Another thing I've been told by the NJ Archives is that Guardians were usually only appointed when there was a need to "protect" a sizeable estate left by the deceased parents. Since there were no Orphan Courts in the earlier years, this type of "appointment" would have been noted in other records, such as the Will Proving or Land titles. If there was no money or land involved, underage children were just "taken in" by relatives and/or close friends. Carol