Find your ancestors in Lincolnshire Parish Bastardy Cases

Discover your ancestor by exploring the records of over 2,400 bastardy cases in Lincolnshire across centuries. The records are organised by the name of the illegitimate child’s mother’s name.

The records are transcripts of three types of documents; a warrant, maintenance order or bond. Most of the records will not include the name of the child, but may include a description of the child or birth date. The details in each order can vary but many will include a combination of the following information.

• Mother’s name
• Event year
• Father’s name
• Child
• Birth year
• Father’s comments
• Mothers comments
• Notes
• Place
• County and country
• Document type

Discover More about the Lincolnshire Parish Bastardy Cases

Lincolnshire is a historic county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire in the northwest and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. Northamptonshire is in the south. The county town is Lincoln.

The records are transcripts of three types of documents:

1. Warrant – an order to the alleged father to appear in court
2. Maintenance Order – issued by the Justice of the Peace at the Petty Session and orders an individual to pay for the child’s maintenance or face prison
3. Bond – an agreement to pay for the maintenance of the child

For further information about the law and illegitimate children view our 'Learn more' section. Lincolnshire Parish Bastardy Cases