Thanks, Kathleen, for your response. I personally can't see a connection between Catholicism and adoption. As you say, other religions were also involved with helping children whose biological families were no longer in the picture. I agree with you about researching everyone related either by blood or adoption to our ancestors. I was surprised to read in a book about N.O. families that my great-grandparents had an adopted daughter. Since I'd never heard this, I began researching her. So far, I haven't learned a lot, but I'll keep on. To me, her story is important, not only for its own sake, but for what I'll learn about my great-grandparents. Jan >My own theory is that we may find a higher incidence of adoptees in New >Orleans families because of the ever-present epidemics that left so many >children orphaned. I'm not sure about the other epidemics, but yellow >fever (which remained a major problem in our city until the early 20th >century) was especially deadly for recent immigrants. > >The role played by our Catholic heritage is not so clear, as I see it. >Because the city was overwhelmingly Catholic, we did have large numbers of >nuns - and they operated many of the orphanges and asylums. It could be >that this helped more of the orphans to survive long enough to be adopted. > But in 19th century New Orleans and elsewhere, the Protestant churches >and Jewish communities also operated orphanages for their families. > >To weigh in on the main topic under discussion, I believe in tracking as >many ancestors as I become aware of - whether they are related by blood or >otherwise. As others have said, I am pursuing "family history" rather >than lineage. I am as interested in the experiences of and influences >upon my forebears as in their DNA. Also, I know from personal experience >that we can always be startled by previously unsuspected stepfathers or >extramarital conceptions. > >As far as my father and his siblings knew, their grandmother (Caroline >Alice Yung) was the daughter of Louisa Drumm and her husband William Yung >(Wilhelm Jung). My cousin and I were quite surprised to dig up the fact >that she and her brother Albert actually were the children of Henry >Voegelin (Heinrich V�gelin) - a man we had never heard of. > >I am working to find out as much as I can about this "new" >great-great-grandfather. But I also consider William Yung to be an >important part of our family tree. He married Louisa when her children >were toddlers, and almost certainly was the only father they remembered. >He raised and cared for them, and imprinted them with his values and >customs. He was the grandfather that my grandmother grew up with. > >I do believe we have an obligation to make clear which relations are >"blood" and which are adopted - when we know. I wouldn't want to >perpetuate confusion, or defy the "blood" requirements of various heritage >societies. But I also would never consider ignoring certain forebears >because of these "technicalities." > >Kathleen >in Connecticut, by way of New Orleans >-------------- Original message -------------- >From: "Jan Dean" <janvdean@earthlink.net> > >why are there more adoptees in N.O. because of Catholicism? I think I'm >missing something here. >>