Finding a British Home Child 1869-1939

Part of the file Barnardo's sent us

 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.

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. 

Descendants can also check the British Home Children Registry for a name of interest. 

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

Starving Boys Taken From Parents in 1892 pt 2

Carcassian Passenger List - Mustin brothers

When 10 year old Ernest and 12 year old George Mustin set foot on board the ship Carcassian on June 16, 1892 they must have been frightened.  They sailed together with a group of children from the Middlemore Homes in Birmingham England. All they knew was they were being sent to Canada to work as farm hands in Ontario. 

13 days later they landed in Quebec City, Quebec and were immediately sent on to Stratford, Ontario, where they would be part of Ms. Macpherson's Home for Children. More strangers. More adults bustling them here and there without telling them where they were going. Would they be together? Would the authorities separate them? Those young lads were expected to comply, do as they were told, speak only if spoken to, and behave themselves.

On July 11th John Hackett applied to take George on as a farm hand on his farm. Ernest was taken in by a German family headed by John Geinhselder living in Milverton Ontario where he was to work as a farm hand.

Middlemore Homes had inspectors in Canada who visited the homes where the children were placed. Luckily Library and Archives Canada holds the Middlemore records and after sending for records for Ern and George we learn that young Ernest attended a wedding with his new family in March 1893. The inspector noted that Ernest was with a "nice family of Germans where he's well looked after." Young Ern was attending school and church regularly.

His brother George was not doing as well. His first report in June 1893 stated that George was not a strong boy, so not much help with the chores, but was "able to do a bit." George wasn't happy and it seems the hired hand bullied him. He was told he should be grateful he had a home and that he must do better. In the winter of that year, the head of the house had an accident and George was kept out of school in order to help out. George's last report in 1898 shows he had managed to grow stronger and adapt to his new life.

April 1898 was the last time Ernest, who was then 16 years old, had an inspection. That report read "April 1898. Ernest very small and weak for his age and can’t do a great deal. Goes to Church and Sunday School and has a good home where they take —— [???]"

His time with Middlemore was done. He left the family and moved to Perth County where by 1901 he was found working as a servant for the Rogers family. Ernest's story has a happy ending, for in 1904 he married Alice Bell, a beautiful young woman 6 years his senior. The couple had 4 children during their 44 year marriage. His brother George never married but remained close to Ernest all their lives. It is not known if they ever had contact with their parents after being removed from the home, but it's doubtful. Ernest did not know his mother's name for when he married her name was left blank. What I find distressing is that his parents went on to have another son the year after the two brothers were removed from the home. I have not yet found out what happened to that child. I do know the father Thomas died in 1925 as an inmate of the local poorhouse, his mother Ellen having died the same year Ern married.

This was a family rife with tragedies for my research found that Thomas Mustin's father was killed by his daughter's lover in 1904, and his grandmother Hannah Mustin was raped and beaten in her village when she was 89 years old. Perhaps tragedies follow families? I have no answer to that question.

Be sure to read Part 1 of Starving Boys Taken From Parents in 1892.

Starving Boys Taken From Parents in 1892

February 1892 England. 11 year old Ern and his 12 year old brother George didn't realize when they went to school that cold day that their lives would change forever. Each wore thin pants, a thin jacket and worn boots. Their emaciated bodies were filthy and covered in lice. Both boys attended Staniforth Street (Boys Free Order) Board School for children who were too poor and dirty for ordinary board schools.

But luckily for the starving boys, the school had contacted the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. An inspector came to the school to see the children. Horrified at their condition he visited the parents in their home a week later.

The family were destitute and the brothers' mother stated that five of their children had died, two very recently, being 2 and 4 year old daughters. She seemed pleased with the insurance money she received on their deaths.

The parents, Thomas and Ellen Mustin, were charged with neglect and were summoned to court in June of that year. A doctor examined the boys, stating they were filthy and covered in vermin, as well as suffering from malnutrition. Ern was the worst off, with his thin legs being the same circumference at his thighs as his ankles.

Witnesses who knew the children were called and gave their statements that the brothers had been neglected and in that filthy condition for many years. The court found Thomas and Ellen guilty of severe neglect causing harm to their children and sentenced them both to two months of hard labour. Ern and George were sent to Middlemore Homes for Children at the request of Dr. Middlemore himself. The other children in the household were ordered sent to the Workhouse.

In 1892 the family consisted of Rose 18, Florence 17, and Henry 13 as well as Ern and George. A few months after being admitted to Middlemore Homes in Birmingham, Ern and George were on their way to Canada as part of the Home Children Emigration Scheme.

This scheme sent thousands of impoverished street children and orphans to Australia and Canada as farm labourers and servants to citizens of those two countries. Some children were terribly abused by their new "owners" while others had a happier experience. The boys worked very hard on farms, while the girls were put to work as household servants. I will share Ern and George's experiences as Home Children in subsequent blog posts.

Barnardo's Homes Photo Archives Opened

Thomas Barnardo started giving orphaned and destitute children a home in the UK in 1866. His homes, known as Barnardo's Homes, spread across the UK in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.

Between 1869 and 1920 over 100,000 children from Barnardo's were sent to Canada in the belief they would have a better life in that new country. After arriving in Canada they were sent to receiving homes then to farmers who had expressed a wish to take one. Some suffered abuse and were treated as nothing more than free labour but others found loving homes.
 
Now Barnardo's Homes has released many of the photos in their archives. Read more about the opening of the photo archives at Barnardo's archive photos reveal first foster children

Dating back to 1874, the archive contains 500,000 images and 300 films of the visual history of the organisation, including their work overseas in Canada and Australia.

Information about access to the photo archives can be found at Barnardo's Photo Archives

Photo on left is Albert Finch (1890-1976) is my husband's great-grand-uncle. The photo was taken while he was in Barnardo's Homes.

Albert was admitted to Barnardos Homes as an orphan on 16 February 1899 age 8 years. He spent one night at the Receiving H0use in Stepney East London and in February 1899 he was transferred to Sheppard House in Bow, East London. In 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 in March 1901. On 21 March 1901 he was sent to Canada on the SS Tunisian. 

British Home Children Forgotten in Mass Graves

This is a poignant and disturbing story of 75 children whose remains lie buried, unmarked and virtually forgotten in a pair of mass graves at an Etobicoke cemetery. 

They were British home children, sent from the U.K. to Canada.

"Victorian-era kids sent to Canada to build a better life often suffered a sad fate; now a research group is trying to tell their stories." [thestar.com]

Read more and see the photos on Dozens of ‘British home children’ lie forgotten in Etobicoke cemetery

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.

2010 is the Year of the British Home Child

On Mon Dec 7 Parliament approved 2010 The Year of the British Home Child.

During 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..

Events that have already taken place:
* New Brunswick Provincial Gov't passed 2009 Year of the British Home Child

* Nova Scotia the month of October 2009 was declared

* October 2010 issue of a stamp for the Home Child

* Australia Apologized to 10,000 Home Children immigrated there up to 1967

* Britain to apologize next year

Descendants make up 12%, over 4 million of the Canadian population.

2010 should be a year filled with special events, special displays in libraries and museums across Canada to honour them. If you are a descendant I hope you will get involved in planning some events.

The Welland Museum currently has a display for the Home Children until December 31st.

Maria Rye Home Children Database
Gail Collins 1869-1879 gcollen@sympatico.ca
Chris Sanham 1880-1896 chris@sanham.com

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

If you find a name of interest, and if the child was a part of the Dr. Barnardo's homes, you can contact Barnardo's for the records. They can be reached at aftercare@barnardos.org.uk

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.

Another website of interest will be the British Home Children Descendants site.

2009 Declared Year of the British Home Child

Between 1869 and the early 1930s, over 100,000 impoverished or orphaned children were sent to Canada from Great Britain during the child emigration movement. These children were known as British Home Children.

They came as young as babies to age 18. An estimated 12 per cent, or four million, of Canadians are descended from a British Home Child.

New Brunswick is the first province in Canada to recognize the contribution of the British boys and girls brought to Canada a century ago by declaring 2009 the Year of the British Home Child.

"The Great Britain of the late 19th century was marred by poverty, pollution and social imbalance," Justice Minister T.J. Burke told the Legislative Assembly after tabling his motion of the declaration on Dec. 16, for which he received unanimous support of the house

As a result of the devastation in Great Britain, a number of charitable organizations emerged to create the British Child Immigration Movement. Both the Canadian and British governments supported the program, which reduced the cost to British taxpayers and provided Canada with workers and young children for adoption.

But once here, the children who came along with their unusual accents, faced the pain of separation from their families, ridicule from communities and even their new families, abuse and often horrendous working conditions as labourers and domestic helpers on farms across the province. [Source: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/542738]

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

If you find a name of interest, and if the child was a part of the Dr. Barnardo's homes, you can contact Barnardo's for the records. They can be reached at aftercare@barnardos.org.uk

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.

Another website of interest will be the British Home Children Descendants site.