Genealogy Chat

I am trying to trace an illegitimate child born to my Great Grandmother in 1890. She sued the father for maintenance and was awarded 3s 6d per week until the child was 15. This was in the West London Court.

What I would like to know is, what evidence she would have needed to put before the court that the child had survived.

Does anyone know please?

Have you tried googling for info

Would doubt anyone would know what the criteria was then

:-)

Is it the child you are looking for

Have you looked on any census for grt grandmother . If she sued for maintenance then would think the child would be living with her

Thank you for replying. I have the basic info - from a news report, so I know when the child was born, although not whether it was a boy or a girl and no name.

We knew that there were 2 illegitimate children, my grandmother(1884) and a younger sister, but finding the news report for 1890 has thrown up the fact that the sister was not born until 1892 (another family member has the birth certificate). This means that there was another one in between. The first child was left with her parents and the third one was left with her sister - both in Cornwall and she had nothing to do with their upbringing, but there is no trace of any other child.

The second child was, at least, conceived in London, but could have been born in Cornwall. By the 1891 census, she is living and working as a domestic servant with a different employer in London - no child.

I would think that she would have to produce the birth certificate as evidence to the court, but I would have thought that, before they awarded maintenance, they would need to know that the child survived? If I could assume that this was the case it could narrow thing s down a bit.

Have you tried looking on the GRO site for a child born with your great grandmother's surname with the same surname for the mother's maiden name in the years between 1884 and 1892?

I wouldn't have thought she would need to put any evidence to the court. People in the area would have known her and her circumstances I would imagine and in those days a lot was taken on trust.

My grandmother sued my grandfather for desertion and for maintenance for their three children in the 1920's. I doubt very much that she had birth certificates to prove the children's births.

Kath. x

can you point us to the court document so we know some names

Mother Priscilla Jewell- article in several papers October 1890- Priscilla Jewell of Priory Road, Chiswick alleged Edgar Bennett of Leytonstone was the father of her child. The child was born in July and Edgar admitted paternity.

I think this is the eldest child:

JEWELL, JESSIE LOUISE
GRO Reference: 1884 J Quarter in FALMOUTH Volume 05C Page 179

and the 1892 birth:

JEWELL, LILAH
GRO Reference: 1892 S Quarter in KENSINGTON Volume 01A Page 108

I don't think she would have had to prove anything- the lad admitted paternity of the child.

There's an earlier article in the Cornishman - Thursday 02 April 1885, where Priscilla Jewell summoned William Pearce for the non maintenance of her illegitimate daughter who was born 31st March 1884.

Yes, that's the one. I am working my way through other possibles to eliminate them, by following each one up in the 1891, but a few did not survive that long and I have no way of knowing if they were relevant.

During the court case she said that the child was born "July last", which I take to mean July 1890, but there is a chance that she meant July last year so I am also checking for July 1889.

I having been using the FreeBMD site for registered births and they do not show the mother's surname on their listing. Is the GRO site something different? Apologies for my ignorance, but I am coming back to this after a break of several years and I have not caught up with all the changes yet.

Looks like the child was also born in Falmouth

JEWELL, WILLIAM RICHARD JEWELL Order
GRO Reference: 1890 S Quarter in FALMOUTH Volume 05C Page 153

A July birth would be reg be sept qtr

The gro site is piloting the gro records to show the mmn before 1911 when it is shown on the record

www.gro.gov.uk


Edit see later census info on this birth

There are these three births in Cornwall:-

Leonora Jewell born Dec. qtr. 1885 in Falmouth, mmn Jewell

Emma Jewell born June qtr. 1887 in Fammouth, mmn Jewell

Eveline Jewell born Sept. qtr 1888 in Falmouth, mmn Jewell.

Kath. x

That's right AustinQ. The first case was the one I was primarily interested in, as it gave me the name of my Great Grandfather at last, but it also threw up this extra child which nobody in the family knew about. Apart from the father(s) name(s), the facts of the two births were common knowledge in the family. My Great Grandmother went on to marry someone else in 1898 and had another family in another part of the country.

But this one too shows diffrent parents

Name: William R Jewell
Age: 9/12
Estimated birth year: abt 1890
Relation: Son
Father's name: John Jewell
Mother's name: Clara Jewell
Gender: Male
Where born: St Gluvias, Cornwall, England
Civil Parish: Mylor
Ecclesiastical parish: Mylor
Town: Angaweick
County/Island: Cornwall
Country: England
Street address:

Occupation:

Condition as to marriage:

Education:

Employment status:

View image
Registration district: Falmouth
ED, institution, or vessel: 5
Neighbors: View others on page
Piece: 1833
Folio: 52
Page Number: 5
Household Members:
Name Age
John Jewell 41
Clara Jewell 36
Sarah Jewell 10
Sophia Jewell 9
Mary Jewell 7
Laura Jewell 5
Emma Jewell 4
Evaline Jewell 2
William R Jewell 9/12


But the only gro record shows mmn as jewell ?????


Edit ok the explanation

Marriages Dec 1879
Jewell John Falmouth 5c 239
Jewell Martha Falmouth 5c so 239

So mmn is also Jewell which rules out the William Richard Jewell birth

there's also these births (no mother's maiden name, which could indicate an illegitimate birth):

JEWELL, ELLEN
GRO Reference: 1889 J Quarter in NORWICH Volume 04B Page 188

(Ellen died the same year- so not this one!)

JEWELL, HUBERT GILLARD
GRO Reference: 1890 J Quarter in BARNSTAPLE UNION Volume 05B Page 423

Hubert is living with his Grandmother (Mary E Jewell) in Barnstaple 1891

Shirley, thank you. William Richard is shown as September Quarter, but there is a baptism record for him on 26th June 1890 and on the census he is listed as "son". He is in the household of John Jewell and Clara. Clara is a sister of Priscilla (she married into another branch of the Jewell family) and it was this family that the younger sister Lilah was left with. In the 1901 census she is shown as the youngest child and is listed as "niece". Also, William fits into a natural gap in the John Jewell family. John and Clara are shown as his parents in the baptism record.

I was very excited when I came across him, but have reluctantly ruled him out!

William Richard Jewell
England Births and Christenings
Name
William Richard Jewell
Gender
Male
Christening Date
26 Jun 1890
Christening Place
Penryn, Cornwall, England
Father's Name
John Jewell
Mother's Name
Clara

Kath, thank you. Emma and Evaline are children of the John Jewell family I mentioned above. Unfortunately Leonora is too early. There are an awful lot of Jewells in that area and it gets very confusing! I have the Jewell family back to 1545.

Deaths Dec 1963   (>99%)

JEWELL
 WILLIAM R
 73
 FALMOUTH
 7A
39

is this Pricilla in Chiswick 1891

Precilla Jewell
England and Wales Census, 1891
Name
Precilla Jewell
Event Type
Census
Event Date
1891
County
Middlesex
Parish
Chiswick
Ecclesiastical Parish
ST MICHAELS
Registration District
Brentford
Residence Note
Priory Road
Gender
Female
Age
20
Marital Status
Single
Occupation
Servant
Relationship to Head of Household
Servant
Birth Year (Estimated)
1871
Birthplace
Cornwall, England
Page Number
48
Registration Number
RG12
Piece/Folio
1034/ 91

Thank you Malyon. Yes William Richard did die in 1963. I think he was my 1st cousin twice removed. In the 1891 as you have found, Priscilla was working for a new employer in Chiswick. At the time of the court case I think she was already there because she gave that address.

At the time of the child's conception she was working as domestic servant to the family of the father of the child. I think it quite likely that she was given notice when her condition became apparent, and it's possible that she went home to Cornwall if she had nowhere else to go.