Trying to find illegitimate child’s father?

maggiehill · Post by **maggiehill** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:54 pm

My gggrandmother Margaret Finlayson had an illegitimate daughter born in 1852/3 at Biggar named Janet Finlayson Kerr. We are trying to find the father who must had been a Kerr and have found two possible on the 1851 Census in the Biggar area one called John aged 22 working at Libberton. The reason John looks interesting is that Janet also had an illegitimate son and called him John.

We have looked at the Kirk Session disciplinary cases for 1852/3 but there
No information was found, since then we have been told the family could have been members of one of the two Upper Presbyterian Churches in Biggar. Does any body know if the Upper Presbyterian Churches kept their disciplinary records and if so where they would be now?

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:11 pm

Hi Maggie
If such records exist, I reckon the most likely place to find them would be NAS.

http://www.nas.gov.uk/
http://www.dswebhosting.info/NAS/dserve ... Search.tcl

Best wishes
Lesley

Post by **joette** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:03 pm

Have you looked at the actual OPR entry?Often there will be some mention of the Father on that-"spurios" is a fav in Leswalt where I found two of mine when I was only looking for one.
It helps to look at a few years around the dates-Ante&Post the birthdates for any others.I have often seen "disciplinary" action mentioned in the OPRs.
£10 "Old Scots Pounds" seemed an often mentioned sum for antemarital fornication-this seemed to help the repentance proccess.

maggiehill · Post by **maggiehill** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:20 pm

Joette and LeselyB

I cannot find any birth details in the OPR for Janet Finlayson Kerr, her illegitimate child my grandfather was born John Lando Kerr in 1878 I have his birth details apart of course the fathers name.
Janet in 1881 married to an Alexander Dawson, it is on this certificate that states she is illegitimate but her father is not named.
The main reason for trying to find out who the Kerr was is that grandfather started up Dolphinton Creamery with others, the builders for the Creamery where Kerr Builders from Biggar.

Have looking at the two web sites but they do not appear to have the records, I will keep searching