Folks: I am looking at the 1900 census for Proctor VT. Listing number 365 includes 17 individuals. They are listed as Head, 2 sons, 2 duaghters, 11 boarders and one "blank" entry. The blank entry is for 21 year old Redford Proctor, Jr. My father(Gustaf Zandin age 5) and Uncle (Ozwald Zandin age 9) are listed as Boarders. As best I can read it, the surname of the "Head" is "Nellman". Ages of the "Boarders" are 35,9,6,5,4,3,9,5,65,60,12. Can anyone help me identify this group of people? Is this perhaps the "Poor Farm" that I have seen referenced on some lists? Any idea as to why Redford,Jr would be listed with this group? If it was the "Poor Farm", would he have been involved with running it? Thanks Miles Sandin 301 Sandstone Circle Bridgewater, VA 22812 (540) 828-6874 msandin@sheltiesys.com

This appears to be simply a boarding home. Hilda/Hattie Willman/Wellman seems to be supporting her small children by taking in lodgers. In later censuses, as her children got older, they supported her and she stopped taking lodgers. A husband is not in evidence although the censuses list her as married. Redfield Proctor Jr. was evidently a college student. Perhaps this was a location convenient to his college or he just wanted to be on his own. He was later vice-president of the Vermont Marble Company. Actually, with the skipped line, it is not even completely clear that he was in this household. If you are looking for guesses about why your father and uncle might have been in a boarding home without their parents, perhaps their parents/parent worked odd hours or were unsettled and relied upon Mrs. Willman to give the children a stable environment for getting to school and getting meals. There was an Axel Zandin living nearby but without his wife. Was this their father? ----- Original Message ----- > I am looking at the 1900 census for Proctor VT. Listing number 365 > includes 17 individuals. > Can anyone help me identify this group of people? Is this perhaps the > "Poor Farm" that I have seen referenced on some lists? > Any idea as to why Redford,Jr would be listed with this group? If it was > the "Poor Farm", would he have been involved with running it? --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.663 / Virus Database: 426 - Release Date: 4/20/2004