Pat, I have always heard the term as "bound boy." It applied to girls as well. Before there were orphanages or social service agencies, children who were orphaned or whose parents or relatives were otherwise unable to take care of them were usually "bound out." A court-appointed guardian would sign bonds of indenture (hence the term "bound" or "bond") with an individual who agreed to care for the child until his or her majority (18 for girls, 21 for boys). The bonds that I have seen were all pretty much the same formula language: the individual signing the bond agreed to educate the child, teach him or her farming, housewifery or a trade and give him or her something upon reaching majority: usually a suit of clothes and a little money; sometimes for girls a featherbed or other household furnishings for a dowry; sometimes for boys a horse. What they got in return, of course, was cheap labor. "Bound" children were often treated as servants, got very little education and often didn't get what had been promised them at their majority. I think the practice started to die out after about the middle of the 19th century, when government bodies began to take more responsibility for orphans and destitute children. My great-grandfather, who was born in Franklin County, was bound out along with his four siblings and seven cousins when their parents died shortly after moving to Iowa in 1843. I would be interested in hearing any information others might have on this practice. dan_cambridge@cmfz