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 Post subject: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:45 am 
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I just found a record saying that my ancestor, Hector Williams, born 1853 in Harbour Grace, was born to an "unmarried" woman named Ann Williams. How scandelous!? Does anyone know what happened in a situation like this? Would the mother automatically give the baby up to an orphanage? Or could she raise the baby as a single mother? I'm not sure what she did but anyone know how to get ahold of orphanage records and where the nearest orphanage be from Harbour Grace?

It doesn't say "widow" either...

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated!


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 4:54 am 
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My great great grandparents had a set of twins out of wedlock in 1857. They were married a year or two after that. You never know what the circumstances were, explore all possibilities...


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 1:54 am 
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kdog26,
Kathie is correct....back in those days if you read about the older times in NFLD, there were
not always preachers to marry people, and so sometimes they just lived together in what
was called common law marriages....years later they finally made marriage laws for the area, but that took time.....so it is possible that was her situation.
Also here is one of the orphanages you can check on this site which list the names of the
resident orphans....there is another also and I will put that in here too.

http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1945/45-belved ... -sje.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://ngb.chebucto.org/C1921/21-st-ant ... -stb.shtml


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:34 am 
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I don't think it was that uncommon to have a baby out of wedlock. Most of the time, I think people were raised within the family. Sometimes the child stayed with the grandparents when the mother got married. Or he / she may have been brought up by the stepfather or possibly a couple that did not have children of their own. Agencies were not usually involved.

Something I have speculated on over the last few years is a system for incorporating a child into the biological father's family. I think sometimes illegitimate children were adopted by the real father. But that's not the circumstances you are faced with.


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:39 am 
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I have an Uncle Johnny Williams who was born in Harbour Grace. His father was Levi and his mother was Emma Rockwood from Heart's Content. I don't have any record of an Ann. I suspect they are not connected because our Williams relatives came to Newfoundland from Bristol around 1830. There are other Williams families in Harbour Grace. We are also connected to them by marriage. I can enquire but I don't think they have a famioy "genealogist."


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 3:17 pm 
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kdog26,
found this under listings of births for Harbour Grace area in 1850-63...could this be your Hector?


WILLIAMS - Ambrose; Hector (of Harbour Grace); Moses (of Harbour Grace);
Patrick


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 8:20 pm 
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Karen, could you send me the link for the info you have? It might be my Hector, as I haven't seen ANY "Hectors" listed.

Thanks for all your input!


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:16 pm 
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kdog26,
here it is, but it is 1883 I believe....but take a look...

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/nf-7.shtml


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 Post subject: Re: Unmarried women having a baby in the 1850s
 Post Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:24 pm 
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kdog26,
Here is another web address that lists Hector's birth/baptism. Hope the two sites help you.

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Vstats/pre-1891 ... 6-hg.shtml

(no entry)-Harbour Grace - WILLIAMS, Ann (unmarried) / Hector/ M / Bertram Jones (minister)
bap. 18 Feb 1853


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