead.

If it was a porr servant girl and the master had done wrong it would usually be hushed up and payment may be made to stop the girl from shaming the family.

It is much the same today, if the father or Non Resident parent contributes to the upkeep of the child and the mother is working and supporting herself then there is no need for the CSA to become involved. If though the resident parent is on income support and then the money must be collected from the father to help contribute towards the cost of income support. The state wants to collect the money somehow to cover the cost.

[behindthefrogs]

The role of the Overseer of the poor in cases of Bastardy needs to be understood.  He and the churchwarden would "examine" the woman to discover the father.  Once the father was known he would be persuaded to enter into a bastardy bond or just make a private agreement and the overseer of the poor would act as intermediary.  The money paid would thus be recorded in the minutes and accounts of the overseer or the vestry.

If no bond or agreement was forthcoming the churchwardens would apply to the quarter sessions and a bastardy, (filiation or maintenance) order would be the result.  However if paternity was not contested this would probably be handled in the petty sessions of which there is unlikely to be any record.  Once again the actual payment may be found in the records of the vestry or the overseer of the poor, particularly if there were any minor problems with payment to be resolved.

It is not clear what dates you are working on but the Poor Law of 1834 moved the responsiblities of the parish to the poor law unions and the functions discussed above to the guardians of the poor.  Some of the responsibilities of the quarter sessions were also moved to the board of guardians but many of the functions of JPs remained.  It wasn't until the local government act of 1888 that responsibilities were moved to local councils.
 
David