Shame and scandal

[Lyle1]

This of course means that all but one of my aunts and uncles are illigitimate.


Anne the Pleater :ootd:

Not necessarily. Apparently, both common and canon law consider children born of putative marriages (where one or both partners to the marriage believe it to be legal or valid) to be legitimate. So if at least on of the partners did not know the marriage to be bigamous, the children would be considered legitimate.

That makes me feel good. One of my great-grandmothers had two bigamous marriages. She was told that her first husband was dead and remarried; the second husband died, so she married a third. Then all hell broke loose when her first husband showed up! She had children to all three husbands.

Personally, I'm not bothered by what I've found while doing genealogical research, though my wife has convinced me to keep one or two recently discovered secrets to myself.

[Pleater]

My mother maintained that she was married on February 6th 1950, when in fact it was 1951 and I was born April 13th 51.

Father's mother was a primitive methodist and objected to her only son marrying a soldier's daughter. According to my father it took six months to persuade her to consent.

Illegitimacy seems to run in the family, as my mother's mother was herself illegitimate, her mother being a house maid and her father being sent to Canada as punishment and to get him out of the way.

I am not sure about the modern rules on the offspring of bigamous marriage. In English folktales the child of a woman duped into some kind of false marriage could be declared legitimate by the church - which was far more influential in the past.

I love the idea of spending ten pounds to find something out and then a hundred to hush it up. It was what people did.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Chas]

Up until the early part of the twentieth century in India, infant mortality was extremely high. Most birth were not registered till the child was over five years old. It would take very foolish parents to make their children illegitimate when at registration all it took was for them to choose a convenient and safe date.

Regards

Chas

[Ian.MacAllan]

My opinion (if anyone cares) is that calling a child illegitimate is a heinous injustice, for it holds the child responsible for actions which it could not possibly have influenced.

.

[Dale-of-Cedars]

At least my kids know who their father is... No complaints from me about being put out for adoption; found my Mom and we're good.

From the other side of the family: My wife's grandfather, on being asked about others in the phonebook with similar last names to theirs: "We've got too many d*mn relatives, don't look for more!"

[super8mm]

As a adoptee what I know so far is not far off this

Mother single, dating 2 married men and one is probably my dad. I got this much in 1978 from one of the men but he wouldnt tell me who the other one was. Neither of them had seen my mom since 1951.

Cool thing is my DNA's closest matches are all related to the Lamont's and the gentleman I talked to has a variant of Lamont

I am waiting on the state of Colorado now to see if they can find my original birth certifacate

[Coinneach]

My favorite family story is my cousin's. She has three boys, all by the same man, her only husband. Each son has a different surname.

Dysfunction is a way of life for some families.

[dutchy kilted]

In doing some research on my family, I found that my great-great-great-grandfather was sued by the State of Pennsylvania for Fornication and Bastardry back in the 1830's. He paid the fine and then disappeared.

Those are the things that make a family history fun!

[Jock Scot]

I wouldn't worry about it Anne, as the saying goes:

"All the best families have at least one skeleton in the wardrobe."

[Pleater]

Worry?

It's t'others that have got themselves into a fret - and at their age too - they are all over 65years old.

It is quite a to-doo aparently.

I rather think that my mum would have enjoyed this - she always felt that she was looked down on by the rest of the family .

What a hoot.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: