Shadow Children - Unsung Backgrounds, But Doing Well, Thank You

Unofficial Children - A Continuing Human Tradition.

Welcome Them All Home.

Backgrounds and All.
It's Time. It's Safe Now.

We should be equally proud of children born in as out of wedlock.  Our culture has a mixed record on that issue.  Other cultures are more uniformly condemning, especially of the mother, see ://www.sistani.org/local.php?modules=nav&nid=2&bid=59&pid=3090/  There, the taint of having an "illegitimate" child carries over into broad other areas of life.

• Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci, Amboise, France

• Evita Peron

Those from ://www.parentdish.com/2007/11/23/some-famous-illegitimate-children/. We think none are "illegitimate." Just largely unrecognized, some for reasons that balance out, others that do not, given times, cultures.

Add from this site, ://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/9842/

• Confucius
• Thomas Paine
• Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton and Friends, Madame Tussaud's, London

• Lawrence of Arabia. See also ://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/players/lawrence.html; Wales Road Ways, Lawrence of Arabia, of Wales.

• Miscellaneous Royal Offspring.  Kings have many.

See The Royal Family Tree Sprouts Unofficial Limbs, at ://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/03/nyregion/the-royal-family-tree-sprouts-unofficial-limbs.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all /

Then on to some that particularly interest us:

• Christopher Columbus - 

Speculation, a Portuguese Prince's son extra-marital, see Spain Road Ways, Seville, Christopher Columbus' Bones; in addition to those items, is he the son of Pope Innocent VIII, see "Christopher Columbus, The Last Templar," at ://store.innertraditions.com/Product.jmdx;jsessionid=AD4D23697D8F982AE64B465ACE039850?action=displayDetail&id=2252&searchString=978-1-59477-190-3&selectedTextTypeKeynames=23&displayZoom=1/

Cristoforo Colombo, with Tourist for scale, Madrid

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Enjoy the detailed outline of the book, the resemblances physically (but that can be said of many of us to unrelated persons), cultural clues, etc. An enjoyable speculation, and we know nothing of his upbringing. The name "Columbo" apparently was often given to foundling children, perhaps of Jewish parents in the north of Italy (Jews were expelled from Spain finally in 1492, same year), Colombo or Colon signify the Jewish "Jonah", says the site, and the children were considered born courtesy of the Holy Spirit, thus "dove" and "Colomba." Great fun to speculate about history. Just enjoying this bit. Birth of a man without parents. Hmmm.

• Dorothy Jennings Ruth Pirone, daughter of Babe Ruth. 

This seems to be established. Dorothy is from Babe Ruth's relationship with Juanita Jennings, not his wife. Their relationship was in 1920. See ://radio.javaranch.com/michael/2006/05/11/1147383508809.html/ Babe and his wife, Helen, eventually adopted Dorothy, but she was not told this until she was 59, so it is said. This is not the adopted Julia Ruth Stevens, daughter of Babe Ruth, and there were other children from various wedlocks (see ://www.baberuthmuseum.com/press/pr/index.html?article_id=27/). Search Amazon for a copy of "My Dad, The Babe - Growing Up With An American Hero," by Dorothy Ruth Pirone and Chris Martens, see ://www.amazon.com/My-Dad-Babe-Growing-American/dp/1557700311.

Play ball! Hatpin, Scharfe Collection.

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See Young Babe Ruth, by Harry Rothberger, at page 167 google book http://books.google.com/books?id=hJOD0KlvCSAC&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=Dorothy+Jennings,+Babe+Ruth+daughter&source=bl&ots=phAVuOU88c&sig=7SiKpMNk2dArsj7gOjk9bx8xfWg&hl=en&ei=B0TeSaOkAqLflQe0uJhV&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8

Dorothy died in 1989. See obituary at ://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/20/obituaries/dorothy-r-pirone-68-babe-ruth-s-daughter.html/ She knew her natural mother only as a family friend.
Look at page 63 of the google book, Babe Ruth, a Biography, by Wayne Stewart. Juanita's father was president of Mexico, and ultimately assassinated. See ://books.google.com/books?id=AVXykh_yjP8C&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=Dorothy+Jennings,+Babe+Ruth+daughter&source=bl&ots=Fu7zHxWklh&sig=Wq7lxFVbNhyt1gskVpt2BDMaIBg&hl=en&ei=B0TeSaOkAqLflQe0uJhV&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3/

• Jesus of Nazareth - 

Faith begins where reason can go no further, so see ://www.jesusdynasty.com/blog/2006/07/26/an-unnamed-father-of-jesus/; and Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera, at ://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090207222647AAnWyuL/ and the rest on your own, as you may or may not be inclined. See Germany Road Ways, Pantera Tradition Adding to Christmas.

• Many, many more 

Here is a site with 20 more famous people listed - see Trivia on 20 Famous Illegitimate Children, at ://www.trivia-library.com/a/20-famous-illegitimate-children.htm/ That list stopped in 1981. Find on the long list these folks:

• Marilyn Monroe
• Sarah Bernhardt
• Richard Wagner
• Jenny Lind
• Erasmus
• Cesare Borgia
  
• Alexandre Dumas
• Pope Clement I

Then:

• William the Conqueror. 

Looking back to the top, one of our favorites remains William the Conqueror, from Normandy and the Norman Invasion of Great Britain. He came to a sad, painful end.
Until then, William the Conqueror, here, did quite well. See France Road Ways, Normandy, Normans.


William the Conqueror, Grave, Caen, France

• Alois Hitler, Father of Adolf Hitler (1837-1903). 

 Alois Hitler was employed at Austria's customs service; Adolf feared him, distrusted him, but Alois himself did well and left an adequate pension to support the family. See biography of Adolf Hitler at  ://www.biography.com/articles/Adolf-Hitler-9340144/  Adolf's surname for a time was his mother's, Schicklgruber; but by 1876, Adolf had firmed up his claim to use the Hitler name.  Did he ever use "Schicklgruber"? Or did he personally always use Hitler. Still checking.


Applause for all who did well with hands dealt. One day it will not matter - any of that.
Go here for applause ://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/applause.shtml