Complex sentence: When Deborah's father abandoned the family, her mother, unable to provide for her children, placed them in the households of various friends and relatives, a common practice in 18th century New England to provide for dependent children.
Split into simpler sentences: When Deborah's father abandoned the family, her mother, unable to provide for her children, placed them in various households. This was a common practice in 18th century New England to provide for dependent children.