Although I don't have the total number, the colonial/early national register for Bruton Parish (1739--1797) shows 15 or 20 baptisms of infants born to unmarried _free_ women, usually with notations such as "bastard, bastard child, bastard child son" and the like. Usually, these entries show just the mother's name, but sometimes the father's name is recorded as well.
Keep in mind that slave marriages did not have legal standing in colonial Virginia, so legally speaking, enslaved children were born out-of-wedlock by definition. For Bruton Parish (included Williamsburg and parts of James City and York counties), there were nearly 1000 slaves (mostly infants but including several adults) baptized in the period 1739--1797.
Perhaps of interest: Recall that Virginia law encouraged baptism of slaves. In 1667, the Virginia General Assembly passed "An act declaring that baptisme of slaves doth not exempt them from bondage" which assured masters that Christian baptism would not free their slaves saying "that conferring of baptisme doth not alter the condition of the person as to his bondage or ffreedome; that diverse masters, ffreed from this doubt, may more carefully endeavor the propagation of Christianity by permitting children, though slaves, or those of greater growth if capable to be admitted to that sacrament." See Hening, Statutes at Large, 2:270.
Linda Rowe
Colonial Williamsburg
Training and Historical Research
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From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2014 9:47 AM
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Subject: [VA-HIST] Baptism of bastard children in the Colonial Church
Hello all,
I seem to have been suffering under the illusion ever since reading *Tess of the Turbervilles* in sophomore English class that the Anglican church did not allow for the baptism of bastard children.* But in going through the Christ Church, Middlesex County parish register for the late 1600s and early 1700s, I see that there are hundreds of bastard child baptisms. These usually only name the mother. Also of interest are a considerable number of slave children being baptized, which I also found unusual. So, gentle readers, where did I go astray regarding canon law in colonial Virginia?
Craig Kilby
*Those of you who were forced to read this drivel may recall that Tess found herself in a family way without benefit of matrimony, and then the baby died. She then has a nightmare that the devil was tossing the infant boy around in the flames of hell on his pitchfork. Our teacher, dear Mrs.
Timmons, asked the class what this meant. One wag in class quickly answered her with, "Burn, Baby, Burn!" She was not amused, but the rest of the class went into an uproar!
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