The first 10 years or so of St-Jacques parish register in Montreal
contains,
almost exclusively, the baptisms of children of "unknown" parents. A
child's surname appears only rarely. It's rather difficult to understand
how many presumably illegitimate children or, perhaps, orphans could have
been brought to the baptismal font year after year, in this one parish.
Is
there a reason for this? A priest with a very narrow view of what he
would
accept as "known" parents perhaps? Or some other explanation?
Ed
