Trace the threads of lives clouded by secrecy, maybe because of a criminal past, adultery or adoption.
Using the Timeline: click on an event for more information, including related archives and records. A document icon appears below an event if further information is available on another timeline.
As a supplement to the timeline, here's a list of records of more general interest to those researching their Family Secrets. Click through the pages to find links that will lead you to the documents you need - parish registers, workhouse records, coroners' reports, and more.
Family secrets are often hinted at in registered birth, marriage or death certificates. Indexes to these records for England, Wales and Scotland can be viewed online, and in the case of Scotland, digitised copies of many of the certificates themselves can be accessed online. Irish indexes are held at the General Register Office of Northern Ireland and are also available in Dublin.
Important genealogical information is recorded in census returns, including those of the residents of prisons and asylums. The returns for England, Wales and Scotland 1841-1901 can be viewed online. Only the 1901 and 1911 censuses survive for Ireland, and are gradually becoming available online. In the meantime, they can be viewed at The National Archives of Ireland.
Bequests to 'natural' children, as well as to those born within wedlock, are often made in wills, with provision for their education or welfare. Wills can be viewed at: the National Archives Documents Online site (Prerogative Court of Canterbury pre-1858), the Borthwick Institute (Prerogative Court of York pre-1858), the Probate Searchroom of the Principal Registry of the Family Division (England and Wales after 1858), the National Archives of Scotland or online at Scotland’s People (Scotland) or Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland).
Baptisms of illegitimate children, as well as legitimate ones, are often noted in the local parish register, where you can find other genealogical information on marriages and burials. Records are usually deposited in the relevant local archive.
Records of historic divorce proceedings are available at The National Archives, whilst information from more recent times is available from the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the Supreme Court.
A national register of children subject to adoption proceedings was introduced in 1927 in England, 1930 in Scotland and 1931 in Northern Ireland.
Criminal ancestors can be researched via court records, principally those of the itinerant assize judges. The records are at the National Archives (England) or the National Library of Wales (Wales). Separate records of the sheriffs' courts exist for Scotland in the National Archives of Scotland.
The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1913 are available online:
Information on illegitimacy, such as bastardy bonds, can be found in quarter session records. These are stored at the relevant county record office.
Many abandoned, orphaned or illegitimate children were housed in local workhouses. Surviving records are usually deposited at the relevant local archives.
In cases of unusual or suspicious deaths, it has long been the case that a coroner is required to hold an inquest into the circumstances. Although many of the records have been lost or destroyed, you may find transcripts of particular inquests in local newspapers of the time.
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