Quote Originally Posted by Megan Roberts View Post
No. Mary was probably getting some form of parish (poor) relief, so it is the churchwardens and overseers of the poor (do gooders) of the township of Livesey who go after James Williams, and indeed every other similar case.

First they will have interrogated the mother to find out who she alleges the father is and then they go to court to establish if that is the case and who has financial liability. The alleged father can challenge the mother's allegation. What the "do gooders" are interested in is who is financially liable? If they can't pin it on a man then they are.

Under the poor laws of the time even when the child was grown if he had moved away and fallen on hard times he could be shipped back to them.

James Williams was ordered to pay the do gooders £2 16s to cover the cost of birthing, 14s to cover the cost of maintenance from birth to the court case and 2s a week there after. It does not say how much of that Mary got.
That's interesting. Thanks for explaining it to me.