Bastardy affiliation order - help in better understanding it!

[jacqlineue]

Thanks I will get round to it at some point.

Jac

[brigidmac]

I also paid the archives to search for affiliation order I wouldn't have found it myself .the trainee was almost as excited as me to get it as it was the first she.d seen .

She helped me decipher the payments too
There was a medical payment as well as the weekly payments to be made and it had father's full name and address ...we only had the middle name clue to start with .

DNA has since confirmed Identity of my ggfather thru matches thru his sisters and ah half sister

[jacqlineue]

So glad you got a good result

[KGarrad]

Women sometimes added the father's birth name to increase chances of gaining recognition from the birth father . but why didn't she put it on birth certificate too ?

In 1926 the father of an illegitimate child had to attend the registration for his name to be added to the birth certificate.

That was from 1874.

[brigidmac]

My nans birth father is not on the certificate his surname is put as her middle name

The father didnt and doesn't  have to be present for that .

And I don't know if he was present at the court decision in 1900 for affiliation payments

But he made the medical payments
at the time & probably made the weekly payments for the first 6 years at least ..possibly to the foster parents
 he continued to live nearby .non payment was an arrestable offence (as a foreigner that was doubly risky ! )

[ClaireDC]

A brief minor update-

I had this response when I enquired at the archives:

I'm not sure whether a putative father would need to be present in the court hearing. He would have to be present to be named on the birth certificate, but my feeling is that he wouldn't need to be present in the court for a woman to bring her claim. I'm afraid I couldn't find an answer to whether he needed to be present in any of the secondary literature here.

But I am now trying someone else who knows more about the civil court process.

I just want to know if he was there or not!

[ClaireDC]

Am just updating the thread with another reply I have now had from my local archives.

Thank you for your enquiry. The procedures relating to bastardy/illegitimacy cases changed over time, passing from the parish authorities to the civil courts. They were affected by specific legislation (some of which was introduced in the 1920s and later) and by general legislation, such as the Old and New Poor Law.
 
I can see why you have struggled to find the information you need, there seems to be a lot of information about pre-20th century illegitimacy cases/procedures, but not much about 20th century procedures. I have found a few links which are helpful (and explain things in plain English, rather than legal-ese!)
 
https://www.genguide.co.uk/source/bastardy-bonds-documents-parish-poor-law/
https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/family-history/parishes-and-churches/illegitimacy
 
This paper may also be helpful: https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/9781784997441/9781784997441.00008.xml but it looks like you may need to pay for access to the full article.
 
For a more general context about illegitimacy, this book looks really interesting -https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/25/in-the-family-way-jane-robinson-shameful-history-illegitimacy , our library service has several copies: https://catalogue.exploreyork.org.uk/client/en_GB/default/search/results?qu=in+the+family+way&te=ILS.
 
There’s also this book. We do not have a copy, but it’s the kind of book that might be held by academic/specialist libraries:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/practice-orders-affiliation-proceedings-bastardy/dp/1240092083
 
I hope this information goes somewhat towards answering your question. Best of luck with your continued research.

[Maiden Stone]

Claire, I suggest you add the sources in reply 24 to RootsChat Reference Library which is under "Your Tools" at foot of the page, as other people may find them useful in future.

[ClaireDC]

Having read the articles I am still not entirely sure where my bastardy record fits in to the process tbh! I think it MIGHT be my great grandmother applying for a bastardy order to be brought against him in which case he wasn’t present. Unless it’s after a bastardy order has been issued, and a warrant for him to appear before the court, and this is him in court and denying it. Hmmm still feels rather unclear…  I have ordered a couple of the books!