[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Father of a child in Plock, born out of wedlock

[Peter]

Hi All,

Here is a situation that my family and I have been wrestling with for
sometime, and I'm finally appealing to the SGGEE community for some
help.

In short, I am descended from a woman, born in Plock in 1866 for which
the birth record (and her marriage record) both list her Father as
"unknown." I think that there is some circumstantial evidence that
points to who the Father is, but I'd love to get the opinion of those
who perhaps know more than I do.

Also, before recounting the story, I should say that a family member
of mine chanced upon this posting over at Ancestry.com which I did
find interesting and enlightening in terms of children born out of
wedlock. It applies specifically to Mecklenburg and not Plock, but I
thought that perhaps someone here may know if similar laws applied at
the Evangelical Church in Plock in 1866:
http://www.progenealogists.com/germany/mecklenburg/genealogy.htm

Anyhow, on with my story which all takes place in Plock:

Wilhelmine Hein married August Arendt (unknown year).
They have (at least) 9 children together.
August Arendt dies on 20 June 1865, leaving Wilhelmine a widow.

Wilhelmine Hein gives birth to Dorothea Hein on 31 December 1866,
"unknown" father and much too late for Arendt to have been the father.
The first witness and the Godfather of Dorothea Hein is August Däubler.

Wilhelmine Hein then gives birth to Adolf Hein in 1868 and the baby
dies the same year. Also, "unknown" father, but I don't have the birth
record so I don't know who the Godfather is.

Meanwhile, August Däubler, has been married to Juliana Ehmke for 24
years and has had a number of children with her, the last one being
approximately 1862. The Däubler-Ehmke marriage is dissolved upon the
judgement of the Evangelical Augsburg Consistory Council in Tsarist
Poyavskoi on 14 May 1869.

Däubler then marries Wilhelmine Hein on 15 August 1869, and together,
they have a baby, Gustav, sometime in 1869. Without seeing the full
records, the latest Gustav could have been born is in December 1869...
suggesting that Wilhelmine Hein had to be pregnant in March 1869...

So, a quick summary timeline:
-August Däubler and Juliana Ehmke have their last child in approximately 1862.
-Wilhelmine Hein becomes a widow on 20 June 1865.
-Wilhelmine Hein has Dorothea Hein out of wedlock on 31 December 1866
with August Däubler as her Godfather.
-Wilhemine Hein has another baby out of wedlock, Adolf Hein, in 1868
and he dies the same year.
-Wilhelmine Hein gets pregnant in March 1869, latest.
-August Däubler's marriage with Juliana Ehmke is dissolved by the
church on 14 May
1869 -- definitely after Wilhelmine Hein became pregnant.
-August Däubler marries Wilhelmine Hein on 15 August 1869.
-Wilhelmine Hein gives birth to Gustav Däubler in 1869.

So, naturally my family and I are speculating that August Däubler is
indeed Dorothea Hein's Father. Some have suggested that the fact that
Däubler married Wilhelmine Hein who already had two children out of
wedlock, is proof enough.

Can anyone here shed any light on the situation? Legally at that time,
or otherwise? To be able to list August Däubler as an ancestor would
be tremendous, but being unfamiliar with the legalities of children
born out of wedlock at that time, we are hesitating.

With many thanks,

Peter Schmidt