Illegitimacy (or being born outside marriage) could be a big social stigma in the past, and often kids would assume the surname of stepfathers, or be 'passed off' to the community as siblings, nephews, nieces, or cousins.
Sometimes the parents would marry later or sometimes the mother of the child would marry a relative of the father as a kind of compromise, often the mother and father would simply go their separate ways.
Scandal was sometimes impossible to avoid - you can only imagine the gossip in a rural town when the married wife of a soldier, who was away, gave birth to the son of another man, particularly when she was considerably older than the father of her baby.
Illegitimate children can often be harder to trace (given that they often changed their last names and also sometimes were not living with either parent,) but it is possible, and their stories add yet another strand to your family's history.
For more on how I could help you trace your illegitimate ancestors - or any other ancestors - through my hourly rate or packages see my website - www.familyhistorybycerys.co.uk
Bye for now!
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