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9 page PDF research guide includes:
A bastardy bond names the mother, the accused father, and the men who stood surety for him, and in many Appalachian families it is the only record that does. The court that created it was not recording a scandal; it was securing financial responsibility for a child who would otherwise become a public charge, and the legal instrument it produced is a genealogical source of the first order. The sureties who signed alongside the accused father were rarely strangers. They were the neighbors, the kin, and the associates a man called on when the court required him to produce guarantors, and following them into deed records and tax lists frequently confirms family connections that no other record preserves. When a father defaulted on his annual payment obligation, the child's maintenance shifted to the county overseer of the poor, opening a second record trail that can carry a family forward for years after the bond itself was filed.
What's Inside
- Field-by-field bastardy bond reference guide covering date, county, mother's name, accused father's name, surety names, bond amount, child's name, payment terms, court minute book reference, clerk's signature, and condition clause, with research value for each field
- Documentary guide to standard bond language with plain-language translations and research notes for each clause
- Five research strategies for working bastardy bonds, covering the mother's network, the reputed father across multiple record types, county court minutes, surety identification, and related poor relief records
- Repository and access guide covering North Carolina State Archives, Library of Virginia, Tennessee State Library and Archives, FamilySearch, University of Kentucky Libraries, county courthouses, Ancestry, HeritageQuest, and Fold3, with access notes and search strategies for each
- Companion records reference covering county court order and minute books, overseers of the poor ledgers, tax lists, church records, deed records, and estate inventories
- Ancestor identification and bond details log
- Network tracking log for sureties and associated parties
- Companion record search log
- Notes pages