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

Followup to Sending for Home Children Records from LAC

Last week I wrote about Finding an Ancestor's Full Record on the NEW Home Children Database

Finding and figuring out how to order the records is somewhat tricky and my blog post was an explanation of how I did it.  After ordering I sat back to wait.

Yesterday I received my copies of records from Middlemore Children's Emigration Homes from Library and Archives Canada. I was quite excited until I opened the envelope. Inside were several photocopies, each 8 1/2 x 14 inches in size. 

The problem was that the image of the actual record was 6 1/2 inches by 2 inches. It was completely unreadable. The red text over the image is my addition due to the restrictions placed on my obtaining these records.

So here is how I made the images readable.

1. First I cut the pages down to a manageable size.

2. I scanned each page

3. I opened each page in turn in Picasa and enlarged it

4. I altered filters and added more light so I could get rid of the darkness blocking the text.

This method worked extremely well and even though it was time consuming I ended up with images I could read.

Since these records are restricted due to privacy laws and LAC is not allowed to send them via pdf, only as photocopies, I cannot publish them here on my blog as legible images. 

But I wanted you to see the steps I took so I have placed white squares over most of the wording. 

So if you order these records be aware of how they will come to you. But don't despair as they can be altered so that you can read them. 

Please do respect the privacy restrictions of these records and don't publish them online after you alter them for your own use. 

Finding an Ancestor's Full Record on the NEW Home Children Database

Library and Archives Canada is pleased to announce the launch of a new version of its online database, Home Children Records.

This online database has been extended to include more than 245,000 entries for British children sent to Canada between 1869 and 1932. Names have been indexed from a variety of sources, such as records from sending organizations, publications, governmental and private records.

After reading LAC's latest announcement I rushed to the site to search for some of the Home Children I'd previously found on the Ships Passenger Lists there. My husband's great-grandmother's brother Albert Finch was one of those children. 

Barnardo's Homes

Albert came to Canada from England with Barnardo's Homes so there was only one "extra" entry for him that I had not seen before. The entries are summaries only and in this case the original was from Ups and Downs Magazine and not available on microfilm.  Luckily I know a genealogist in Ottawa and asked him to retrieve the original entry for me. 

Ups and Downs Magazine

Some of the Ups and Downs Magazine entries are on microfilm at British Home Child & Child Migrants in Canada LAC has kindly provided microfilm numbers if your Home Child's entry in Ups and Downs Magazine has been filmed.  You can also check for your name of interest here.

Middlemore Children's Emigration Homes

Next I searched for my friend Linda's grandfather Ernest Mustin and his brother George. This was a goldmine! There were 5 "extra" records for Ernest and 6 for his brother George. Here is a sample of what the result for one entry on LAC provides:

Given Name(s): Ernest
Surname: MUSTIN
Age: 11
Address in United Kingdom: Adam St., Dartmouth St.
Guardian: Thomas Mustin
Date of Application:1892-03-07
Notes:See newspaper cutting, parents charged by Nat. Soc. for Prevention of Cruelty to children - neglect.
Record Title: Application Book
Page Number: 421
Case Number: 1249
Volume Number:245
Microfilm Reel Number:A-2104
Reference: MG28 I492, Middlemore Children's Emigration Homes
Source:
Library and Archives Canada
Database Item Number:
175012

Obtaining Copies

Birmingham Daily Post - Tuesday 08 March 1892

Seeing this I knew I had two options open. First I could search for that newspaper clipping myself on a British Newspaper site. Second I could request copies of whatever else might be in the file that LAC referenced. I searched for the newspaper clipping and found it easily. It was quite distressful as it gave a vivid description of Ernest and his brother's neglect. The boys were said to be malnourished, covered in vermin, and with no shoes or coats (this was March in England). The home life scene described was horrific. 

But I still wanted whatever LAC had on file, so I read How to Access the Records (on the first page of the Home Children Database). It was clearly laid out - Films starting with "C" or "T" are available online and  must be accessed by the researcher. Films starting with “A” Prefixes (including Middlemore MG28 I492 records) must be ordered from LAC.

To order a copy you must start at this page. Read the instructions then go to Online Order Form for Reproduction Requests Next you will read, and click on, the ACCEPT buttons before continuing to the order form. 

On the Order Form page you see a shopping cart and choices. You want Textual documents (includes documents on microfilm) 

Next choose how you want the copies delivered. I ordered all 11 of my entries and chose Digital Copies by Email. The very next day I received a phone call from LAC informing me that because Middlemore records are restricted they cannot be sent digitally and would I accept copies by mail. Of course I agreed but this is something for other researchers to remember when ordering.

Now comes the tricky part. There are 3 fields to fill out.

 First the Title. In my case the Title was simply the Record Title. So I copied and pasted "Application Book" into that field.

The next field is the Reference Number. That was "MG28 I492, Middlemore Children's Emigration Homes" 

In the last field for Additional Information I simply copied and pasted the entire entry that LAC provided. I will say that when the Archivist phoned me the next day she stated that I had filled out the form "perfectly".

Fill out how many copies you want and if you don't want to exceed a certain number of pages. I left that blank as I want it all even if it is 30 or 50 or more. 

Then you fill out a Declaration of Use and indicate whether you want Rush or Regular service. There is room for Special Instructions if needed. I used it on this one because I also wanted the notes for Ernest's brother George. So I asked LAC not to duplicate pages but send me any that were about George and not Ernest. 

If you want to order more than one record, as I did, you have to add them to your cart one at a time. No one said it would be fast or easy! Also if you are a senior, you can get a discount on the cost. Ask for your order # when you hear from LAC, then submit your proof of age (such as a passport, birth certificate or driver's licence) along with your order # and they will apply your discount. 

Eventually you will receive an email with the final cost for your copies along with a link for online payment if that is the method you choose to use.

Start searching home children records now!