This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: patmccoy2 Surnames: Stegemerten Paknas Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.massachusetts.unknown/7572.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Good morning. Maybe my experience with a similar situation might be helpful. While I was researching the family of Christian STEGEMERTEN in Washington, D.C., I discovered that he died in 1897. Shortly afterward, his widow, Ottilla STEGEMERTEN placed almost all of her children in a German Orphanage, located in the District of Columbia, while keeping the baby. About 1899-1900, she reclaimed her children. (She got re-married to husband #2 about that time.) I'm guesstimating that the reason she did that was because, at the time of her husband's death, she couldn't afford to support all of her children by herself. Could it be possible that a similar situation occurred with your grandmother's PAKNAS family? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.