Lots of Children registered without Father

[Debbie Bozkurt]

I wonder if anyone with more knowledge of a) parish registers and early 1800s behavior can help me.

Finally got around to tracing my fathers family of CURSON (various spellings in those days). Traced my 4xGG William CURSON to first Shipdam and then Weston Longville in Norfolk, he had 9 children I can find. Of these 2 were girls called Martha and Sarah born 1785 and 1790. On the Weston Longville Registers I can find at least 10 children between them (Sarah and Martha) with no father, either the father is blank or down as spinster. The Notes against the child often reads, natural son or natural daughter and in at least one case is spurious. There was only one family on the 1801 census in Weston, called CURSON and head was William, also one of the fatherless children had GAGE which is William's wife maiden name as a middle name, so I can be fairly confident these mothers were my 3 x Great Aunts.

Can someone advice me was it a) normal for women to have so many children consistently out of wedlock b) is the term, natural and spinster an indicator that the mother was not married c) is there any other records I can look up which would give me details of these illegitimate children.

I have also looked for marriages around this time for the two women in questions but can not find any, but I am Dependant on the internet at the moment and wonderful people who do transcriptions.

Any thoughts would be great

Debbie

[suedent]

Natural Child was one of the kinder expressions vicars used to indicate that the children were illegitimate. Whilst not common it wasn't unheard of. I have come across a similar case in Haltwhistle with two sisters having about 12 children between them and not a man in sight.

I have a lady connected to my own tree who had five children all out of wedlock. Those of us who have her in our trees have speculated about the father. (The fact that she married a local widower very shortly after his wife's death & inherited all his money does suggest at least one scenario :D)

In your case it might be worth searching to see if any Bastardy Orders were issued for any or all of the children. The alleged fathers would be named & the evidence for them being the father given.

The Norfolk RO Catalogue is searchable online.

http://nrocat.norfolk.gov.uk/Dserve/DServe.exe?dsqServer=128.60.0.31&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Index.tcl

[Geoffers]

If you haven't already done so, try your local library and see if you can get hold of the Diaries of Parson Woodforde. He was at Weston Longeville from 1776 until 1802 (he died on 1st Jan 1803). Lots of local names are mentioned and they giove an excellent description of life at the time.

[Debbie Bozkurt]

Live in Stornoway and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides so Prob. will not find that in the Library but I will try one of my Friends down South in London maybe they can find it.

Thanks though useful to know may find out more about my 4 x Great Grandfather

Debs

[Geoffers]

I was thinking more along the lines of inter-library loan - however as an alternative it is available via online bookshops for about a tenner.

[Debbie Bozkurt]

"I have a lady connected to my own tree who had five children all out of wedlock. Those of us who have her in our trees have speculated about the father. (The fact that she married a local widower very shortly after his wife's death & inherited all his money does suggest at least one scenario :D)"

I have just spent all evening tracing one of my Aunts through all the registers and guess what, just like the lady who I have quoted above, my Aunt seemed to do something similar as I found below:

She had the last (of 5) spurious children in 1823, she then "married" a C. Driver in about 1828 and had two more children. Pre 1827 C. Driver was living with his wife in Weston where my Aunt lived and her children, his wife died Dec 1827 and my Aunts next child (legit.) was born Feb 1829. Mr Driver was 17 yrs older than my Aunt and his last child was born to his wife Mary in 1812 and my Aunt's first child was born in 1813.

Certainly worth further investigation:)

Debbie