Genealogy Chat

In my experience, the term natural child, was used by the Vicar only when the parents and/or grandparents of the child had some kind of local clout! I chortled away to myself when I found my ancestor 'John Moreton Green, the natural child of Ellen Green, and the Grandchild of Mr Thomas Green'. Mr Thomas Green was an important man as far as the Vicar was concerned because he paid most of the Vicar's stipend! The same Vicar happily spoke of Bastards for everyone else. Olde Crone

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I prefer the term 'natural child of' to 'base born' or 'bastard child'. I think it quite a good adjective, after all the mother was only doing 'what comes naturally'!! Jenny :-)

We have a Will in which someone refers to 'including my Natural son, Thomas Davis'. Thomas was illegitimate.

Bit daft this terminology. I don't suppose you would call some one an 'unnatural child'! Baseborn and bastard are the blunt terms, but I have found a 'love-child' of a gt gt grandfather, a widower, on the census. No idea who or where Mum was. I also have a gt grandmother whose marriage cert says in father's column 'illegitimate daughter of Susannah Barnes', so at least I have one of her parent's names! nell

I have one rellie who was in the parish register as 'Natural Child as was sworn of ....' then both parents names. I don't think that they ever did marry so she was illegitimate. I assumed that the parents had to swear that she was their natural child as the father was only 14 at the time!!! Ah, the good old days!!

If only the mother is named, it will mean illegitimate, but it actually means 'biological' child of, so it could be used for a 'lawful' child too. Kate.

I always fancied the idea that ''Natural child of'' when a baby was illegitimate was a reference to the baby NOT being of a virgin birth....ie NOT the ''Second Coming of Christ''....but just a child who's mum wasn't married!! (so a side-reference to her misdemeanor of having sex out of wedlock!)......Maybe the mothers often said, ''I don't know how it happened?? - I never did anything''!!! Understand though, this is my personal thought and probably completely wrong!! What about ''born of the body of Mary Smith''....Always sounds as if the mother was something on the butchers slab to me :O(( Merry

I think she had a kindly vicar, Ive only seen this once in my local parish records, others had been marked as base born or bastard.

Sheila, Thanks for that. I though it meant they were illegitimate but just wasn't sure. In this case she had two of them, not quite as many as another ancestor who had five illegitimate children. :-) Jenny

Hi Jenny It means illegitimate. Sheila

I have found on some parish records baptism information stating the term 'natural child of'. In this case only the mother's name is mentioned. Am I correct in assuming that this means the child was illegitimate. I have come across 'base child of' and 'illeg child of' before which I know means they were illegitimate. I am not sure about natural child of though. I don't know whether it means both parents were married but they only mentioned the mother or not. Does anyone know? Thanks Jenny