Web: Scotland, Sheriff Court Paternity Processes or Case Papers, 1752-1921

General collection information

This collection includes information about paternity cases ruled on by the sheriff courts in Scotland between 1752 and 1921. These cases occurred when the mother of a child went to court to prove the identity of the father of the child and to gain support payments. This collection is an index of information compiled from the original documents and doesn't include copies of the images of the court records.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

Name, occupation, and residence of the mother

Name, occupation, and residence of the father

Birth date of the child

Child's sex assigned at birth

Year of the court case

County where the case was heard

Sheriff court name

Mothers are referred to as "pursuers" while fathers are referred to as "defenders" in the index.

The information found in this collection can be used to verify that your ancestor was involved in a paternity case at a specific time and place. Tracking ancestors who were born outside of marriage, often referred to as "illegitimate" births, can be difficult for family historians, and this collection provides a possible route to overcome the hurdle.

Collection in context

The records were created by officials of the sheriff courts throughout Scotland. The information in the index is derived from court record books and the original documents are housed at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh.

During the period that these records were produced, the cases were generally known as filliation and aliment cases rather than paternity cases. Many of the women who pursued these cases were young and single and often didn't have the financial means to take the father of their child to court. During the mid-1840s, churches began to take on the responsibility of assisting the poor in their parishes and one way the churches helped was to pay the court costs of mothers who pursued paternity decrees.

Bibliography

Old Scottish Genealogy and Family History. "Sheriff Court Paternity Decrees." Accessed August 31, 2022. https://www.oldscottish.com/sheriff-court-paternity-decrees.html.

Scottish Indexes. "Learning Zone - Finding Paternity Cases in Sheriff Court Records." Accessed August 31, 2022. https://www.scottishindexes.com/learningcourt.aspx#q2.

---. "Scottish Paternity Index." Accessed August 31, 2022. https://www.scottishindexes.com/paternitysearch.aspx.