In the early 1860s, if the father of a small child died and the mother was still living, was it customary to appoint a male guardian for the child? In the case I am researching, Wilhelmina Wachlin married William Hellerman in 1861 at Salem Church. A son, also named William, was born about 1862. In 1865 Geroge Goodapple, Wilhelmina's brother-in-law, was appointed guardian for William Hellerman (I assume the child, although no age was given). In 1866 Wilhelmina remarried, so I suppose William the husband had died. Any comments? Arlene

You may want to check court records. I once found where a father died and the mother went to court to petition for the right to her own children because they were given in charge of a male family member. I have also seen court records showing a male family member taking charge of the children of a deceased male even though the wife was alive. They had some really different rules back in the 'good old days'. Sherrie -----Original Message----- From: Arlene Brackensick [mailto:abrack@execpc.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 8:20 AM To: ILADAMS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ILADAMS] Guardianship question In the early 1860s, if the father of a small child died and the mother was still living, was it customary to appoint a male guardian for the child? In the case I am researching, Wilhelmina Wachlin married William Hellerman in 1861 at Salem Church. A son, also named William, was born about 1862. In 1865 Geroge Goodapple, Wilhelmina's brother-in-law, was appointed guardian for William Hellerman (I assume the child, although no age was given). In 1866 Wilhelmina remarried, so I suppose William the husband had died. Any comments? Arlene ==== ILADAMS Mailing List ==== Want to put a message on this list about your Adams County ancestors? Send an email to ILADAMS-L@rootsweb.com ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237