Why was Henry Schultz Adopted by Johann Ulrich
Henry Schultz was adopted by Johann and Mary (Maria) Ulrich in McLeod County, MN in 1865. I cannot figure out why? His father had died but his mother (and siblings) were still alive. Are the Ulrichs related in some way? What is the connection?
I am sure you are looking for a specific answer and I hope you find it. But the general answer is usually that the family could not afford to keep all the children and the older ones often went to other families in the area as extra labor for the farm for boys and housekeeping for the girls. This is what happened to my Great Great Great grandfather. He was "sold" to a farm in Norway and even took the farm name as his last name making tracing his line virtually stop at that point. I have seen a lot of adoption of children in my research none of it through an agency or any records kept. Members of my family raised Kit Carson, a famous cowboy in the old west. Also in our family there was also a devastating fire that killed the mother and one of the children and though the father was still alive the children were sent to be raised by other family members breaking the family up in three directions. It is one of the reasons I do not put a lot of faith in DNA testing. Family is more than just DNA.