O is for Orphans

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is O for Orphans. My husband's great-grandmother Elsie Phyllis Markham was orphaned at the age of 8 months. Her older brothers ages 8 and 2 years old were also orphaned when their parents succumbed to illness in London England in October and November 1898.

The boys were sent to orphanages but Elsie was taken in by relatives, eventually brought to Canada by her brother Albert Finch who had been sent to Canada as a Barnardo Boy in 1901.

Albert was admitted to Barnardos Homes as an orphan on 16 Feb. 1899 age 8 years, 4 months. He spent one night at the Receiving House in Stepney East London and on 17 Feb. 1899 he was transferred to Sheppard House in Bow, East London. On 10 May 1899 Albert was boarded out with foster parents in Romsey Hampshire where he remained for two years before returning to East London to Leopold House on 8 March 1901. On 21 March 1901 he was sent to Canada on the SS Tunisian

Luckily for those with orphans in the family tree, there are many good orphanage records available. We were able to obtain Albert's records from Barnardo's but his brother's records could not be found as he was sent to a different orphanage in England called the Miller Homes. We could not find records for this orphanage.

No child left the Miller Homes until employment had been found for them. The boys were apprenticed to a trade and some with the ability to teacher training. They were always provided with three suits and a sum of money. The girls left at 17 and went into domestic service, nursing or teacher training, they too were provided with an outfit of clothes and some money. George Miller gave his blessing to every child on leaving his care, and gave each a Bible.

As one orphan recalled upon leaving, "My belongings were my Bible, my clothes and half a crown and, best of all, was the priceless blessing of George Miller's prayers."

 

UPDATE: Many readers have asked what happened to Elsie and her little brother. I am writing their stories today and will publish them here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog in the coming weeks.

Elsie Markham, A Courageous Woman Whose Secrets Were Revealed with DNA

Elsie on her way to Canada 1913

Elsie Phyllis Markham had no idea of the tragedies she would experience when she was born 27 February 1898 in London England. On October 19 when she was just 8 months old, her 32 year old father Albert died. Her mother Edith (nee Finch) was 28 years old, a widow with three children under the age of 8. Sadly, Edith too died just one month later on November 27, 1898.

The orphans were then separated. For a brief time a neighbour tried to care for them but soon found it too much. An aunt took the children in but her husband objected so little Albert, 8 years old, was admitted to Barnardos Homes in February 1899. Although Albert Markham was not his biological father, the name and whereabouts of his actual father were not known. He had no one to care for him.

His younger brother Frederick, 4 years old, was sent to Miller's Orphanage and Elsie, not quite one year old, was taken in by an older Scottish couple.

Albert, Elsie's half-brother, was sent to Canada as a Home Child when he was 11 where he was very unhappy. He was treated like an indentured servant in his placement with an older couple on a farm. He ran away many times but was always found and sent back. Eventually he was sent to live with a family in St. Mary's Ontario - and there he was treated as a son.  With hard work and by saving every penny he made, he was eventually able to save enough to send for his two siblings. Young 15 year old Elsie arrived in Canada in September 1913 and several months later, Albert was able to be pay for Frederick's passage. Frederick arrived in May 1914.

Albert, illegitimate son of Edith Finch before her marriage, in Barnardo's Homes England

Elsie soon found work as a servant in a local home and four years after her arrival she found herself pregnant and unmarried. A few months later she married a local farmer Bristol Holden. But there was more sorrow for Elsie. On 7 April 1918 her brother Frederick was killed in action in France during WW1. 10 days after her brother was killed a boy was born to Elsie and named Herbert. Herbert, aka Bert, was my husband's maternal grandfather.

Frederick Markham in WW1

We had no idea that Bert's father was not Bristol Holden until my husband and his mother had their DNA tested.  It was then that we learned Bert's biological father was another man. Then the pieces began to fall into place. There had been a persistent family rumour that Elsie had been "fooling around with the handyman Cooper". Sure enough the DNA match that showed Bert's dad was not Bristol Holden matched a man named Cooper. His ancestry was also from St. Mary's.

After several months of intensive research, and matching DNA to another Cooper descendant, we were able to narrow the search for "the handyman Cooper" to one of two men - with the likely culprit being Gordon Alfred Cooper who lived next door to Elsie's brother. He was remembered by those whose parents knew him as a bit of a scoundrel. And that fit very well with poor Elsie getting pregnant and perhaps being deserted by her lover. In fact records indicate that Gordon did leave St. Mary's for several years. In fairness to Gordon however we don't know the facts - perhaps Elsie never told him she was pregnant.

Whether or not Bristol knew that Bert was not his son is not known. Did Elsie tell him or did she trick him into believing Bert was his? We will never know and it really doesn't matter because there is no judgement on Elsie no matter what the story was. Elsie and Bristol had, by all accounts, a happy life, and Bristol and Elsie went on to have five children - one son and four daughters.

The past is the past and the only thing I find a bit sad is that poor Elsie probably never wanted anyone else to know about her circumstances. But genealogy research is all about the truth, whatever it may be.