Sealing a child from extra-marital relationship
Hello, friends.
Can anyone tell me if there is any guidance from church leaders about sealing a person to their parents, if those parents never married/lived together?
This question arises because the parents of my 4th great-grandmother were married, but not to each other. I have no evidence that they ever lived together, only written statements from both of her parents attesting that they had an amorous relationship over several years that produced two children.
The paternity of my ancestress is not in question, as her mother's husband had been absent from home for some years prior to her birth. Her father was married to another woman in a neighboring town, however he publicly acknowledged her and her sister as his children, and they carried his surname, which is documented on census records, etc.
With regard to being sealed to her parents, of course they would have to be sealed to one another first. The only options I'm seeing for sealing my 5th great- grandparents together are "Common Law Marriage, Lived Together, Marriage", etc. These options do not apply. Their actual situation seems to be "Consensual Extra-Marital Relationship Resulting in Pregnancy". Can anyone point me to official guidance on the appropriate way to proceed in this situation? Thank you.