My grandfather was raised in an orphanage in North Dakota sometime after 1901 (his birth), possibly around Richardson or Dickinson. Can anyone help me with a name or location?

Were you able to find any orphanages in ND? I am searching in the Wahpeton area for one my grandmother and her brothers were in.

My father was in an orpahanage in Devils Lake, ND

There was a special census of dependent children in 1933. As far as I know, the names of children were not collected, just statistics. It lists one institution for children in Devils Lake (Ramsey County, ND) : The Odd Fellows' Home, no address, under fraternal auspices, for 13 dependent children.

If your father was there in 1930, he would be listed in the federal census of 1930, which Ancestry.com has indexed and put online for the benefit of its subscribers. This is the latest federal census open for inspection.

Reg Niles

P.S. I was unable to find information for the towns listed in the two queries posted above yours.

Some orphans were sent to live at the State Industrial School (today known as the ND Youth Correctional Center) just outside of Mandan, ND until the late 1940's as it was the only State owned facility for children available at the time.

The US GenWeb Project offers free access to a wide variety of government databases and can be accessed through the Morton County ND portal at

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ndmorton/