>James, > >Since you are so knowledgeable, I was wondering if you might know how I >could go about finding orphanages in the Mecklenburg County, NC area. My >grandma Shuman was reared in one in approximately 1868-1870. I've >contacted the library and even they have given me particularly no >information. > >Thanks James. > >Judi Judi, You flatter me! but I fear you have grossly over-rated my ability. Perhaps someone who lives closer to that area might be much more able to help out. I know that it's been difficult for others to locate records on orphanages in PA, IN (and probably other states, as well) much before 1915. I guess for one thing the names of the institutions kept changing, and for another, some communities attempted to maintain the fiction that no such kind of place existed in their area. Sometimes they went by other kinds of descriptive words than "orphanage", but I'm not very certain as to what those terms were -- but that might be why the library was not helpful. One I heard about was a "children's home" and others had even less obvious names, I think. On the other hand, some terms are harsh-sounding to us: "foundling's home" and "asylum" come to mind. Thus, I'm afraid to even begin guessing what the good people of Mecklenburg County, NC might have chosen to call their orphanage. It would seem to me that there ought to be some kind of county/court records which would include the name of the institution, although I realize not all of them were public institutions. Best wishes on your search, and let us know if you make any progress. JS ____________________________ James Shuman, art instructor Modesto High School jshuman@telis.org ____________________________