[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Terminology: Legal Tutor

[Marnie Mccall]

Hi Eugine and listers,
 
"Tutor" is a term in Napoleonic Code-based legal systems (including current Quebec Civil Code, for you Canadians).  It is more or less equivalent to "guardian" in the English common law system.  Given both her parents are dead and the tutor's surname is the same as the mother's maiden name, this is most likely the mother's brother and, therefore, the maternal uncle of the person in question.  
 
Since unmarried women were seen as "belonging" to their fathers (and therefore his line), it would be more typical for a father's brother to be appointed tutor, so this may mean 
(a) the father had no brothers
(b) any brothers the father did have are also deceased
(c) any living brothers of the father were unable, unwilling, too far away, etc. to serve as tutor.  
 
If you can determine that there were in fact living paternal uncle(s), it would be worth trying to find out why the maternal uncle became tutor.  Some possibilities could be that paternal uncles were
(a) unmarried, thus inappropriate to have a female ward
(b) financially unable to support the niece
(c) lived too far away.
 
There is a story here -- good luck finding it!
 
Marnie McCall, Ottawa
Researching Grugers and Hochwuhlers  
 
 
> Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:42:20 +0200
> From: "Gene Markiewicz" <genemarkiewicz at aol.com>
> Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Radom Parish Records.... Several
> questions in understanding these entries.
> 
> 
> . Virtually even male mentioned has an occupation or status
> indicated. I have seen colonist, settler, tennant, peasant,, laborer. for
> one woman it was servant and at my grandmothers wedding a man attended who
> was identified as being her "legal tutor". both her parents were dead and
> this "legal tutor" had the same last name as her mother's maiden name. Were
> these standard designations or just what the parish pastor/administrator
> chose to use? I can assume which each designation means but am curious as to
> whether these designations meant more than is obvious to me.
>  
> 
> 
> Eugene Markiewicz