Thank you very, very much ! Great input ! Carole In a message dated 5/17/2011 11:17:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: 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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html