Sealing out of wedlock son

mauryd

I have a woman born in 1851. She had a son out of wedlock in 1873 for whom the father is unknown, the son died in 1896. The woman married in 1899, the husband is not the son's father.

Should the son be sealed to his mother and the non-father husband of the mother? I see no other way for the son and mother to receive the sealing to parent ordinance.

Thank you, Maury Dean

AmericanLady1953

Dear Mauaryd

Our policy indicates that son cannot be sealed to the mother alone, nor to a father who was not part of the child's life. If you know the woman's parents, you can have the child sealed to the grandparents. A child can also be sealed to adoptive or foster parents. We hope this helps.

bathompson

Hello @mauryd,

Here are the steps to seal the out-of-wedlock son to the grandparents. After the sealing is completed, detach the relationship to the grandparents as their child so he is only showing under the real mother's name.

• In Family Tree, add the person as a son or daughter to the parents he or she will be sealed to (the grandparents). You do not need to detach him from his actual mother.
• Before reserving the ordinances, be sure that the parents (grandparents) involved in the sealing are marked in Family Tree as the Preferred parents. Once the sealing is complete, you can change this. 
  • Note: In Family Tree, beneath each parent-couple is a circle, followed by the label Preferred. To select the parents for the sealing, click the circle. 
• Reserve and perform the ordinances.
• If needed to preserve clarity or accuracy of the records, remove the parent-child relationship with the grandparents from Family Tree. 

You can find this and additional information in the Help Center. Click on the question mark in the upper right of your screen. Click on Help Center at the bottom left of the pop-up. Then type "seal to grandparents" into the search bar. The article How do I seal a child to grandparents? will come up which you can print if you would like.

Best Wishes!