Betty A. Pace wrote: > > I found in the court minutes the apprenticing of my Abner Pace as an > orphan in 1837, and also a court order that he was to be brought into > court to be apprenticed. This was in Guilford County.. The question in > my mind is where was he that he had to be brought into court? Can anyone > explain where orphans or poor > families might have been cared for until the children reached an age that > > they could be apprenticed out. Abner was 16 when apprenticed, but some > of the other Paces were as young as 11, females for housework I would > assume though that is not stated in the apprentice bonds. None of these > court orders gave the name of the parents and it is possible that only > the father was dead. > > I have noticed in these court papers the assignment of guardians for > children of deceased parents, even when one parent is still alive > (especially if it is the mother who has survived). Was a guardian always > assigned in the case of the children where one or both parents were > deceased. It appears to me that the guardian bonds were quite high > ($250-500), and that suggests to me that this was done only in the case > of wealthy children, or children from wealthy families at least. Of > course, I have only read through several years of Guilford court records > and it may be pure chance that the ones entered in that period tended to > be those for wealthy families. But I have noticed none where the > guardian bond was under $250. I might add that I have yet to find > guardian bonds for my Abner and the other Paces, but I am still going > backward in time on the court minutes. > > I have yet to find the parents' names of my orphan Paces, and any > guidance anyone could give would be appreciated. I do not know whether > one or both parents were deceased, although my Abner and the other Paces > (siblings or cousins) were called orphans. > > Betty Pace - Norfolk, VA > > ___________________________________________________________________ > You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. > Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html > or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] Betty, Here is what little I know about guardian bonds in North Carolina. A guardian was appointed to one or several children in a family when their father had deceased, their function was to look after the proportionate share of the estate of each child. This did not happen in the case where the mother died, because the wifes property became her husband when they married. In some cases the father is appointed guardian to his own children usually because of legacy from a grandparent or other relative. Guardian bonds were required by law to be renewed every year. This was often overlooked. Some times single bonds were made for reach child in a family but usually there were several minor children grouped together. As a child became of legal age, he or she was omitted from the return. Guardians appointd by the court were required to have two persons sign the bond. The amount of the bond was determined by the value of the property belonging to the orphan. NOTE: THE WORD INFANT, WHICH OCCURS FREQUENTLY IS USED AS A LEGAL TERM TO DENOTE A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS, A MINOR. cINDY