I have been reading baptismal records from Matriz Mae de Deus, Povoacao, Sao Miguel, in 1811-1818. I see what I think is a high number of illegitimate births, "Pais incognito" and "(child) natural", and have some questions.
1. It seems that almost every time there is a Pais incognito (father unknown), the record notes that the mother is married to a named someone who is NOT the father of the child. (Casada com or mulher de) Rarely it will say "pais incognito" and (Mother) solteira. If the mother is single, the format is usually different, and says merely "(Child) of (Mother), Single" or "(Child) natural of (Mother)" . Does the priest have a choice in what he writes, or is there a different implication in the format chosen for the record? 2. I counted 13 illegitimate children in a mere 36 pages, or 72 records. That is 18%. Of these, 9 were born to mothers married to men other than the father. Removing the babies born to single mothers, 2 in 15 babies born to married women were not of her husband. This seems really high to me. Were the husbands away for some reason? Or was there a reason a woman would not claim her own husband to be the father of the child? Just wondering what was going on. Would anyone know why there were so many illegitimate births? Thanks! Eileen Leite Currently seeking Rebellos/Rabellos and de Frias in Povoacao, And Brandao in Nordeste. -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
