Illegitimacy

[cadmium]

Hi Mi,

(2) I take it that Colin Mckellar and Mary Mckellar were never married beacuse:
. . . (a) no maiden surname is given for her and
. . . (b) an occupation is given for her (that is normally only given for women when they are single) and
. . . (c) Janet is described as illegitimate.

Thanks for the info, that makes sense. I was wondering why her occupation was given.

(3) My feeling is that the OPR birth is probably not for this same person beacuse:
. . . (a) different father's name and
. . . (b) the parents were married (birth was described as lawful).

Hmm, I'll need to have another search and see if I can find another possible birth. Would an illegitimate child still definetely be registered at this time period? Is it possible her birth isn't registered?

Incidentally (having had a look at the certificate),
(4) Did you notice the death above Janet's. This child was quite possibly related to Janet (a grand-daughter?)

.

Yes, the child is Janet's granddaughter who died on the same day. It was a lucky find, I only discovered it when I found Janet's death cert! It's this child's parents, Duncan and Catherine, whose lines I am having difficulty tracing (Catherine is Janet's daughter).

All the best,

AndrewP

[cadmium]

I don't know if this will help or confuse but it looks like Jannet's daughter Mary was living with her aunt in 1871.
Regards,
Annette

Thanks for the info Annette, I'm off to investigate further!

[AndrewP]

(3) My feeling is that the OPR birth is probably not for this same person beacuse:
. . . (a) different father's name and
. . . (b) the parents were married (birth was described as lawful).

Hmm, I'll need to have another search and see if I can find another possible birth. Would an illegitimate child still definetely be registered at this time period? Is it possible her birth isn't registered?

Hi Mi,

Yes it is possible that her birth was not entered in the Parochial Register, for a number of reasons.

1. She may not have been baptized. The "births" in the OPRs are normally records of baptisms .
2. She may have been baptized, but there may have been no record made of this event. Some churches were not so diligent in their book-keeping.
3. She may have been baptized in a church outside of the (Established) Church of Scotland. Although such baptisms were still supposed to have been reported to the Parish Church for recording, this seldom happened.
4. The page of, or book of that OPR has not survived. Over the years, some were lost, destroyed by mice, fire or water damage. Some were taken by the court for evidence and not returned (they may to this day be amongst old court papers).

In the OPRs it is common to see "child who was lawfully born to..." and "child who was naturally born to...". These can be taken to mean "born legitimate to...", or "born illegitimate to...".

All the best,

AndrewP