"Nurse Child"

[jann]

In the 1881 Census I have a household in which a 3 month old boy's relationship to the head of the household is "nurse child."  The head of the household is a woman of 47.

Other members of the household are her son's and daughters in the 13-25 age range.

The boy's last name is different from the others in the house

Can anyone tell me what 'nurse child" means in this context?

thanks,

Jann

[Ruskie]

Hope this helps:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,140362.0.html

[jann]

Hi,

Thanks for the link.  i understand the basic meaning is a child being cared for by a family other than his/her own.  the arrangement may or may not have involved someone in the adoptive household actually nursing the child.

In this case the child is 3 months old so obviously in need of nursing..  Can't quite figure out who would have providing the "service" in this case

Must see if I can figure out who the actual parents are and if there is any connection to the adoptive family.

Jann