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.

Common Name Changes

So we all know that names get changed and anglicized or by mistakes in the census. Another common one is when ancestor's moved over from Great Britain, they may have immigrated from Scotland. If you are having trouble locating an ancestor you know was born in Great Britain, try adding a "Mac" to the front of the surname, such as Arthur becomes MacArthur and Grey becomes MacGrey. Give it a try, it might help.

Two Time Immigrator

Border guards between the Unites States and Canada were not started until May of 1924. Therefore it was simple to cross the border to the other country. Your ancestor's final destination might have been Boston, but they could have easily traveled to Montreal and made their way to Boston from there. In those days the most important factors would have been cost, convenience, and accessibility since the number of ships with passage may have been limited. So start checking the ship manifestos for entries in the other country to see if you can find your ancestor there!

Hardwicke's Marriage Act

Hardwicke's Marriage Act made it easier for genealogists to trace marriages in England and Wales when it came into effect in 1754. After this date clandestine marriages (marriages that take place outside of a church) were illegal, a marriage license or banns were required, they had to be properly recorded and signed by both parties. Members of the Jewish and Quakers faiths were exempt from these provisions in the Marriage Act, as was the British Royal Family (this exemption still remains today). All other religions and noncomformists were not exempt but had a strong financial incentive to be married in the Anglican church. This mostly is because an Anglican marriage was necessary for children from the union to be recognized as legitimate. Many people got around this Marriage Act because if did not apply to Scotland. There were villages in Scotland that catered who wanted to elope such as Paxton Toll, Lamberton, and the especially famous Gretna Green.