SMARC: Guardianships

Guardianships are established by the local courts to protect innocent persons regarding their legal rights in a court matter, are legally incompetent or a minor. Guardians serve by either posting a bond or they may serve without posting a bond under certain circumstances which is determined by the court. The court issues Letters of Guardianship which are the legal documents that a Guardian presents when conducting business with the public. The Guardianship will end at the conclusion of that particular court proceeding, at the death of the incompetent, or when a minor reaches majority or "comes of age". The laws about guardianships will vary from state to state.

Researchers will find the courts granting guardianships over fatherless minors in Estate proceedings to manage that child's property after the probate proceedings are concluded. The mother would retain her 'natural' guardianship over her minor child's person until they were grown. Researchers will also find guardianship records concerning orphans where both parents are deceased.

Senile dementia isn't anything new. The terms 'idiot' and 'insane' are shown next to usually elderly persons in census records. These mentally-ill people were often cared for by family members. If they were poor and had no one to care for them, the local court would establish a guardianship over the person and perhaps send them to the state mental hospital: Milledgeville, GA - Knoxville, TN - Raleigh, Goldsboro or Morganton, NC.

Guardianship records are not usually found separated from transcribed court records. We have tried to find those records concerning our mountain area that have been gleaned from those county records. If you don't see a link below, check out our Court Records and Wills/Estates sections because Guardianships may be shown in those.

The above information was provided by our web site's owner, Carol Ann Tindell, former nationally recognized Certified Legal Assistant [CLA] in Estates, Trusts, Wills and Guardianships, Real Estate, Contracts, and Litigation. It is solely general information to help fellow genealogists. For further information, consult an attorney.

Abandoned Insane Asylums
Robert Foster's site featuring photos and historic images of abandoned asylums in the United States.

Central State Hospital - Milledgeville, GA - info about admissions 1842 to present and burial records

History of the Dorothy Dix Hopsital - Official site of mental hospital in Raleigh, NC. Contains history section and many historic images.

Broughton State Hospital -
Morganton, NC

Cherry Hospital - Goldsboro, NC - Mentally Ill Hospital for African Americans

Mentally Ill History Milestones in TN

Eastern State Mental Hospital in Knoxville, TN [now Lakeshore Mental Health Institute]

Eastern State Hosptial Cemetery - by Robert McGinnis

There are many guardianship records that have yet to be transcribed. They are usually found mixed in with the category of 'county court records'. If you are interested in seeing more of these types of records on this web site, please contact us. We will help you locate the records for transcription. Thank you.