I can't remember if I passed this along to you all or not, but I came across it again tonight and if I never did, it's definitely worth your noting: 

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/nov/24/swiss-grapple-with-history-of-forced-child-labor/

It is quite possible that this would have pertained to our forebearers, the Borners Five. Their father would have been dead after a "long and painful illness" according to his obituary, their mother struggling to make ends meet with 6 children to feed. They would have been likely candidates for removal by the state. And recall, Joan Elsesser Collings (I believe it was) said her grandmother, Alice Borner, lived with her grandparents, not her mother and siblings (it is confirmed that she did at least in 1899 live with her grandparents), and that you all have said Ed, Harry, and Sam performed labor in exchange for education at some form of boarding school. And of course, upon emigration the pattern continued, with Alice and Helene living and working away from home as mere middle-teenagers, and the younger Ed and Sam living at Five Points. Your grandfather never mentioned the latter, and it's likely he wouldn't've mentioned the former either. Would be intriguing to know about it, if it happened. 

Thoughts?