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Por mimasep1959 |

There was a stigma in being illegitimate. Due to the groom's parents being unknown & the groom most likely being illegitimate, the bans had to be posted where he was born, raised, etc., --Teocaltiche. Via the bans being posted by the priest of Teocaltiche, the chances of the couple being related could thus be eliminated by its residents who might know something & come forward. It's possible that the Teocaltiche priest might have investigated and found that the couple was not related, and all was well to marry in Aguascalientes where the marriage had possibly taken place because the bride was from there. Marriages usually took place in the bride's hometown. There might even be something more in the Investigaciones Matrimoniales or no one came forward, so there was no reason to prevent the couple from marrying...
My 2 Centavos
Irma Gomez Gtz - N. California
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This past spring while on a visit to Degollado Jalisco, we had occasion to meet an elderly retired priest, who is a friend of distant relatives. The question of illegitimacy/hijo de dios/hija de iglesia came up. It reminded me of similar  threads that ran on these pages several years ago. Some posted comments expressing surprize that "there were so many loose women" in that conservative era. The elderly priest (87 yrs. old) shed some interesting light on this topic. He stated that in the 1700/1800's  it was not uncommon for men of "higher classes" to kidnap and rape women of "lower class". He stated this practice occurred with impudence, these "men" knowing there was virtually no chance of retribution/justice being done. He stated that there were even many popular "corridos" romanticising these cowards and their repugnant behaviours. He said the phrase  "fue llevada" was commonly used to describe the victim and what had happened to her.
Often these rapes resulted in pregnancy and terms such as "hijo/a illegitimo or
 "natural" were used to label their children. The priest also said the term "hijo/a de Dios" was used when a child was fathered by a member of the clergy. A practise only somewhat less repugnant.  I personally am not qualified to pass judgement on the veracity of this old gentleman's statements but thought I'd share this with the group in view of these recent postings.

Aurora Romo
In searching the records I have found that when a child is listed as Natural only the father is listed the mother's name is omitted. Is there a reason for this? Is there a document where it would be listed. The city birth record I was researching did not include the mothers name. Does the church records also omit the mothers name when the child is Natural. This is my current brick wall. Where do I go from here? I do know the name of the "mother" but not sure of her family name. I was told she was from La Chona.

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