Scots Language: Types of sons and daughters

[Dick]

OPR records from 1400-1700 mention the following types of sons:
Natural sonne
Legal sonne
Guid sonne
Law sonne
Sonne law
...and there are probably some more. I think "Natural sonne" refers to an illegitimate son, but I'm not certain and absolutely don't understand the others. I'm trying to sort out relationships between our Hare/Hair families in Kilbarchan Parish in those days. Answers I've obtained here in the US have been highly entertaining, but pure fiction. I appreciate any help anyone can offer.
Cheers,
Dick
PS: Anyone ever see an entry of the Hair/Hayer/Hair/ Harys family name from 1366AD in Renfrew?

[StewL]

Hello Dick
Welcome to
Legal sonne - born in wedlock
Guid sonne - not sure about this one
Law sonne - ? lawful son
Sonne Law - ? son-in-law
Someone will come along later and either correct my post or confirm.

[Montrose Budie]

Weel done, Stewie !

Natural sonne = illegitimate son
Legal sonne = born in wedlock
Guid sonne = son-in-law
Law sonne = law[ful] son, i.e. born in wedlock
Sonne law = probably son-in-law

mb

[trish1]

On census records son-in-law often means adopted son or step son

Trish

[Dick]

Thanks to all! Some records are beginning to make sense now. The records of the 1500's are the most difficult. Life was cold,dark, often hungry, and usually short. This lead to serial marriages which produced all kinds of relatives. It was common for a wife to marry her husbands brother next. This made the children's half-siblings also their cousins. if she married her father-in-law...etc.

[Montrose Budie]

Thanks to all! Some records are beginning to make sense now. The records of the 1500's are the most difficult. Life was cold,dark, often hungry, and usually short. This lead to serial marriages which produced all kinds of relatives. It was common for a wife to marry her husbands brother next. This made the children's half-siblings also their cousins. if she married her father-in-law...etc.

Another complication is that it was common for kids to be adopted informally by family members when a death placed too high a load on the resulting single parent household.

It wasn't until 1930 that there was a formal legal process for adoption in Scotland. Plenty organisations, such as homes for orphans, e.g. Quarriers, various local authorities, etc., arranged adoptions before that date, but there was no formal legal process before 1930.

Incidentally, only the adopted child can access these 1930 or later adoption papers, held at NRS in Edinburgh.

Those institutions involved before 1930 sometimes have records.


Once you come forward to the 1841 and later censuses, and 1855 and later statutory BMD records it can often be possible to tease out the situation, even if the census does not show the strictly correct relation to the Head of Household.

It such situations, is relatively uncommon to find the relation to the Head of Household in a Scottish census entry shown as "adopted son/daughter".

In communities where a small number of surnames predominated, such as Moray/Aberdeenshire coast fishing villages, as well as many mining villages, any research to tease out such connections can be a long haul; sometimes verging on the near impossible prior to 1841/1855, as so many OPR records are missing or were never made.

Post 1854 marriage and death records can, of course, help.

Except that, in such post 1854 marriage and death records, it's quite common to find that the details shown are those of the adoptive parents of the deceased, not the birth parents.

If there was a generation difference between the birth parents and the adoptive parents, then this can often provide a massive clue from census info, i.e. where the adopting family members were grandparents, great-uncles/aunts, etc., etc.; e.g. a 10 year son in the household of 60 year-old parents has to raise questions !

But then, just to further complicate matters, it was far from uncommon for a wife in her mid/late 40's to produce a child, and if her age was a bit off in a census the "son/daughter" description might just be correct

mb

[johnniegarve]

Goodson, goodbrother & goodfaither, still in use in Kilsyth area.

Johnnie