Juvenile Inspecton Records in Canada

Example Juvenile Inspection Card

The Juvenile Inspection Reports are another source to look for a Home Child ancestor. These records date mostly from 1920 to 1932.  however, there are a few from 1911 to 1917 and some after 1932. They are available free on Heritage.

Immigration officials created inspection report cards as they carried out regular inspections of children brought to Canada by various organizations. There is usually one page per child, showing name, age or date of birth, year of arrival, ship, sending organization, the names and addresses of employers and comments.

This series also includes inspection cards for some European children, including those brought to Canada by the Armenian Relief Association of Canada (1923-1932) and the Canadian Jewish War Orphans Committee (1920-1921).

First choose what reel you need from the list below:

​Microfilm reel number	First name on reel	Last name on reel
T-15420	​ANDERSON, Newton and  ABBOTT, Auber	​CARDNO, Leslie
​T-15421	​CARDWELL, Andrew	​EVANS, Arthur E.
​T-15422	​EVANS, Arthur L.	HENDERSON, Ann F.
T-15423	​HENDERSON, Charles H.	LOCK, Annie
​T-15424	​LOCK, Herbert	O'BRIEN, Samuel
T-15425	​O'BRIEN, Thomas	SHAW, Victor
T-15426	​SHAW, Walter A.	WEALE, Walter
​T-15427	WEALLS, Eric	ZYCZYNSKI, Leon

For the surname COOK for example, you need microfilm reel ​ T-15421. Just type that into the search box on the Heritage site and then browse the images. The records are in alphabetical order.

Searching for a Barnardo Home Child

Sheila D. on Facebook asked for help finding her uncle Frederick Cook who arrived in Canada as a Home Child in 1923 or 1924. Apparently family members were told that Barnardo's had no records for Frederick.

I suggest that Sheila write to Barnardo's on her own and ask them to check for Frederick. Barnardo's Family History Service deals with enquiries regarding records of individual children — various services are available.I had great success with using their services for one of my husband's ancestors.

In any case I decided to have a search to see what I could find. Frederick Cook appears in the online database for British Home Children found on Library and Archives Canada.

Given Name(s):Fredrick [sic]
Surname:COOK
Gender:M
Age:11
Year of Arrival:1923
Ship:MELITA
Date of Departure:1923-04-07
Port of Departure:Southampton
Date of Arrival:1923-04-15
Port of Arrival:Saint John
Party:Barnardo Homes
Destination:Toronto and Peterborough, Ontario
Comments:First party in 1923, 132 boys and 12 girls
Type of Records:Other Government of Canada records
Microfilm Reel Number:C-4716
Reference:RG 76, Vol. 52, File 2209, part 4, Documents from Immigration Branch, Central Registry Files
Source:Library and Archives Canada
Database Item Number:102349

Armed with the information of his ship and arrival year, I looked in the Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924 found on Ancestry. He is found there with details which may be helpful.


There are other entries on Library and Archives Canada for a Fred Cook which may be for Sheila's uncle. One is from 1924 and is a photograph published in "Ups and Downs" (magazine published by the Canadian Branch of Dr. Barnardo's Homes, Toronto), November 1924. Page Number: 11. Issue Number: 3. Volume Number: 26

She can find these entries for herself (1924, 1927 and 1928) and order copies from the Archives. I had great success using those entries to find information on the ancestor of a client.

Sheila can also search the Guardianship records on the same site. There is a great deal of information in those and they too can be ordered at a reasonable cost. Start at the Home Children 1869-1932 database online.

Example of a Juvenile Inspection Report

The Juvenile Inspection Reports are another source for finding information on a Home Child ancestor. These records date from 1920 to 1932; however, there are a few from 1911 to 1917 and after 1932. They are available free on Heritage.

For the surname COOK you need microfilm reel ​T-15421. Just type that into the search box on the Heritage site and then browse the images. The records are in alphabetical order