My understanding is as follows: Filho (a) natural means that the parents, who are not married to each other, nevertheless have no impediments to marriage, i.e. neither one is married and they are therefore free to marry each other if they so desire.
In the 16th and 17th centuries one often sees couples getting married who already have a child (or more) who have been waiting for dispensations from the prohibitions relative to consanguinity, before they would be allowed to marry. The term filho(a) natural can only be properly applied if the identity of both parents is known. (How else would one know that the parents were free to marry?) Filho (a) illegítimo (a) means that at least one parent is not free to marry the other parent, e.g. one of them is married to somebody else. Pai incógnito (and in some rare cases mãe incógnita), pai não sabido, means the identity of the father (in some rare cases the mother) is not known so that no judgement can be made as to the status (ilegítimo vs. natural) of the child. I could be wrong, but this is my understanding. I hope I have not confused anybody. Illegitimacy (in Massachusetts where I live) was a term applied to any child born to a single parent. Therefore, we sometimes misapply the term to Portuguese children whose parents, though not married, have no impediments to being married. (filho(a) natural and filho(a) ilegítimo(a) are not synonymous) Today, in Massachusetts, the term illegitimate, no longer appears on a contemporary birth record, though the marital status of the mother (and father, if known) is stated. If the identity of the father is unknown, the space is left blank. Those records are restricted and are only available to the legal guardian of the child (usually the mother, but not always, e.g grandparents, etc., or the State), or to the subject of the registration if he/she is an adult John Miranda Raposo On Thursday, July 10, 2014 5:57 PM, IslandRoutes <[email protected]> wrote: I have had the opportunity to work on lines in the Azores and Southern France (not Portuguese...LOL) I noticed something that made me wonder about terms. In France, there is an equivalent to Pai Incognito. It escapes me at this moment, but it isn't important. It means the same thing that the father is unknown. But, you almost equally see "fil naturel" or something similar. This means the child was born to an unmarried couple. It is followed by the name of the father and the mother. The father claims his children in this case. I learned from other French researchers that up through the mid 1800s (maybe later), many couples could not afford to pay the necessary fees at the civil and church level. Instead, they set up house and started their family as if they were married. They would save up money and then when they could afford it, they would go do the necessary things to be officially married. In these cases you always saw the children baptized as fil naturel and with the father's name given. It was not an uncommon practice amongst the poor. I have a couple in my tree in the 1780s. It is a little peculiar when you find the baptismals then 5-10 years later you find the marriage. This made me wonder about the Pai Incognitos in the Azorean records that I have found. Was there a similar thing in the Azorean culture? Did couples who were poor start their families without an official marriage or was this something specific to France--or maybe even Southern France where my Dad's line hails from? I really started to wonder about it after working on my cousin's Raposo line. Her great grandmother had at least two children where the father was Pai Incognito and her great great grandmother also had at least two children where the father was Pai Incognito. I don't recall seeing multiple Pai Incognitos in one family, and with mother and daughter, though I guess I haven't really looked that hard since it wasn't in my direct line. Interested to know what others think. I have very little knowledge of Azorean culture during the 1700 and 1800s. Thanks Mel -- For 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." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores. -- For 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." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
