I know of two 18th-century Virginia cases where illegitimate children took
the name of their biological father.

Rawleigh Chinn was married to Easter Ball, but he had three sons by her
widowed cousin Margaret (Ball) Downman. They were Charles (b. 1723),
Christopher (b. 1728), and Elijah (b. 1731) Chinn. As far as I know they
were never called Ball or Downman--if anyone has evidence to the contrary,
please post it.

From Richmond Co Order Books 9 and 10, we see:
4 July 1728 - Margaret Downman was cited by the grand jury for bearing a
bastard child.
1 Oct 1729 - Living in adultery with Rawleigh Chinn
4 Nov 1730 - Living in adultery with Rawleigh Chinn
2 Mar 1731 - Bearing a bastard child within 6 months

In another case, Hannah Ludwell (Lee) Corbin, widow of Gawin Corbin, lived
with Dr Richard Lingan Hall until his death and bore him two children.
Elisha Hall Corbin and Martha Hall Corbin were so called as children, but
later in life they used their father's name, Hall.

I'm not near my reference books, but I remember other cases when someone was
baptized "for Mr X", presumably because he acknowledged paternity, although
he was not married to the mother. Nevertheless, the general rule was for the
child to take the mother's surname. Rules were often broken.

Practice in the colonies may have been different, but in England, foundlings
were sometimes given the name of the parish church as a surname. I imagine
it was harder to hide an illegitimate birth in Virginia, so I wouldn't
expect many cases here.

Kathleen

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