About those guardians…
It’s institute season here at The Legal Genealogist — which means busy times!
When I’m not teaching genealogy courses in one institute, I’m doing it at another, or at a conference, like today and tomorrow in Michigan…
So instead of full-length blog posts, we’ll muddle through with snippets.
Little bits and pieces of genealogical information such as the answer to a persistent question that keeps coming up:
Why would a parent have to have a guardian named for his or her own child?
Bottom line: historically, guardians were generally named not to take care of the child — any surviving parent was expected to do that — but to take care of the child’s property.
So…
• Typical situation #1: no property, no guardian. The child stayed with any surviving parent or, if there wasn’t one, any relative or neighbor who’d take the child in.
• Typical situation #2: property, but no guardian until there was a reason to get one. That’s discussed in the blog post “Guardian for the kids.”
• Typical situation #3: property, mother alive and someone else named guardian. That’s discussed in the blog post “The avuncular guardian.”
• And typical situation #4: property, father alive, and father named as guardian. That’s discussed in the blog post “Guardian for a son.”
And, of course, remember that a child at age 14 was considered old enough at common law to choose his or her own guardian for his or her own property — and often chose Mama, if she was alive, or another relative.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “Snippets 2021 v.3,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 9 July 2021).
Judy, could you add to this by telling us what records are generated by the guardianship and where to find them?
Sandra: It varies by local law. What I have seen in my research (limited in time and space) is that they will generally be in the same court handling estates and wills. In the USA this will usually be called a Probate Court. Other real possibilities Orphan’s Court or a Family Court.
As to records I have seen, I’ve seen an appointment of guardian, guardianship bonds, records of a child age 14 choosing their guardian – sometimes different from the prior guardian, accounts of the guardianship, and petitions of the guardian for permission to sell real estate owned by the children. I’m sure there are more possibilities.