Bastardy bonds

[Roger47]

Last resort this

Does anyone know whom if anyone would hold Bastady bond records ??
And is there a good reason for one not being sought by the parish when a base born child was born
I assume the parish would do all it could to cover the expense of such a child or were the bonds only sought by the mother

Yep still looking for the possible father of my HUSBAND that is Emma Husband born in St Austell Cornwall 1855


Roger

[Neil Wilson]

Hi Roger
The Bastardy register's are held by the Local Records Office (in Derbyshire) and to quote one site - BASTARDY PAPERS record the efforts the Overseers made in ensuring fathers of illegitimate children paid for the upkeep of the child. It will record name of mother, the child, usually described as male or female, and not necessarily by name and the putative father. Occupation sometimes given of the father and place of abode. Also may name those who stood surety.

[arthurk]

To add to what Neil says, the County Record Office is the place to ask. There might be information in the parish records (e.g. Overseers' Accounts, records of payments etc), and if the father paid up without too much of an argument, that might be it. If he objected, the parish may well have taken the case to the Quarter Sessions, so that's worth checking too.

I've found that what was recorded at the QS and what has survived can vary (e.g. Kent and Lincolnshire seem to be rather different), so ideally we now need a Cornwall expert to come in on this and tell us what the situation is there. There are lots of Cornwall folk on here, but I'm afraid it's a foreign country to me

Arthur

[Roger47]

Thank you both for your input
I hope there may be a Cornish specialist watching this as you say

I just have a gut feeling that G/Grandmothers middle name of Trelawne/y was not just a whim; I have had this brick wall for many years but won't give up

I know of her mother (My G/G/Grandmother ) Elizabeth Husband through the census 1841 onwards and to her death she never married and Emma was her only child
From when Emma H married my G/Grandfather Elizabeth lived with them to her death in 1899 in Greenwich London

I get the feeling she felt very used and this accounts for her solo life for this reason I feel the TRELAWNE/Y name has some clue to her daughters father I can see no other reason to have used it

Thanks again
Roger

[MarkJ]

Roger,
Was Emma Husband born in St Austell itself or the surrounding area?
If she is from St Austell, was she living with her grandparents (and unmarried mother) in 1861 - i.e mother was Elizabeth, grandparents were John and Elizabeth?

If that is her, then the 1861 lists her as being 9 years old, i.e born around 1852 or so.
However, the 1871 lists the same Emma, living with mother Elizabeth (unmarried) as being 16 years old... but mother Elizabeth seems to have aged 20 years in that 10 year period! So things seem a bit odd to me....

The next port of call would be to see if there are any papers at the CRO (Cornwall Record Office) relating to her prospective father!

Great grandmothers middle name of Trelawney could have several explanations. It could be her grandmothers maiden name for example, or, as you suspect, it could be a hint to the errant fathers name!

Mark

Quick edit: Have you got the birth certificate for Emma? It *may* have more information on it.... If nothing else, it will give an exact date of birth which will help if you need to trawl the records for any orders which may have been made or newspaper reports from the time...

[Roger47]

Hello Mark

You have the right Husband family although Emma's age was wrong in one census throughout the rest of her life the birth year was 1855 even up to her untimely demise on the 9th November 1936 age 82 when she was knocked down and killed in a road accident in Greenwich London
I have the 1851.61/71 census for Husband in St Austell and tracing the family in these it seems that the two wrong ages were a typo or enumerator error because on both their death certificates their age is correct to assumed birth year and her christening record also confirms 1855

I don't have a birth certificate for Emma that is what this search is all for because after 2 paid researches an a request to CRO it was suggested that she was never registered
I looked for her mother in the 1851 census and found her living away from St Austell with a couple they had no connection to the name Trelawney and in 1861 Elizabeth was back with her parents and with her new child Emma
Elizabeth and John Husband were married 27 July 1823 before civil registration but Elizabeth's maiden name was Bonnetta/O from St Blazey this side of the family is so far unresearched

I am hoping that if a bastardy bond was issued it would possibly name the father and also set a date in 1855 for Emma's Birth at all times stated as ST Austell

I feel sure the information is there it's just a matter of where there IS

Roger

[MarkJ]

Benetto/Bennetto/Bonnetto etc are relatively common surnames (or were) in Mid Cornwall - the area between St Austell on the South Coast and Newquay on the North. There were several in St Enoder.
At the moment, I am attempting to create my tea (the wife has gone out!) so I am just making quick posts - but I will see if I can find any more info later.

Mark

[MarkJ]

I had a nose around CROCat (the Cornwall record office catalogue) but didn't see anything which would be of use to you. That is not to say they haven't got the info, just that it either is not catalogued or my search was rubbish!
My other port of call was the transcriptions of the West Briton, but so far, they only go up to 1854 They hold copies at the Courtney Library(which is in the County Museum) in Truro I know, so that is another possible search avenue. Not sure if they do research on peoples behalf there or not though - I have been there for my own research in the past, but not for a while.

Mark

[bjelkier]

Some time ago I contacted the Cornwall Record Office and paid to have a search done on my behalf. They confirmed that my g.grandmother was born in the workhouse and sent me details of her mother's admission and discharge - also the details of the baby's birth, but told me they could not find any record of a bastardy bond, so they must hold them there.

[MarkJ]

In theory, Cornwall Record Office should hold any Bastardy Bonds. But there is a possibility that the family never pursued the matter I guess. The family may have decided to support the daughter and baby themselves, perhaps to avoid the illegitimate birth becoming common knowledge. Of course, in a small village, people would talk, but perhaps the daughter was shipped off to another relation once the pregnancy was discovered until after the birth - when the child could be explained as a relation of some sort. Maybe the mother had no idea who the father was?

Mark