The Beginnings of Child Support

Illegitimate children often did not have a father listed on the birth certificate making family history difficult. But in 1844 the Poor Law Amendment Act introduced child support. Of course, in those days it was not called affiliation orders. The allowed the mother to apply for maintenance payments (aka child support) from the father of her illegitimate children. So if there is no father listed on the birth certificate, you might check the Poor Law records in Great Britain. At first the law required it to be within the first year of the newborn's life. This was later amended to be the first 3 years of life.