My grandfather, William J. Boyle, and his sister, Gertrude Boyle, were minor children when their father died in 1905. Their mother had died earlier in 1902 and so they were left without parents. The oldest sister, Mary D. Boyle age 26, took over the parenting of the 2 minor children at their father's death. I don't believe there was much extra money in this family, so I wonder if Mary would have gone through the legalities and expense of applying for guardianship. Was that normally done, even with poor families? Pam Oregon