To stave off responsibility for caring for poor women and their children, unwed mothers were regularly brought before justices of the peace to answer sharp questions about their circumstances.

On 17 September 1866, William Horn, Eliza Horn, Ben Horn, and Lewis Barnes posted a bond for William Horn’s appearance in court to answer a charge that he had fathered Elizabeth Morris‘ child.

Probably, in the 1860 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Martha Morris, 60; Elizabeth Morris, 25; and Martha Morris, 2, with Zillah Morris, 11, next door in the household of John Saunders. In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: domestic servant Elizabeth Morris, 33, and her children Zilla A., 17, Martha, 13, Henry, 7, and Elizabeth, 1.

I have not identified William Horn or his supporters with certainty.

Bastardy Bonds, 1866, Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.