What was the culture like surrounding children born illegitimate in Czechoslovakia in the 1800s?

kelseymarieromney1

Hello! Recently, I have been exploring some of my Czech ancestors and I found something interesting. My 3rd Great Grandparents names were Čeněk Sobotka and Josefa Holer. I found a record confirming that they were married on 18 November 1873 (2nd row: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6GKC-QTK?cc=1472854&wc=MCMN-VWG%3A45164801%2C47657901%2C47718301). But when searching through some birth records, I discovered that they had two children born illegitimate prior to their marriage. The first child is named Alois Sobotka, born 7 January 1869 (1st row: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D1FQ-2RS?cc=1472854&wc=MCMN-VTL%3A45164801%2C47657901%2C47686101) and the second was named Jan Sobotka, born 14 May 1871 (3rd row: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D1FQ-LWQ?cc=1472854&wc=MCMN-VTL%3A45164801%2C47657901%2C47686101). I know that often when children were born illegitimate in the 1800s that the father's name was not recorded. However, I was able to have these records translated from Czech to English, and interestingly, on both birth records, it says that Čeněk Sobotka "claimed fatherhood and requested to be registered in vital records".

Until I found these records, I did not know these children existed and I have not been able to find anything else about them. Does anyone know what the culture was like in Czechslovakia during this time period surrounding children born illegitimate? Would the children have been given up for adoption? Would they have lived with grandparents or other family since their parents were not married? Any information about this and/or tips for finding more about them would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

(I will also attach the Excel spreadsheet that has the translations for the 3 records linked here if anyone would like to see the translation.)

translation.xlsx

Betseylee Browning

Here is an excellent article on the subject: http://czechgenealogy.nase-koreny.cz/2013/04/illegitimate-children.html#more

Betseylee Browning

Cindy Jarvis

@kelseymarieromney1 thanks for being patient as we wait for a response to come from a volunteer with the needed skill set.  Be sure to review the links at the top of this page for more great resources. 

Enjoy today ! Cindy Jarvis

kelseymarieromney1

@Betseylee Browning Thank you so much for finding that article! It has some good information.

Betseylee Browning

You are welcome.

Betseylee