Illegitimacy is rife in my paternal family tree. Only one of my GGrandparents was born in wedlock. My GGGrandmother, Sarah Cox, had at least five illegitimate children before she married at the age of 35 in 1872 in Smallthorne Staffordshire. Her grandmother, Anne Cadman, also had at least 6 illegitimate children all christened in St Leonards, Broseley, Shropshire between 1797 and 1817. Now I find that Anne's mother Margaret Cadman also gave birth to a number of illegitimate children circa 1776 in Shropshire. I have only just begun research on the lives of Anne and Margaret. I know Sarah was a pit worker at the age of 13. She also worked in the potteries and lived with her mother and stepfather. I am assuming she was not supported by the parish, although I have no evidence to support my contention. I'd love to know more about Anne and Margaret. How would they have supported their children? Surely the Parish wouldn't have provided for all those children without some 'moral' intervention or punishment. I have been searching for bastardy and parish records, reading about the lives of women in mining communities and am hoping someone can recommend other resources to help in my quest to understand the lives of these women.
Do you have a copy of "My Ancestor was a Bastard"? A Society of Genealogists publication, it is available from Parish Chest (parishchest.com) Ref: SOG-1183xx That would certainly point you in the right direction for finding out more.