‘Your Marage Will Make a Change with Them All … When You Get Another Famely’: Illegitimate Children, Parenthood and Siblinghood in Ireland, c.1759–1832
Abstract:William Tennent (1759–1832) was a successful businessman and banker, who made his mark in Belfast as one of the city’s richest men. He was also a father and, later, a husband. By the time of his marriage in March 1805, Tennent had fathered at least thirteen illegitimate children, with at least four women. The child he would have with his wife, a daughter named Letitia, would be his only legitimate heir. Through this series of illicit sexual relationships, William Tennent created a complex family unit that cons… Show more
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