Question about the term "bound"

[Burzum]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I have an odd question, my great-grandfather was in an orphanage in Northern NY in 1895. At the age of 5 he was taken out of the home by a couple that raised him, he was never adopted, and the record from the orphanage only states that he was "bound" to the couple that removed him.

1) Was this common for orphans to be given away w/o any court oversight?

2) Is the language of being "bound" indicative of anything other than loose rules and the new family having a basic duty to provide food, shelter, etc.?

3) Or is it a specific term in 19th century family law?

THANKS

 

[single317dad]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I have an odd question, my great-grandfather was in an orphanage in Northern NY in 1895. At the age of 5 he was taken out of the home by a couple that raised him, he was never adopted, and the record from the orphanage only states that he was "bound" to the couple that removed him.

1) Was this common for orphans to be given away w/o any court oversight?

2) Is the language of being "bound" indicative of anything other than loose rules and the new family having a basic duty to provide food, shelter, etc.?

3) Or is it a specific term in 19th century family law?

THANKS

I don't have a lot of knowledge on this subject, but for my part I'll state that orphans weren't typically adopted by families until right around the turn of the century (1900-ish). Generally, they were just placed in orphanages. This started changing slowly in the 1890s, and the Catholic Home Bureau in 1897 began placing many children with families.

The practice of bonding, or being "bound out", meant that the child was required to obey their new owner/master/parent and learn a trade that would support them in adulthood. All I can say is that I'm glad I wasn't an orphan 150 years ago.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~seky/folfoot/015.html

 

[quincy]

I don't have a lot of knowledge on this subject, but for my part I'll state that orphans weren't typically adopted by families until right around the turn of the century (1900-ish). Generally, they were just placed in orphanages. This started changing slowly in the 1890s, and the Catholic Home Bureau in 1897 began placing many children with families.

The practice of bonding, or being "bound out", meant that the child was required to obey their new owner/master/parent and learn a trade that would support them in adulthood. All I can say is that I'm glad I wasn't an orphan 150 years ago.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~seky/folfoot/015.html

To go along with what single317dad found, here is another link to a "Genealogy Today" article written by Bob Brooke:

http://www.genealogytoday.com/columns/everyday/040508.html

"Bind" was defined as "to indenture as an apprentice." Those who were bound were not necessarily orphans.