Father not named on Birth Cert.....

shirley · Post by **shirley** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:38 pm

Hi All

I looking to see if anyone has any ideas on how to trace a father who is not named on a birth certificate, named on the childs marriage cert but not on his death cert.
Is there any other records that may be held that may identify him further or am I stuck with this one.

p.s the childs parents never married

Shirley

Post by **AndrewP** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:54 pm

One possibility is the "Kirk Session Records" - depending on the era, and to an extent, which church they belonged to. Dominantly in the 19th century, the expectant mother was called in front of the Kirk Session to "discuss" this act that she had partaken in, outwith wedlock. In some cases, she gave the name of the father. Normally, she had the priveliges of the church withdrawn for a period of time. These discussions were recorded in minutes of the meeting.

The other catch is that most of these records are held by the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh, and currently can only be seen by visiting there (or have someone visit on your behalf).

All the best,

Andrew Paterson

shirley · Post by **shirley** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:40 pm

Hi Andrew

Thanks very much for that. I will maybe try that sometime.

Shirley