birth certificate illegitimate in 1909, Scotland. Father not given

[Findmypast2016]

I too have  a birth certificate of someone I'm tracing in 1901 with no father on. It must have been quite a scandal back then as I know even in the 40's unmarried mothers were looked down on.

[Ruskie]

The further back you go (especially pre the Victorian era) the less of a scandal it was.  Communities were mainly worried about who would support the child, so fathers were encouraged to be named. There was a bit of a "try before you buy attitude" in earlier times. 

[shellyesq]

Are there any surviving biological descendants of this couple?  If so, autosomal DNA testing could potentially lead to an answer. 

[liz877]

Does the child have a middle name? sometimes the mothers added the fathers surname as a middle name.

[coombs]

My ancestor Sarah Eade had a illegitimate son in 1818. She married in 1819 to James Archer, my ancestor. I descend from a daughter born in 1823. The son never took his mothers husbands surname and always remained as James Eade and when he wed in 1848 his fathers name was left blank. I think we can say that the man Sarah married was not the baseborn baby's father. I looked for poor law records but not found any. The father could be anyone in Hacheston or Parham in Suffolk.

Sometimes you can find a father and other times you will never know, not even the ability to find a possible candidate.

[chris_49]

My grandmother was born illegitimately in 1881. On her marriage certificate she gives her father as "H Hancox" no occupation but this can really only refer to her mother Harriet Hancox - she doesn't take the easy option of naming her stepfather Samuel Manton. On the 1881 Harriet was staying with neighbours described as "domestic servant out of place"

I think she'd probably been sacked for being pregnant (8 months at the time of the census) and I wonder whether the father might be the master or young master of the house, or a fellow servant. Had she been still in employ at the time I'd at least have something to go on. I wonder why she upped sticks to North Wales in 1905, there was no family connection, I wonder if this was something to do with the errant father.

Those whose relative's birth was soon after a census (not the OP sadly) might have something to go on if the mother was working away from home at the time.

[Skoosh]

The Session records might be worth checking, you never know.

Skoosh.

[jennywren001]

Have you checked the 1911 census? I have a number of family members born out of wedlock who are listed by their father's name on the first census after their birth but never again.
Jen

[Beeonthebay]

Hi

Tried asking next generation only 2 people both over 80 - still no knowledge of father's name.

No know ledge of any baptism. Birth took place in Glasgow where there were many non-RC churches and non-conformist groups.

You could start by trawling through them all starting from the nearest church to the address shown on her birth certificate and widening your search.   If you are lucky you might find the clergyman of the church has written his own notes, rather than bastard, illegitimate or born to a single woman it may name the reputed father. I know it's a laborious task with a big city but it's the only way, don't forget to check off those you've already searched as you go along.  Then there also are Poor Law records which might be worth looking at.