Dawn, >From my experience indexing our county's Probate Records (Michigan), I have seen adult men who wanted to change their surname, even if they had a family. It looks like the man had it done and his wife and children's names were changed also. As to where to look, I would start with the Probate/Guardianship Records in the County Court House. They probably have some type of index, in house. Go back to when the man was first born; if he was orphaned. By law someone had to be appointed his guardian, even if his mother was still alive. Then work forward using the surnames that were around him. Adoption files are probably sealed, but following his original surname, you might find some interesting reading in these files. When you find an event, note the date and check the local newspapers for any news article. Sometimes in the social/happening columns. As to the historical society having anything, you could ask. We are indexing the Probate Records from out county, so our library has an index to encourage people to search further. We have about 20,000 names and still going. I have had the pleasant experience, while working on the index, to hear the surprise of a patron who finds one of their people in our binder of names. Good Luck in what you find. Susanne ***** You Wrote: somewhere around 1913, while living near Perry, NY (Wyoming Co.), my great-grandfather found out that he had been orphaned "twice". (He was orphaned as a baby, adopted, and orphaned again.) He had not known about the first time. He subsequently went to court to try to change his last name to his original birth name, but by then he had a wife and child, and, according to family recollections, the judge told him that since he already had a family, he shouldn't change his name. Unfortunately, because of things like orphanage fires and the like, the only documentation I have of any of this comes from what my grandparent's generation remembers. So, I would like to get a copy of the above mentioned court records, but I am not sure where to look. Does anyone know whether this type of thing would be a county court or state court issue? If county court, which particular court would be the most likely -- orphan's court, prothonotary, etc.? Or would the Wyoming County historical society be the best place to look?