Letters Between Adoption Agency and Lucy Bonham Harris

Adoption of My Grandmother

This is the adoption agency that my great-grandmother, Elizabeth McCord Thurmond, placed my grandmother after her husband died. She had 8 children to care for and found that she could not do that, so she (according to my memory of things I was told) had to give some of her children to relatives and I believe my grandmother and a sister of hers were taken to this Home for the Friendless with the thought she would come back for them when she settled. I think Elizabeth kept the oldest and the youngest of her children. This adoption agency is no longer in existence having burned down some years ago.

Lucy Little Bonham Harris

Lucy was married previous to George Harris to Thomas Bonham and they probably were divorced in Lake County, Indiana. They had one son, Arthur, who died possibly in Kansas where Lucy moved to before marriage to George. I need to do more research on this.

I know more about Lucy Harris than I do about George Harris. This is the adoptive family of my grandmother and the Little side of the family was researched by that side of the family so I had some help there. I knew the adoptive side of this family. You have to understand that we did not know that my grandmother had been adopted by this side of our family before her death. The Harris family name is quite common and George was born in Memphis, Tennessee according to his obituary; however, I have done some researching there and found several George W. Harris born around the time he was born so do not know which family to associate him with. It needs more researching.

George Washington Harris

George was living in Kansas as early as this 1875 Census. He was 25 and according to this census, he lived in Iowa before coming to Kansas. He did not marry until he was 30 years old unless he had another family in Iowa for which I have not found any proof.