The Filiation Order for Jane Worthington

ORDER OF FILIATION:

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17

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3.3

LANCASHIRE, to wit.
WHEREAS complaint hath been made unto us, two of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace
and Quorum, in and for the said County of Lancaster, residing next unto the limits of the
Parish Church of Croston within the Parish of Croston in the said County, by the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the Township of Croston in the Parish and County aforesaid, that Ellen Worthington Single Woman, hath lately been delivered of a female Bastard Child, in the said Township of Croston in the Parish and County aforesaid, which is yet living and chargeable to the said Township of Croston

And whereas, the said Ellen Worthington this Day came voluntarily and of her own free will and accord before us, and then and there upon her examination upon Oath did declare, that she the said Ellen Worthington was upon the Twentieth Day of September last delivered of a female Bastard Child, in the said Township of Croston in the said Parish and County; which said Child is now living in, and heretofore hath been and still is chargeable to the said Township of Croston and likely so to continue, and that Thomas Yates of Croston aforesaid in the said County Labourer did beget the said Bastard on her Body, and is the Father of the same. And whereas the said Thomas Yates hath been duly summoned to appear before us the said Justices, to the end that upon the examination of the Cause and Circumstances of the Premises, we might take such Order as to right doth appertain; and he not having appeared before us nor shewed any sufficient Cause why he should not be adjudged the reputed Father of the said Bastard Child.

We therefore, the said Justices, upon due Examination and Consideration of the Premises, as well upon the Oath of the said Ellen Worthington as otherwise do hereby declare and adjudge that the said Child was born a Bastard upon the Body of the said Ellen Worthington in the said Township of Croston in the Parish and County aforesaid, and is now living, and heretofore hath been and still is chargeable to the said Township of Croston and that the said Thomas Yates is the Father of the said Bastard Child. Thereupon we order, as well for the better Reliefof the said Township of Croston as for the Sustentation and Relief of the said Bastard Child, that the said Thomas Yates shall and do forthwith upon Notice of this, our order, pay or cause to be Paid unto the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said Township of Croston or to some of them the sum of two pounds six shilling for and towards the Charges and Expenses incident to the birth of the said Bastard Child, and the Maintenance of the said Bastard Child, from the time of her birth to the time of making this our order, and the sum of seventeen shillings for and towards the Costs of this order of Filiation; such Charges, Expences, Costs, and sums of money respectively having been duly ascertained on oath before us the said Justices to be reasonable. And we do likewise hereby further order that the said Thomas Yates shall well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the Church-wardens and Overseers of the poor of the said Township of Croston or to some one of them, for the time being the sum of two Shillings weekly and every Week from this present Time, for and towards the Keeping, Sustenance, and Maintenance of the said Bastard Child, for and during so long time as the same shall be chargeable to the said Township of Croston. And we do hereby further Order that the said Ellen Worthington shall likewise well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the Church-wardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said Township of Croston or some one of them for the time being, the Sum of two Shillings weekly and every Week from henceforth, so long as the said Bastard Child shall be chargeable to the said Township of Croston in case she shall not nurse and take care of the Child herself.

Given under our Hands and Seals at Preston, in the County of Lancaster, this Fourteenth Day of November in the fifty ninth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord GEORGE the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender, of the Faith, and in the year of our Lord one Thousand eight Hundred and eighteen

[signed]

[illegible] on the Oath of Jno Waddington, S. Harrold, E. M. Travers

NOTES:
1:	The parts of the above text in italics are written in by hand on a pre-printed document.
2:	This document gives Jane's date of birth as 20 September while the Baptism Register records it as 28 July. As she was baptized on 23 August 1818 it would appear that the Baptism Register is more accurate.
3:	The signatures of the Churchwardens were difficult to read and I may have mis-interpreted them.
4:	The above information is taken from the original document held at the Lancashire Record Office.