speaking of the Good Old Days.

My great-grandmother was born in 1860 & had ILLIGETIMATE (or however it's spelled) written across her birth certificate, written in the section normally reserved for parent's wedding details. I've only seen a few of her younger siblings certificates but they did not include that word - their parents lied & invented a wedding date!

Her parents did not marry till she was about 25 - both had spouses & had to wait till they were dead. There was no divorce in those days for poor farmers.

The birth certificate didn't worry me, & I knew it wouldn't worry my dad, but I wasn't sure how to tell his cousin, a Catholic spinster of 70. Fortunately Clarice was not a steroetypical old maid & wasn't fazed. Previous generations might have had a different reaction.

sandra