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 6 July 1866, Cherry Williams admitted to Wilson County justice of the peace W.W. Batts that she was pregnant and unmarried, and Calvin Taylor was her child’s father. Batts ordered that Taylor be arrested and taken to a justice to answer Williams’ charge.

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