West Virginia 1899 legal question about guardianship concerning an orphan.

Question

I am trying to confirm the Identity of my Great Grandmother who died between 1893 and 1899. My Great Grandfather, Anslom Benjamin Clagg, died in 1899 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, leaving my Grandfather, Benjamin Harrison Clagg, an orphan at the age of six. Point Pleasant is the county seat for Mason County. Little Ben went to live with his uncle Laommi Clagg in Ashland, Kentucky instead of his sister Sarah Clagg. There was no adoption.

The legal question is: Is there a legal trail of this process that would establish guardianship across state lines or is this most likely that he was “taken in” by his uncle. If there was a legal process shouldn’t the mother’s name be listed in the court documents (what I am looking for)? Additionally, what were the orphan’s rights to claims on his father’s estate if any?

I hope there is someone out there who knows about where and what to look for.

Thanks,

Mark Johnson

Answer 1

Unless there was a will and money or land involved it’s likely there is no formal record or adoption.

Comments

I believe you are most likely correct. When a person is burried without headstone, it means to me that they did not have money.  My research found that West Virginia changed their guardianship laws in 1900, but the article failed to describe the prior law. My experience is that my relatives in West Virginia did not follow the rules when it came to keeping legal records for births, marriage and deaths so why would guardianship be any different.