2014-01-04

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{{Infobox NIFGS|June 2012|{{Canadian Immigration Records Course}}|Patricia McGregor, PLCGS}}

=== Background of the Home Child Movement ===

A home child is a young immigrant to Canada who came, under the auspices of one of many philanthropic agencies, from an institution (receiving home) in the United Kingdom to another (distributing home) in Canada. The term home child is uniquely Canadian, and may well be unknown to people in archival and family history circles in other countries, including the UK. Home children ranged in age from infants to teenagers.

Victorian Britain saw major growth in population and economy, making her the most powerful nation on earth. While the middle and upper classes prospered, the unenfranchised poor and infirm suffered. Land enclosure and mechanization of farming meant less need for agricultural labour. Urban areas swelled, but unemployment, crime and disease increased. Working conditions were deplorable and child labour was commonplace. Most of us are familiar with graphic accounts written by Charles Dickens and others. Conversely, Canada and other New World countries were in great need of agricultural workers. Emigration of farm labourers out of England began in the 1830s.

Britain already had some charitable schools (Ragged Schools) dedicated to the free education of destitute children. However, they made little difference to the growing number of children who had neither food to eat nor a place to sleep. Institutional homes were opened to remedy this situation, but they could not continue taking children in without later discharging them as self-sufficient. The British Poor Law Unions and government in general saw child emigration to other countries of the Empire as a seemingly attractive option. The “system” of moving them from an overburdened economy to Canada began in earnest in 1869 and the flood began, interrupted only by World War I.

=== Receiving and Distributing Homes ===

Who were these children? Many were from homes of the “deserving poor” and/or large families where unemployment, sickness, mental incapacity or death of a parent placed them at the mercy of Poor Law authorities. Many were abandoned or orphans—children scraping out an existence in the streets and back alleys. Poor Law officials or evangelists would seek out such children to place them in receiving homes, which began to multiply. Some of these were large institutions but smaller ones also existed.

Children were cleansed and dressed better once they were admitted. They were integrated into a daily structured regime of education, work and religious instruction. The schooling stressed literacy and basic work skills for boys (especially farming, if the home was in a rural setting) and domestic service for girls. The work part of the program helped with the economical running of the institution. Part of their education was learning a positive attitude towards emigration. A time came when they were judged to be ready to leave. While younger children scarcely had an option but to emigrate, some older boys might plan to join the military.

Emigrating children went in groups by train to the port of embarkation, often Liverpool, and travelled in steerage—frequently (to them) more luxurious than anything they had previously known. They were escorted by representatives of whichever philanthropic organization was sponsoring them for placements in Canada. Their possessions were carried in a case or box, often inscribed with the child’s and the agency’s name. Quebec City was the port of choice for arrival, although winter weather would dictate Halifax for disembarking. The latter then involved a two-night train journey to Ontario destinations unless a placement in the Maritimes had been arranged.

Distributing homes in Canada were only a stopover, even less temporary than the receiving homes they had left, although institutional discipline was again the order of the day. Demand for children—to provide agricultural or domestic labour in Canada—was usually several times the supply. The arrivals who had been “placed” in advance were soon collected, sometimes even sent off, unaccompanied, to be met at a railroad station nearest their placement. Others were paraded for inspection for the benefit of local farmers who were seeking manual labour and who had passed the organization’s screening.

=== Placements ===

Placements might initially be on approval, for a trial period. Children could be returned to the distributing home, their legal guardian, if they were deemed unsatisfactory. The usual complaint was that the child was too small or weak to do the expected work, or was a bed-wetter. A form of contract developed and the details depend on the agency and the time period—perhaps including such items as a specified term of placement, conditions regarding schooling, church attendance, and pay—which became more regulated in later years. At the end of the term the placement might be renewed or the child returned to the distributing home.

In the early days, there was no requirement for inspections of the child in the placement. Volunteers, with little experience or inclination to find fault, were often drafted to perform such on-site inspections. The situation improved gradually with governments insisting on regular inspections and reporting by full-time inspectors.

Many children did well, thriving once they adjusted, becoming part of the family and remaining in contact for many years. Many were treated fairly, but as employees, not family. Others suffered abuse at the hands of those entrusted with their care, usually with no recourse given their isolation. Expectations for work by children were different in those days; labourers and domestics were expected to earn their keep and more. Most went to farms, but a small fraction found placements in trades and as shop assistants in towns and villages.

At age 18, sometimes a bit older, the young person would pass beyond the purview of the placement agency. By that time they should have had a small amount of capital, enough to start an independent life, saved through earnings paid by the farmer to the agency.

=== Research Strategy ===

Almost all the child emigration agencies kept files on their charges from the time the child came into their care. The best information about the child will likely be with the agency. If your ancestor was a home child, your objective should be to obtain the complete agency file. In it, you should find data on birth, the names of parent/s or other person responsible for sending the child to the agency, and the circumstances behind it. Many files contain photographs of the child when they entered. Some files hold letters from the child, or other inquiries. Occasionally files are simply not available, not having survived the vicissitudes of fire, flood, rodents or carelessness.

The major agencies are listed later in the course material. Their files are considered private and they may hold that they have no obligation to reveal them. Pressure on British-based agencies in the last few years has increased access to their holdings. Requests to these agencies have resulted in common backlogs of months, or even a year, so your application must have carefully researched support. You will have to demonstrate that you are the next of kin or descendant, or have that person’s permission. There will be a fee for the request which may depend on how large the file is, or in other instances you may be asked for a donation.

To be successful in your search for a home child, you must have some information about the person’s vital dates, from census or his/her marriage or death sources. The more precisely you can pin down the year (or at least the decade) when the child arrived, the easier will be the rest of the search. If the child kept the case or box they emigrated with, and it passed down to descendants, this could jump start your research. Often the organizing agency gave the child a bible or inspirational book which may have survived, perhaps with the agency name or an inscription. In the other extreme, some children may have changed their birth surnames to please a family they remained with for a long time, or for other reasons.

Innovative and painstaking work by volunteers is increasing access to public domain records in the UK and Canada. A great deal of work has been done to make Canadian archival material more accessible, as we shall see.<br>

=== Canadian Research Sources ===

==== Immigration Records ====

We have already mentioned that Quebéc was the main ships’ port of entry for home children, but Halifax was also used in winter months and for Maritimes-bound passengers. These are the places where customs and immigration requirements were completed. Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds microfilmed passenger manifests (passenger lists) for:

*Quebéc, Quebéc 1865-1935

*Halifax, Nova Scotia 1881-1935 

*Saint John, New Brunswick 1900-1935

For Interloan purposes, the [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-908.003.02-e.html microfilm listings] can be seen online

The Family History Library of Salt Lake City also has the same microfilm copies but with different film numbering, and are available to order into your local FamilySearch Center. See their [https://familysearch.org/catalog-search catalog]. The good news is that some name indexes or searchable databases are available:

==== The LAC/BIFHSGO Home Child Database ====

Volunteers of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa have come to the rescue by indexing much of the period for parties of young immigrants. The [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-908.009-e.html database] at the Library and Archives Canada is a work in progress, and some years are incomplete or not yet online. BIFHSGO Database accessible through the above link.

You can search the database using combinations of entries in one or more of five fields on the form: surname; given name; year of arrival; name of ship; and keywords. Surname spelling variations should always be considered. When the results come up (most surnames with no given name will return multiple listings), clicking on the icon to the left of each name will display further detail such as age, name of ship, dates of departure and arrival, sending agency, destination, and microfilm reel number. Be sure to go to the original ship’s list to double check. The names on those lists are notoriously difficult to interpret at times so the database results can reflect this difficulty.

==== LAC/BIFHSGO Home Child Database ====

Reid, John D. ''Researching Canada’s Home Children''. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005).

[[Image:Home Child Database, Greater Ottawa.jpg|center|500px|Home Child Database, Greater Ottawa.jpg]]<br>

Reid, John D. ''Researching Canada’s Home Children''. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005).

[[Image:John D Reid Canada's Home Children.jpg|center|500px|John D Reid Canada's Home Children.jpg]]

==== Immigration Form 30A ====

A changed system was in force from 1 June 1921 to 31 December 1924, and from 1919 in some cases. Instead of lengthy passenger lists for the entire ship, individual manifests for each passenger were completed, including children. Form 30A includes the name of the ship; sailing date; port and arrival date; passenger’s name; age; occupation; birthplace; race; citizenship; religion; previous residence; destination in Canada; and nearest relative in the country of origin.

You can see what a goldmine this is if it applies to your ancestors. Form 30A apply to more than just home children. They are microfilmed in quasi-alphabetical order from LAC reel T-14939 to T-15248. Again, you can consult the inventory at the Canadian Genealogy Centre under Sources by Topic (Immigration). The films are also in the holdings of the Family History Library.

<br> Form 30A

Form 30A for Barnardo Boy Edward Fenn Reid, John D. Researching Canada’s Home Children. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005). <br>

[[Image:Form 30A for Barnardo Boy Edward Fenn.jpg|center|500px|Form 30A for Barnardo Boy Edward Fenn.jpg]]<br>

==== Immigration Records (1925-1935) ====

In this period, the Canadian government restored the previous passenger list system in an improved way. There is more passenger data than in the earlier lists. Pier 21 cooperated with LAC to produce an online database from a previous LAC name index for this period 1925-1935. See their website and go to their Databases section.

=== Soundex Card Index (1892-1932) = ===

Spanning part of the above periods is an incomplete but sometimes useful index to immigrant children arriving from 1892 to 1932. The Soundex Card Index, created in 1959, survives at LAC on three microfilm reels: T-534 to T-536. The cards are arranged and filmed by Soundex code, based on the surname.

{| width="600" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1"

|-

| T-534<span style="white-space:pre" class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>

| A100 (Ayoub) to G420 (Gillies)

|-

| T-535

| G421 (Gillespie) to P365 (Petheran)

|-

| T-536 

| P400 (Poole) to Z552 (Ziemans)

|}

A convenient way to find the Soundex code is to use the converter accessible on  [http://resources.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/soundexconverter RootsWeb]

Beware: some other sources for Soundex conversion do not always give the correct result. From the card, one can learn name of the ship on which the child arrived, port and date of arrival, the agency that brought the child and the name of the distributing home.

==== Government Inspection Reports ====

In the earliest years of child immigration there was no Canadian government requirement for inspection of the children in their placement situations. From 1879 the government was obligated to inspect children from workhouses and report to the relevant Board of Guardians. After 1920 inspection was a requirement for all children. Many agencies did conduct more or less thorough inspections, usually only reporting statistics to the government. Reports of such inspections are in the child’s agency record, if it has survived.

==== Board of Guardians Inspection Register ====

A single roll of film at LAC (T-537) contains a name list and inspection register for children from specific British Poor Law Unions. It was compiled sometime between 1886 and 1897 with later information added, then abandoned in 1920. The data in it is quite sparse before 1897. Later information gives the usual name of child, year of arrival and age, but may include the name of the originating Union, name of the sponsoring person or agency, and dates of inspection in Canada. It is clear from references on the pages that other registers have been lost.

*'''Juvenile Inspection Reports'''

Inspections of home children are documented on a series of cards starting in 1920, with a few as early as 1913, one card per child. A fairly complete set of cards was produced until 1932, with images available on LAC microfilms T-15420 to T-15427 in alphabetical sequence by child’s surname.<br>

{| width="600" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1"

|-

| T-15420

| Abbott - Cardino

|-

| T-15421

| Cardwell - Evans, A.E.

|-

| T-15422

| Evans, A.L. - Henderson, A.F.

|-

| T-15423

| Henderson, C.H. - Lock, A.

|-

| T-15424

| Lock, H. - O’Brien, S.

|-

| T-15425

| O’Brien, T. - Shaw, V.

|-

| T-15426

| Shaw, W.A. - Weale

|-

| T-15427

| Wealls - Zyczynski

|}

Each card includes name; age or date of birth; date of arrival; name of ship; name of home or Union; dates and results of inspections; name and address of employer(s). Many include follow-up comments.

:Students will note from a number of our sample documents in this module that microfilming which took place in the 1940s and 1950s is often of uneven or poor quality. Unfortunately, many original papers and sources were destroyed after the filming.

Example of Boards of Guardians Inspection Report Reid, John D. Researching Canada’s Home Children. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005).[[Image:Boards of Guardians Inspection Report, Canada.jpg|center|600px|Boards of Guardians Inspection Report, Canada.jpg]]'''Provincial Inspection Records'''

Immigration was designated a shared federal and provincial responsibility under the British North America Act (1867), but only a single example of a provincial record of inspections has been identified. Within the government of Ontario a Department of Immigration functioned between 1874 and 1899. At the Archives of Ontario (AO), RG 11-7 “Report of Inspection of Home Children” consists of an inspection register for children sent to Ontario in the several years preceding 1875 and 1886 inspections, microfilm MS 6917. The series, in which this file is found, is sometimes referred to as the Hawke Papers.

As described by AO, the register includes the following headings: name; age; place of birth (city/town or in some cases only country is given); if the child had been in a workhouse and where; year of immigration; whether arrived with Miss Rye or Miss Macpherson; religion; name and address of employer or guardian; wages per month; nature of employment; remarks on conduct. The following Ontario communities are shown as placement destinations: Newcastle, Brantford, Mount Forest, Guelph, Chatham and London. While most children listed in the report are English, a few were Irish or Scottish.

*'''Central Registry Files'''

References to home children are scattered throughout the central registry (general) files of the federal Department of Agriculture from 1869 to 1892 in LAC’s RG 17, and from 1892 in RG 76 (Immigration). The earlier files of RG 17 were not microfilmed and have mainly been destroyed; only a cover letter might remain (available only at LAC).

Most likely to be useful are the Immigration Branch Central Registry files (RG 76, B-1-a) covering 1892 to the 1940s. The contents include correspondence between the Immigration Branch and many of the agencies; annual reports and information booklets; some inspection reports and correspondence about individual cases; reports dealing with statistics, procedures and policy; and lists of children arriving on various ships. These files are microfilmed and available through Interloan.

A file number that appears on the Soundex Card Index can lead you to these Central Registry files for possibly more details. Search LAC’s Government of Canada Files database. You want to enter “76” in the Record Group box and the file number in the Keyword box. The results might not add specifics about your home child, but supplemental information may give you helpful clues. For example, knowing who came on the same ship might lead to the descendant of someone else who was on the same voyage.

If you do not have an individual file number for the child, you can still search Central Registry files by the name of the agency, or home or whatever you know about your child.

*'''Closed Files'''

If you search LAC holdings you will come across microfilms for several agencies which handled child emigration. For example, the Barnardo’s Home fonds extends from 1870 to 1936 on 242 microfilm reels. The description relates to the activities of Barnardo Homes, Marchmont Children’s Homes, Liverpool Sheltering Home, Home of Industry and Macpherson Home.

Access to these files is restricted, requiring the researcher to obtain written authorization from Barnardo’s in England. LAC advises that this permission is rarely granted. Furthermore, the files are not complete. It is far better to work through Barnardo’s After Care Centre to obtain the files you need, and be thankful that LAC has a microfilm copy as insurance should anything happen to the repository in the UK.

There is a partial exception for the Middlemore Homes files, some of which are available at LAC and need personal enquiry about access terms.

Search Results of Government of Canada Files for RG 76, File 252093 Reid, John D. Researching Canada’s Home Children. Heritage Productions and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (2005). [[Image:Government of Canada Files .jpg|center|600px|Government of Canada Files .jpg]]

==== Other Canadian Sources ====

===== '''Home Children Canada''' =====

:From the early 1990s, a focal point for researching home children was Home Children Canada, under the direction of J.A. David and Kay Lorente. See Appendix J of Kohli’s ''The Golden Bridge'' for details on the work of this organization. A team at the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa now handles most of the queries through:

:Email:queries@bifhsgo.ca or<br>P.O. Box 38026 Ottawa,<br>ON K2C 3Y7 Canada

{{Tip| Home children who remained in Canada all their lives will have left some paper trail in records that apply to general genealogical research, such as census and vital registrations. Three types of records that may provide additional information on your Home Child Ancestor are described below.}} <br>

===== '''Soldiers of the First World War''' =====

:Over 10,000 home children, almost one in seven, enlisted during 1914-1918. LAC now has a searchable database [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/cef/index-e.html index to Soldiers of the First World War], giving access to online images of attestation papers, usually including date and place of birth, next of kin, and a reference for obtaining a copy of the complete surviving service file. <br>

===== '''Marriage Registrations'''  =====

:Probably more than half the home children eventually married. Perhaps half of the total who came settled in Ontario, which has an 80-year embargo on marriage records still in the Office of the Registrar General. If that is the period of your interest, then you apply to the ORGO:  noting their restrictions as to access. [http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/archival-records/interloan/vsmain.aspx Marriage registrations] from 1869 up to the 80-year period move to the custody of Archives of Ontario which has descriptive details and pathfinders on its website. There are films of the indexes and another series of films for the registration books.

:For other provinces, similar privacy restrictions are in place. Some have online access to certain indexes or searchable databases for vital statistics through their provincial archives sites (for example British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). In other cases, you can consult the provincial agencies which govern vital statistics.<br>

===== '''1940 National Registration'''  =====

:During the Second World War all adults over the age of 16 were required to complete a two-page questionnaire that asked for details such as date and place of birth, year of arrival in Canada if an immigrant, occupation, military service, etc. Statistics Canada holds these records which they will search for a fee, although some access restrictions apply. Find out more about requesting a search at the Library and Archives Canada.

=====  '''Internet Sites and Sources'''  =====

Several Internet resources offer information or the potential to ask advice. These should be regarded as leads only—it is essential to verify any information by going to more authoritative (original or contemporary) sources

*:Marjorie Kohli provides a website with articles and links to her research interest in the organizations that brought children and young women to Canada between 1833 and 1939: http://jubilation.uwaterloo.ca/~marj/ and go to “Child Migrants, Home Children.”

*:<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A RootsWeb site is the </span>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~britishhomechildren/ British Home Children]<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> name list boasting more than 30,000 entries. View this privately submitted name list.</span>

*:<span style="line-height: 1.5em;" />

*:[http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/intl/CAN/BRITISHHOMECHILDREN.html RootsWeb]<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> also hosts the most widely used free subscription mailing list on the topic, often over 100 messages per month. Before subscribing to the list or posting a query, take time to search or browse the list archive which will tell you if anyone has discussed your potential ancestor and give you an idea of how to phrase a query.</span>

==== British Research Sources ====

When you have found a reference to a locality in Britain from your work in Canadian sources, you may feel ready to move on to British sources.

==== Ship’s Passenger Lists ====

The Board of Trade retains ''some'' passenger lists for departures to Canadian ports from 1890, in BT 27 at The National Archives (formerly called the Public Record Office ... PRO) in Kew, London, England. There are no nominal indexes. BT32 contains the date of departure for ships to Canada and elsewhere, but only after 1920—this is useful if you know the ship’s name but not the port or exact departure date. Normally the Canadian passenger lists are more informative and more accessible.

==== Poor Law Unions ====

Emigrating children from England were likely affected by the Poor Law sometime during their early lives. Poor Law Unions (local groups of parishes united under Boards of Guardians for Poor Law administration purposes) were the official social welfare system of the time and they operated local workhouses where schooling was overseen by a Board of Guardians. Records survive at different rates for some jurisdictions and are usually archived in [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/ County Record Offices]; for addresses and catalogues of holdings see the website.

Among the many subjects in the Board of Guardians Minute books may be individual records of admission or, less frequently, discharge. Creed Registers assisted various clergy to identify their adherents in the workhouse; as well as name and religion, they may contain date of birth, date of admission, geographical origin, next of kin or other contacts. Vaccination Registers (smallpox vaccination had been mandatory since 1853) were supposed to include name of a parent if the child was illegitimate. Registers of admission and discharge, birth and death, and others may also be available.

Scotland had a different system—parochial boards administered poor relief. Workhouses or institutional homes were few and far between, except in the cities. The most relevant records would be the parochial boards’ Record of Applications and General Register of the Poor. Look for [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/ Scottish Parochial Board Records] in county, district and burgh level sources, starting with . Ireland’s system was modelled on that of England and Wales. Many surviving records can be found in county library collections, with some at The National Archives of Ireland.

Browsing all the many sources improves your understanding of the system and how it affected the children. A wonderfully detailed and highly recommended site for Internet browsing is at: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/.

==== Civil Registration ====

Registration of births, marriages and deaths started in England and Wales on 1 July 1837. However a substantial fraction of births—the event which interests us most for home children—were not registered in the early decades, more so for the poor and Catholics. Name indexes have long been available on microfilm through the Family History Library and its local Centers. For each quarter of the year the birth indexes are arranged alphabetically by surname, then by given name. The index tells you the name of the registration district and the volume and page where the full entry occurs—also known as the index reference number.

A convenient way to search the national indexes is at the [http://freebmd.rootsweb.com FreeBMD site], a work in progress by volunteers. If FreeBMD cannot help, try one of the [http://www.familyrelatives.com/ commercial sites]; or at this [http://www.BMDindex.co.uk%7C site]. After making a note of the index reference number, go to the [http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content General Register Office ](GRO) site (“Order certificates online”). Among the details on the certificate are requirements for mother’s and father’s names. If you don’t find the child in the national indexes but you know the county of birth, you can try searching for an [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk index to regional records]. and check what is available for that county. Not all are yet online, but the same website may offer other options.

Scotland began its civil registration in 1855 by authority of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). Microfilmed indexes to births up to 1955 are available through the FHL. You can purchase [http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk certificates online]; for a birth 100 years old or more. For [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk births less than 100 years old], consult the online information.

Birth registration in Ireland started in 1864. Records for all Ireland from 1864 to 1922, and from 1922 for the Republic, are at the Office of the Registrar General in Dublin. Northern Irish records since 1922 are at the General Register Office in Belfast. The FHL has microfilm copies of most indexes and registers for the period of our interest.

==== Census ====

National census records that record every household name began in 1841. Except for Ireland they are available every ten years to 1901. Again, microfilmed censuses can be viewed by Interloan through the FHL and its Centers, for the years 1841-1901. Irish census records for this period did not survive except for a few fragments. The following are major initiatives at making indexes, databases and digital images online; this is a sample at the time of publication, but the sites are constantly adding new material:

*[http://www.ancestry.co.uk Ancestry.com],  a pay site for complete 1841-1901 indexes, with links to images, and other years in progress, England and Wales.

*[http://www.findmypast.com/home.jsp Find My Past], a pay site which has some counties in England indexed for the 1861 census.<br>

*[http://freecen.rootsweb.com FreeCEN], a free site with partial indexes and transcriptions for different census years, continually growing.<br>

*[http://www.familysearch.org FamilySearch],  free site with complete index and transcription for the 1881 census England and Wales. Select Europe from the Historical Records Collection and then England and Wales Census, 1881. <br>

*[http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk Scotlands People],  pay site nearing completion of an index and transcription, including links to original images, for all censuses of Scotland 1841 to 1901.

==== Agencies ====

A little background is given for each organization with the names of the receiving and distributing homes, then addresses if contact can be made or records available.

===== Barnardo Homes =====

Founded in 1869 by Thomas Barnardo; total emigration to Canada approached 30,000 children. They were known as [http://www.barnardos.org.uk Barnardo Homes] in Canada, in Toronto (mainly boys), Peterborough (mainly girls), Russell, Manitoba (boys) and a few others. Some British receiving homes were Stepney Causeway, Girls’ Village Homes in Ilford, Essex, and numerous others. Visit the website  under “What We Do” and “Working with former Barnardo’s Children” to see “Researching your family history?”

===== Macpherson Homes =====

Annie Macpherson, a Quaker and evangelical Christian, inspired both Thomas Barnardo and her sister Louisa Birt at the Liverpool Sheltering Home. Children came from the Home of Industry in East London and came to Marchmont in Belleville, Ontario; Blair Athol in Galt; Toronto; Hamilton; Stratford; and Knowlton in Quebec. Records from this organization have been collected with Barnardo’s. <br>

===== Catholic Emigration Association =====

Father Nugent of the Diocese of Liverpool pioneered this agency which saw more than 10,000 Catholic youngsters emigrate. In 1903 previous efforts were amalgamated as the Catholic Emigration Association under the authority of the Catholic Children’s Rescue Societies in several dioceses. Montreal was the primary Canadian destination until 1899 when St. George’s Home in Ottawa became the distributing home. Each of the successor societies to this Association has a database of all known Catholic emigrants to Canada so they can identify from which Rescue Society a child originated, and thus which agency may still hold records.

==== Initial enquiries to: ====

:[http://www.cathchild.org.uk Catholic Children’s Society] (Westminster)<br>

:73 St. Charles Square<br>

:London W10 6EJ;<br><br>

:[http://www.cabrini.org.uk/ Cabrini Children’s Society]<br>

:49 Russell Hill Road<br>

:Purley,Surrey CR8 2XB<br><br>

:[http://www.fatherhudsons.org.uk Father Hudson’s Society]

:Coventry Road, Coleshill

:Birmingham B46 3ED

:Email: [mailto:enquiries@fatherhudsons.org.uk enquiries@fatherhudsons.org.uk]<br> <br>

:[http://www.nugentcare.org/ Nugent Care Society]

:99 Edge Lane

:Liverpool L7 2PE

:Email: [mailto:info@nugentcare.org/ info@nugentcare.org/]

==== Quarrier’s ====

Founded in Glasgow by William Quarrier as [http://www.quarriers.org.uk/resource/trace-your-history/ The Orphan Homes of Scotland]; about 7,200 children were sent (none between 1897 and early 1904). Activities at various locations in Scotland were centralized at Bridge of Weir, near Glasgow, and include the Douglas Industrial Home on Isle of Man. First they used the Macpherson distributing homes (e.g. Marchmont in Belleville) but later established their own Fairknowe Home in Brockville. Inspection records generally have not survived but admission records are usually available. For information about genealogical research see their website.

:[http://www.quarriers.org.uk/ Quarriers Head Office]

:Quarriers Village

:Bridge of Weir, Scotland PA11 3SX

==== Liverpool Sheltering Home ====

Louisa Birt, sister of Annie Macpherson, founded this home with a group of local businessmen and her daughter continued the work. Approximately 6,000 children emigrated. The homes in Liverpool were Byrom Street Home and Myrtle Street Home. In Canada, distributing homes were Oakfield, Nova Scotia; Knowlton, Quebec; Marchmont, Belleville. Records are kept with Barnardo’s and Liverpool University.

==== Middlemore Homes ====

Founded in Birmingham as the Children’s Emigration Homes by John T. Middlemore, the [http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=13 Middlemore Homes] sent about 5,000 children to Canada. They are associated with Fairbridge Farm Schools which is now part of the Prince’s Trust. Receiving homes in the UK were Children’s Emigration Homes in Birmingham: St. Luke’s Street (boys) and Spring Street (girls). Canadian homes were Guthrie House in London and Fairview Home in Halifax. All the records appear to be on microfilm at LAC, but terms of access vary according to dates. They must be viewed on-site at LAC and written permission from Middlemore Homes is necessary to make any photocopies from the films. The same records exist in the Archives at the Birmingham Public Library.

The British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) has done a great deal of research on the Middlemore Homes—their background, their emigration scheme and the children who passed through the homes. The organization’s quarterly publication ''Anglo-Celtic Roots'' has included a number of articles on this research over the years. For example, The Middlemore Project: ''Part IX, Middlemore Home, Fairview Station, Nova Scotia'' (pp 106-114 Volume 12, no. 4, Winter 2006) is the ninth article in the series. Also much information has been added to their website.

==== Maria Rye ====

[http://sca.lib.liv.ac.uk/collections/colldescs/mariarye.html Miss Rye] was the pioneer of child emigration; some 4,200 emigrated. From 1896 her work was continued by the Waifs and Strays Society. The British receiving home was in Peckham, South London; in Canada, Our Western Home was located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Surviving records are at Liverpool University.

==== National Children’s Home ====

Rev. Thomas Bowman Stephenson (Methodist) founded the National Children’s Homes and Orphanages in 1869; approximately 3,600 children emigrated. Established in London, NCH had as many as 30 to 40 receiving homes open at any one time and more than 80 homes in all. Hamilton was the Canadian centre for distributing. Records are with the current organization and at Liverpool University.

:[http://www.nch.org.uk/information/index.php?i=195#100 National Children’s Homes Action for Children]

:10 Great Queen Street

:London WC2B 5DG

==== Fegan’s Homes ====

James W.C. Fegan worked in London and the Home Counties. About 3,200 boys (mainly from 14 to 17 years of age) emigrated. British homes were High Street in Deptford, Little Wanderers’ Home in Greenwich, the Southward Home, and The Red Lamp in Westminster. Homes in Canada were in Toronto, Ontario and Brandon, Manitoba. Records from the Fegan Canadian homes are held by Mr. Douglas Fry, 30 Miles Ave., Brantford, Ontario N3R 5B3.

:Mr.[http://www.fegans.org.uk Fegan’s Homes] Inc.

:160 St. James Road

:Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2HE

==== Church of England Waifs and Strays Society ====

The central home was established by Edward Rudolf in 1881. The official names changed over time but Church of England Waifs and Strays remained part of the name for many years. The Society operated nearly 175 children’s homes up to 1918 (but not all at once); the first for girls was in East Dulwich and for boys at Upper Clacton. Now it is known as The Children’s Society. In Canada at different times, there were Gibbs’ Home in Sherbrooke, Quebec; Benyon Home, Sherbrooke, Quebec (boys); Our Western Home, Niagara-on-the-Lake (girls); Elizabeth Rye Home, Toronto (girls); and Winnipeg Babies’ Home. Material on the [http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk Society’s emigration activities] is heavily censored but some of their early publications are reproduced.

=== Bibliography and Suggested Reading ===

*Bagnell, Kenneth. ''The Little Immigrants: the Orphans Who Came to Canada''. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2001.<br> <br>

*Birt, Lilian M. ''The Children’s Home-Finder, the Story of Annie Macpherson and Louisa Birt''. London: J. Nisbet, 1913.<br> <br>

*Christensen, Penelope. ''Researching English Poor Law & Parish Chest Records''. Toronto: Heritage Productions #HE08, 2002. <br> <br>

*Corbett, Gail H. ''Nation Builders: Barnardo Children in Canada. ''Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2002. <br> <br>

*Diamond, Marion. ''Emigration and Empire: the Life of Maria S. Ry''e. New York: Glarland Publishing, 1999. <br> <br>

*Douglas, Althea. ''Finding Your Ancestors in English Quebec''. Toronto: Heritage Productions #HC02, c2000. <br> <br>

*Gammie, William. ''William Quarrier and the Story of the Orphan Homes in Scotland''. London: Pickering & Inglis, 1936. <br> <br>

*Gibson, Jeremy. ''Poor Law and Union Records''. 4 Vols. Federation of Family History Societies, 1993-1997. <br> <br>

*Gilchrist, James S. ''Marchmont: Distributing Home, Belleville, Ontario, 1870-1925''. Belleville: Epic Press, 2003. <br> <br>

*Hanowski, Laura. ''Finding Your Ancestors in Manitoba''. Toronto: Heritage Productions #HC24, c2004. <br> <br>

*Herber, Mark. ''Ancestral Trails, the Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History''. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company (1st paperback edition), 2000. <br> <br>

*Jacka, Alan A. ''The Story of The Children’s Home''. London: National Children’s Home, 1969. <br> <br>

*Kohli, Marjorie. ''The Golden Bridge: Young Immigrants to Canada, 1833-1939''. Toronto: Natural Heritage Books, 2003. <br> <br>

*Magnusson, Anna. ''The Village: A History of Quarrier’s''. Bridge of Weir: Quarrier’s Homes, 1984. <br> <br>

*Merriman, Brenda Dougall. ''Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Records''. Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, revised 3rd edition, 2002. <br> <br>

*Middlemore Homes. ''One Hundred Years of Child Care: the Story of the Middlemore Homes''. Birmingham, 1972. <br> <br>

*Parr, Joy. ''Labouring Children: British Immigrant Apprentices to Canada''. University of Toronto Press, 1994.<br> <br>

*Punch, Terrence. ''Genealogical Research in Nova Scotia''. Halifax, 1983.<br> <br>

*Snow, Perry Allan. ''Neither Waif Nor Stray: the Search For a Stolen Identity''. Victoria: Trafford, 1999. <br> <br>

*Young, Barbara. ''Chasing Grandma''. Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue: Shoreline, 2001.<br>

<br> ____________________________________________________________________ <br> Information in this Wiki page is excerpted from the online course [http://www.genealogicalstudies.com/eng/courses.asp?courseID=314 Canadian: Immigration Records] offered by [http://www.genealogicalstudies.com The National Institute for Genealogical Studies]. To learn more about this course or other courses available from the Institute, see our website. We can be contacted at [mailto:wiki@genealogicalstudies.com wiki@genealogicalstudies.com]

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