19th Century

Aberdeen, George Hamilton Gordon

George Gordon was the grandson of the 3rd Earl of Aberdeen. His mother died in 1791 and his father in 1795, leaving him in the care of two guardians: William Pitt the Younger (the ... [more]

for California

Alda, Frances Jeanne

Alda (her stage name) was born Fanny Jane Davis in New Zealand. Her parents divorced when she was 15 months old, and her mother, a professional singer, died in 1884, after which young Fanny... [more]

Audubon, John James

Audubon was born in what is now Haiti, the son of a well-to-do married French naval captain and slave trader and his Creole servant-mistress. His mother died soon after his birth and his fa... [more]

Ballinger, John

Ballinger was orphaned as a child and left school at 14. He got a job as an assistant in the Cardiff Public Library in 1875 and rose to be chief librarian by 1885. In 1908 he became the fir... [more]

Basavis (under Devadasi)

Devadasi (mainly of Maharashtra and Karnataka states) and related practices ( Maharis in Kerala, Natis in Assam, Muralis in Maharashtra, Bogams in Andhra Pradesh, Jogatis and Basa... [more]

Batley, Robert Thompson (under Honorific Adoption)

It is not unusual for adults to be adopted as honorary members of a family, clan or tribe. There are two main types. One is the publicity-stunt adoption of politicians, usually western l... [more]

Bauro (under Kiribati)

The Pacific island country of Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) includes the atoll of Abemama, inhabited by the tribe of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka. The hereditary high chiefs of thes... [more]

Bayard, James Asheton, Sr.

Bayard and his siblings were adopted by their uncle, John Bubenheim Bayard, when their father died. From 1797 to 1803 he was a member of the US House of Representatives from Delaware, fr... [more]

Bemo, John

Bemo, born Talamasmico in or before 1825, was the nephew of the great Seminole Chief Osceola. When he was nine or 10 (in 1835) his father died after a drunken brawl in St. Augustine, Florid... [more]

Bhanu Pratap Singh (under India - Princely States: 10)

Until the 19th century what is now India (like Europe) was a patchwork of over 650 princely states, like kingdoms, ranging from the small and relatively unimportant, to the large, immensely... [more]