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August 12, 2013

Tips for Searching For a British Home Child

Tips for Searching For a British Home Child
During the years of the Child Emigration Scheme (British Home Children), between 1869 and 1939 (some up to 1948), over 100,000 children ages 1 - 18 were sent to Canada from Great Britain to work as farm labourers and domestics by over 50 Agents - Barnardo, Middlemore, Macpherson, Fegans, to name a few.

Descendants make up 12%, over 4 million of the Canadian population. If you think your ancestor was one of these children, there are ways to learn more:

You can search the British Home Children ships passenger lists from 1865 to 1935 on Library & Archives Canada website.

Part of the file Barnardo's sent us
If your ancestor was a part of the Dr. Barnardo's homes, you can contact Barnardo's for the records. They can be reached at Trace Your Family History on Barnardo's Homes website.

My husband has a British Home Child in his ancestry and sending to Barnardo's for his records provided a wealth of informative genealogical detail plus photographs of the child when he was admitted to Barnardo's Homes in 1897.

Marj Kholi's Young Immigrants to Canada website is another must for those seeking a British Home Child ancestor. Descendants can also check the British Home Children Registry for a name of interest.


3 comments:

  1. I attempted to send an email to the address you listed but the email was returned. Would you be able to update or check the email address?

    This is a great article and I am researching three brothers that came over in 1907 as part of Barnardo's Home children.
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steve, thank you for letting me know that email no longer is valid. I have updated the original blog post.

    To order records from Barnardo's you now must go to their website and complete an online form.

    See Trace Your Family History

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a lot of children Lorine! I suspect one of my indirect relations was very nearly a Canadian immigrant. The reformatory he was in sent children to Canada, and in his case to Australia.

    ReplyDelete