Strategies for Working with Illegitimate Ancestors

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on August 27, 2009 at 12:31pm

Hi Kristy-

In working on my FIL's Lavelle line, I have two sons, (grandfather and father to my FIL) that were born as Lavelles, but no evidence of marriages between the mother and father, other than both the 'wives' died as Lavelles, and the father is named in one case on a birth certificate. I conducted my searches like I conduct my other research, at least I don't think I changed my approach. :)

I am curious how you are working your grandmother and great grandmother. and how it is different than other searches?

Permalink Reply by Kristy Graham on August 27, 2009 at 1:15pm

Hello,

Thanks for the reply! I don't think the searching itself differs, I am just trying to come up with creative ways to find information on the fathers in both cases. The fathers are not named on the birth certificates, so I have hit brick walls. My next step is court records; I have recently learned anecdotally my great-grandfather may have petitioned the court for custody rights to my grandmother in the early 1930s. I am curious how others have scaled similar brick walls. It seems like these sorts of challenges have to be solved by thinking "outside the box." :)

Permalink Reply by brian norton on August 27, 2009 at 2:00pm

I had proof of where and when my 3g Grandfather (Francis Norton) was born. When I went to that spot to look, I found a Francis Norton Ellis born on that day. Only his mother, Ann Ellis, was listed. This is my brick wall. I have come across many stories since. People say that he may have been illigitamate, since only his mother was isted on the baptismal certificate. Also many women in this situation would give thier child the father's surname as a middle name in case a marriage ever came about, the mother's surname could be dropped.

Permalink Reply by Kristy Graham on September 5, 2009 at 11:25pm

Great suggestions. I will definitely be checking these out. Thank you so much!

Permalink Reply by Lydia McVay on September 9, 2009 at 9:58pm

I defintely need to check these out. Great resources. Both my parents were illegitimate. (perhaps that's what attracted them to each other). I don't know that I will ever figure out who my mother's father was but I'm fairly sure who my father's father was. My father was adopted by his mothers husband so I can't see his original birth certificate. But when do you decide to "go with" a family line that you are fairly sure of but there is not proof like birth certificates, etc?

Permalink Reply by Mavis Jones on August 27, 2009 at 4:38pm

My grandfather was illegitimate and wasn't raised by his mother althought it appears that he knew who she was since he listed her name on his marriage license and name one of my aunts after him.

Some of my research is listed here.

Have also done a yDNA test on my dad to try to assist in the research efforts.

Permalink Reply by Sharon Ray on August 30, 2009 at 2:03pm

Be sure to check court records for cases involving the parents of the daughter. My grandfather was illegitimate and a case was filed in the court by his grandfather suing for loss of services of his daughter. This was based on the concept that his daughter would be to busy taking care of her son to work on the family farm. I was able to find not only the court orders but the actual case files.

This is not all that uncommon. Don't limit yourself to just the names of the mother and her parents. In another case, the case was filed by the state. Although that was not as common. Check the court orders for the time period after the child was born for references to bastardy cases or something similiar.

I would also look for marriage records or any thing that would have asked for parents names.
If they needed a birth certificate for social security purposes, then it is possible that they may have filed for a delayed birth certificate.

There are lots of possible sources. Depends on the time frame. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Beth Gatlin on August 30, 2009 at 8:04pm

I am so glad that you posted this topic! I suspect that I am dealing with a similar situation. According to my great-great-great-grandmother Amanda Russell's death certificate, her parents were James Russell and Bryny Hargrave. However, I have done a lot of research and this just doesn't fit with the rest of the evidence that I have found. I have a deed that states that Amanda's mother was Sobrina Russell, and it refers to an earlier deed when land was purchased (the later deed was for the sale of this land, which Amanda had inherited from her mother), and James Russell purchased this land as trustee for his sister Sobrina Russell. In the 1850 census, on the same page as Amanda, her husband Joseph Tarkington, and their oldest son James William Tarkington, two other households are of particular interest. Sobrina Russell is in another household, with a woman named Hannah Russell, about the right age to be her mother. James Russell is in another household with his wife Miriam and their children. James Russell was born about 1817 and Amanda Russell was born in 1830, so this man could not be her father. (His approximate birth year is the same in later census records, so it does not appear to be an error.) Hannah Russell was head of household in 1820 and 1840 in the same county (probably same residence, but I do not see the exact location on the census). In 1820 she is on the same page as Francis Hardgrave. Francis Hardgrave had a daughter named Hannah who was born in North Carolina and married Andrew Russell in Kentucky, and later moved to Davidson County, Tennessee, where her parents had moved earlier. The 1850 census says that Sobrina Russell was born in Kentucky and that Hannah Russell was born in North Carolina, and Hannah's approximate birth year is close to Hannah Hardgrave's birthdate. Francis Hardgrave's will mentions his daughter Hannah and also says that her son James W. Russell was to inherit the land he was leaving Hannah after she died. The will also said that James's father was Andrew Russell. In the 1820 census, Hannah's household contains a male the right age to be James and a female the right age to be Sobrina, as well as others.

I was sent some information on the Tarkington family recently, which included information about Amanda Russell, since she was the wife of Joseph Tarkington. The paragraph on Amanda said that she was thought to be a descendant, probably a daughter, of Mr. Russell who married Miss Hargrave and that she was thought to have been a granddaughter of Francis Hardgrave. "Mr. Russell and Miss Hargrave" would be Andrew Russell and Hannah Hardgrave. Francis Hardgrave did not have another daughter who married a Russell. Hannah Hardgrave was 48 years old when Amanda was born and Andrew Russell was gone by 1820, 10 years before Amanda was born (he probably had died; if not, they may have been divorced). I don't see how Amanda could have been their daughter. I think Sobrina was their daughter and Amanda was their granddaughter. I have never found a marriage record for Sobrina Russell, Sobrina or Bryny Hardgrave or Hargrave, or any similar name to anyone. I think Amanda was an illegitimate child.

If Amanda was an illegitimate child and she had her mother's surname, then who was her father? Her oldest child James William Tarkington (my great-great-grandfather) was living with James and Louisa Sawyer in the 1870 and 1880 censuses, when he was a young man. The 1880 census states that he was a grandson. Louisa Sawyer's will mentions her grandson James W. Tarkington. But there is no way that James William Tarkington could have been the son of a child that James and Louisa had together. They married in 1845 and James William Tarkington was born in 1850. So how was he this couple's grandson? There has been speculation, probably in large part because of the 1880 census and Louisa's will, that James William Tarkington's father Joseph Tarkington was the son of Asbury Tarkington and Louisa McDowell. Asbury Tarkington apparently died in 1845, and later that year Louisa Tarkington married James Sawyer. However, Asbury and Louisa married in 1832, and Joseph Tarkington was born in 1830. Could there be another explanation? If Amanda Russell had her mother's surname, her father's surname probably wasn't Russell. All of the documents I have found state that Amanda's maiden name was Russell. However, in my father's baby book, her name is given as Amanda Sawyer.

Permalink Reply by Christopher J. Valin on September 1, 2009 at 4:23pm

My 3g grandmother, Marguerite Douglas, was the illegitimate daughter of General Sir Howard Douglas, who was the governor of New Brunswick in the early 1800s. Luckily, she not only had his last name, but the family documented her relationship to him later on and I have copies of letters by her son in which he discusses Sir Howard's interest in him. Later, I found an encyclopedia entry that actually mentioned that he had an illegimitate daughter in Quebec from when he was a young lieutenant serving there.

Permalink Reply by Tina Wyatt on September 3, 2009 at 11:33am

I am glad you posted this Kristy. I would like to hear the suggestions as well. My g-grandmother Mary Jane Ledford (sometimes went by Griggs) b 10 Apr 1867 in Macon Co., NC was born out of wedlock and so was her mother Lucinda Ledford b 02 June 1838 in Macon Co., NC. Lucinda had a step-father named William Griggs. I am assuming that is why Mary J went by Griggs because her mother also followed this pattern. Mary J's death certificate says her father is Billie Griggs but, I guess they were talking about her step-father or maybe her step-father was her father as I have found no other William Griggs. Ironically, Mary J had her two children out of wedlock as well.