"Nothus and Spurius are certainly not used in parish registers in the strict sense above defined, in fact, the terms used varied more according to the righteous wrath of the recording parson, who, perhaps, thereby expressed his disgust at the offence; mark the gentleness of this: William, son of Lord Talbot, per Dutchess of Beaufort, ut asseritur, born Nov. 1st, 1743, bapt. Mar. 24th, 1743/4. (St. Pancras.)And the severity of these:— 1590. John, the son of a strumpet born at Ockleys, bapt. May 28th. (Kington, Worc.) 1697. May 10th. Wm. son of Mary Hewett, the whore, bapt. (Stony Stratford.) 1774. May 22nd. Mary, the beast boarn dautr. of Mary More was bapt. (Huddington.) 1788. Sarah, dau. of Jane Beament (prostitute), Oct. 5th bapt. (Tarrant Hinton.)Other methods of expression are:— 1560. Bridget and Elizabeth, the daughters of adultery, bapt. Jan. 1st. (Chesham.) 1567. Alice, daught. of Margery Meretrix, bapt. Dec. 25th. (Chesham.) 1615. Arthur Cuthbert filius cuiusdam circumforanei, bapt. April 15th. (Woughton.) 1625. June 29th. Lucia f. (ut putatur) Thos. Cock and Eliz. Henbury, alias Pierse, alias Vaughan, meretricis eius et impurissimi scorti, bapt. (Hopton Castle.) 1669. Margaret, the daughter (spuria) of David de la Hay and Jane his concubine, was bapt. Sept. 12th. (Glasbury.) 1702. Dec. 20th. Sarah, illeg. child of Hugh Isaack's wid. by an anonymous father, bapt. (Selattyn.)Particulars about paternity are very common, for sharp search was always made by parish officers after the fathers of illegitimate children to prevent expense to the rates. 1603. Hughe Pigot, a Bastard son of Margaret Pigot begotten as she sayeth by Michael Harrison an hostler dwelling wth one Mr. ffroome in London near Newgate att the signe of the seriante Head xped xxxj Julie. (Mark Fryston.) Katheren Heath, ye daughter of Geoffry Heath yf ye mother of ye child hath fathered it right, was babt. 22nd August, 1613. (Banstead.) 1634. Ann, ye daughter of Joane Money & John Bayley ye supposed father begotten in fornication was baptized March 15th. (Morden.) 1704. 26th Sept. Jane, ye dautr. of Susannah Newman, ye father unknown, bap. (Bere Hacket.) 1787. Oct. 28th. Mary, illeg. daugh. of Mary Webb was bapt. (P). Her Mother said she was then fourteen years old. (Canon Frome.) 1766. Mar. 3rd. Sarah, the Bastard Dau. of Sarah Smallwood of Baton, Widow, aged about 50 years was bapt. (Bletchley.)The above examples are selections only from the numberless entries of similar nature; the forms, words and expressions used are of very great variety. On the whole, as the average entry of a "bastard" contains more detail than that of the legitimate, the genealogist should pay careful attention to these cases and see if the child died, for the mortality among illegitimate infants was much higher than the general infant death rate."