Painting by Ruth McMillan in 1976
Shows the Head of the Rideau Canal Locks in Ottawa, Canada in 1893
__________________________________________________________________

I assure you I found nothing worse, nothing more degrading, nothing so hopeless, 
nothing nearly so intolerably dull and miserable as the life I left behind me in 
the East End of London.
... Aldous Huxley

October 28, 2015:

Subject: [BHC] National Remembrance Day Ceremony
From: Gail Collins and Judy Neville
 
Once again the British Home Children and their descendants will take their place at the National Remembrance 
Day Ceremony on November 11, 2015, in Ottawa. This is the third year this has been done. 
 
 An incentive of the Ontario East British Home Child Family group. 
 
 The Wreath Bearer will be British Home Child descendant Ian MacLeod,
  
Ian's grandmother was Sarah Taylor. Sarah came to Canada with her sister Jenny (sharing the same 
little trunk) from Dundee, Scotland. 
  
Ian is a retired OPP, retiring in 1998. As an OPP he was assigned to various positions starting with 
Traffic Patrol, Community Service Corporal and Spokesman for the OPP with regard to radio and television 
in B Division, Marine Patrol on the St. Lawrence River, Criminal Investigator and Motorcycle Rider. He 
participated in several other special events such as two Royal Visits as greeter and escort, security for the 
Olympics in Kingston, security and escort for the Canada Youth Games in Thunder Bay and security for 
Pope John Paul II in 1984 to name a few.
 
... Gail Collins and Judy Neville

See also the Rootsweb mailing list at britishhomechildren-l@rootsweb.com. You may have to join this group at rootsweb.com 
before accessing it.


The Library and Archives Canada has a searchable database of British Home Children.
The major sending agencies were the Barnardo, Quarrier and McPherson organizations in England (mostly London) and Scotland (Glasgow).

In downtown Ottawa there is a monument dedicated to the home children who came to the Ottawa area (see photo below).

Photo source: Library and Archives, Canada 
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/home-children/index-e.html 



Children from overcrowded city neighbourhoods were sent to Canada as indentured servants, mainly to work on farms in 
Ontario or Quebec until the age of 18. Many of the home children left the farms and settled in the nearby cities -- 
Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton.

September 9, 2012:

Two very good books are Labouring Children: British Immigrant Apprentices to Canada, 1869-1924,
by Joy Parr, and also Lost Children of the Empire, by Philip Bean and Joy Melville, Unwin Hyman Limited, London.
These books are listed in our Bibliography. 


May 16, 2008:
Dear Mr. Lewis,
 
I was looking for information on the terms of "indenturedness" for British Home Children 
and came across your May 12, 2004 posting on http://www.bytown.net/homekids.htm 
 
I had a couple of questions:
1.  Was it Joy Parr's book that gave you the age 18 termination of indentured servitude 
or is that from another source?  I am finding that the terms differed and that some 
children remained indentured until age 21.
 
2.  Could you give me the date/location/source of the photo

Have you read Margaret Humphreys' book "Empty Cradles"?  While more applicable to the 
child migration programs to Australia, it does touch on the Canadian programs.
 
Many thanks for your time.
Best regards,
 
... Liane Kennedy
________________________

Good morning, Ms. Kennedy:
 
Thanks for your e-mail.
 
The photo comes from the Library and Archives, Canada, web site. It is located at 
 
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/home-children/index-e.html
 
I've just added the credit for this photo (above) to my page.
 
I don't know if the age 18 appears in the book by Joy Parr or is from my notes taken in a 
lecture at Carleton in 2004. It's interesting that you have found some children who remained 
indentured until age 21. Maybe at the time of placement in Canada the term of indenture was 
negotiable in some cases.
 
Is it OK with you if I add your e-mail to our web page at www.bytown.net/homekids.htm as 
a contact for other researchers? Please let me know.
 
Thanks again.
 
... Al Lewis
February 25, 2010:

Source: Ottawa Citizen, February 24, 2010: 
Headline of an article regarding the British apology to 
British Home Children and their descendants



There is a memorial plaque dedicated to Home Children in the Ottawa area on Wellington Street in Hintonburg in front of 
Holy Rosary Church, which was the site of St. George's Home, the place from which home children were allocated to their
new homes in Canada. St. George's Home was located at 1153 Wellington Steet here in Ottawa.
______________________________________________________________

Here is another article which appeared in the Citizen last week:

Britain to apologize to 'home children'
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post 
 
By Marian Scott, Canwest News Service February 24, 2010
 
On Oct. 5, 1875, six-year-old Fred Fowler stepped off a steamship in Quebec City with a small wooden trunk containing 
all of his earthly belongings.
Little did Fred know that he would never see his native England again.

Over the next 75 years, Fred would become a child labourer on a farm, be adopted, marry and father 11 children, 
33 grandchildren and more than 100 great-grandchildren. But for the moment, all he felt was fear and loneliness.

The memory of arriving in a strange land, where the priest who came to meet him and six other homeless boys at 
the ship spoke only French, would stay with him forever.Canada has 100,000 stories like Fred's -- some happy, 
many sad and a great number that will always remain shrouded in mystery.

They are part of the saga of the so-called home children -- tens of thousands of penniless children sent 
to Canada from 1869 to 1939 to make new lives for themselves. It is estimated than more than one Canadian 
in 10 traces his or her ancestry to home children who laboured as farm hands and servants in the young 
dominion.Today, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will apologize on his country's behalf for shipping 
out 150,000 home children to lives of servitude in Commonwealth countries.

But in Canada -- which received the lion's share of the youngsters -- many of their descendants say 
no apology is necessary.

"This was the golden bridge to Canada," says Cecilia Karwowski, 75, Fred Fowler's granddaughter.
"My grandfather would say, 'I've been a very fortunate man.' He did think he was very fortunate."

In the 1860s, evangelical reformers like Annie Macpherson, who volunteered among the poor in London's 
East End, conceived the idea of sending impoverished children to Canada. Apprenticeships on farms and 
in respectable homes would provide an alternative to living in slums where the life expectancy was 
about 35, she reasoned.

Charitable organizations like the Barnardo Homes and the Salvation Army soon joined the movement to 
ship poor children off to Canada.
While the children were called orphans, two-thirds had parents, most simply too poor to keep them. Most 
were between age nine and 14 but some were much younger.

Of at least 100,000 home children sent to Canada, some 70,000 went to Ontario and 12,000 to Quebec. 
The children were bound by contract to
work for their room and board until age 18.

Critics say the lack of oversight made the children easy targets for abuse and that they were exploited 
as cheap labour. A backlash orchestrated by trade unions branded the children as unwanted guttersnipes, 
and the stigma lingered.However, advocates for home children note that most did well for themselves 
and had better lives than they would have in Industrial Revolution-era Britain.

Conditions for the orphans ran the gamut from atrocious to ideal, said John Sayers, a volunteer at the
British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, who has researched the stories of many home children.
"I figure five per cent had a hard time," he said. Those include George Green, a 15-year-old who died 
near Owen Sound, Ont., in 1895, apparently of beatings and starvation. His employer was acquitted of 
manslaughter.

Suicide was not uncommon among home children, said Sayers, 72, a retired flight-simulator technician in 
the armed forces.

"The girls had the hardest time of it, in my view," he said. "Many of the girls were between 12 and 17 
and a lot of those girls were molested." In those cases, the girl invariably took the blame.

For most of the children, separation from family was hardest to bear.
"The big thing was loneliness, the terrible loneliness," Sayers said. "Why was he sent here? Why was 
he taken away from his family? This seemed to be a theme with a lot of them."

Brown's apology follows one by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd to children held in orphanages before 1970.
But Canada has refused to apologize to its home children.

David Lorente, 81, a retired high school teacher from Renfrew, Ont., who founded Home Children Canada,
 doesn't think it needs to.Lorente will be on hand in London on today with other home children and their 
 descendants from Commonwealth countries to hear Brown's apology.
 
"If you know social history, you can see they were well-intentioned people who were trying to do something 
for them," he said.Lorente's father, Joseph Arthur Lorente, worked on farms in northern Ontario and the 
Ottawa area after arriving in 1914 at 15. He ran away after a farmer attacked him with a pitchfork.

"The second placement was heaven on earth," Lorente said.
Lorente organized several reunions for home children, of which the last was held in 2001.
"They were proud and happy that they overcame hardship," he said. Only a few home children are still alive today, he said.
Montreal Gazette








Please sir, may I have some more?
... Oliver Twist

The following table contains a list of British Home Children and a contact 
for persons who are researching them. E-mail me if you would like to add a name ... Al


    
Ottawa area British Home Children


Name of Home Child
 
Details and Research Contact


Frederick T. ATTERBURY
b. 1892, arrived 1905 on ship Victorian, to Gibbs Home for Boys, Sherbrooke, Que. 
Contact Lorraine


Edgar Gerard BOX
arrived 1913 in Quebec City, then to Peel, Bruce and Huron Counties in Ontario, Contact Julie Brick


William John Woodman BRADFORD

arrived 1920 on the Melita, buried Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa
William BROUGHTON

arrived 1922 in Belleville, Ontario, sent to Osgoode Village, Osgoode Township

Thomas CLANCY
arrived 1898, on ship Laurentian, Worked on farm of Patrick Maloughney / Moloughney in Manotick. Contact Rose Blake

Robert Moir COCHRANE
arrived 1892, to Brockville, then to Ottawa Valley

Isabella COTTIER

arrived 1891 in Brockville, ON, aged 5, from the Isle of Man, to Redman family of Athens, ON, Contact Eileen Korponay


Charles GILLESPIE

arrived 1920, age 7 on ship Victorian, Contact Claire Lanthier



Larry EDWARDS
Came from Ireland to North Augusta Township at age 6

Edward LEWIS
arrived 1901, aged 11, on ship Parisien, Married Dorothy Collier, died 1960, Contact Al Lewis

Annie ALLKINS
arrived 1884, on ship Sardinian, Married John Fitzpatrick, died 1937, Contact Ken Armstrong

James FELTHAM
arrived 1899, on ship Gallia, Married Margaret Burns, Contact Melody and Al

Martha GORDON
arrived 1885, on ship Sarmatian, pic below. Came to Almonte, Ontario then to Saskatchewan. Contact Elinor Hinds

John HARRIS
arrived 1900, on ship Tunisian, Came to Ottawa then to Brudenell. Contact Denise Harris

Bernard HEAGNEY
arrived 1929, on ship Mont Royal, Came to Ottawa then possibly to Sudbury. Contact John Heagney

Louisa HINSON
arrived 1890, on ship Sardinian, Came to Durham County West, died 1932 in Toronto. Contact Tammy Thornton
 
John Joseph KELLY
arrived 1926 came to Ottawa, married in Havelock, Ontario, died April 1974. Contact Ruth Stedall

 
Four KEWLEY Children
From Isle of Man to Fairknowe Home in Brockville Ontario, Contact Ed Murphy

 
William James LEMON / LEMMON
Devon, England to Belleville, Ontario. Contact Connie

Herbert Frank LOCK / LOCKE
arrived 1923 in Ottawa on ship SS Montcalm, contact Lorna

Colin Sinclair C. LOCKHART
arrived 1884 in Belleville on ship SS Hiberian, contact Ron W. Shaw

(Three Siblings from Scotland -- see next 2 entries)

Robert Bryson LOCKHART
arrived 1884 in Belleville on ship SS Hiberian, contact Ron W. Shaw

Christine LOCKHART
arrived 1884 in Belleville on ship SS Buenos Ayrean, contact Ron W. Shaw



April 21, 2016 Albert Robert LYONS
arrived in 1900 on the Tunisian, to the KELLY family in the Gatineau Valley
contact Wendy Brewer


Harold PITMAN
arrived 1932, to Ottawa, then to Banff, Alberta

David SCOTT
arrived 1874 in Belleville on ship SS Prissian, contact Heather Storms


Edward SEERY
arrived 1909 in Ottawa on ship SS Corsican, contact Geraldine


Daisy Winnifred THORP
arrived 1902 on ship Dominion, contact Colleen Schinkel


Alice and Robert WARNE
born in Chelsea, England, left for Canada in 1887, contact Kaz

  
March 3, 2010:

Thanks to John for sending along the following article from the Glasgow Herald.

The article shows a different perspective - a British one - regarding a Quarrier Home in Scotland.
Source: Glasgow Herald, October 7, 1989
Read the Complete article

  
____________________________________________________

March 4, 2010:

Here is a photo of one of the memorials for the Home Children in Ottawa
Source: Ottawa Citizen, August 11, 2006



July 22, 2010:

Thanks to Gaelynn Wall for the following information!

Hi Allan, 

I've been searching Google free books for genealogy information and came across one your viewers may want to check out. 

http://books.google.ca/books?id=5KMaAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
 

Starting on page 175 is a list of Pauper Children sent to Canada in 1888.  It lists the child's
 name and age, where they were from, and who they were sent to including the province, township, 
 lot and concession. 

I searched this book for Bytown and didn't find anything. But searching Ottawa brings up 
4 children. Carleton brings up 3. 

... Gaelynn Wall 
____________________________________

Holy cow! If you enter "Ontario" as the search term in this book, (a report submitted 
to the British Parliament in 1889), the search engine returns the names of MANY home 
children placed in our region, along with place of origin in Britain, name and lot 
number of the sponsoring family and the conditions existing in the home. Most of the 
children went to "wealthy farmers" and were treated very well. Here's an example:



Names of Children and Foster Families:
Patrick Kennedy -- Peter O'Toole, Cumberland
Patrick Ryan -- Patrick O'Rourke, Bowesville (originally settled down the road in Osgooge Township
Henry Edmy -- James McEvoy
James Ellicott / Ellicot -- Daniel Driscoll, 
Richard Phillips -- Joseph Quinlan
E.H. Neale -- Martin Howe, North Gower



September 10, 2010
Photo source: Ottawa Citizen, September 9, 2010, page A4 



October 5, 2010:

Thanks to Taylor Kennedy who has sent in the following article by Christina Blizzard of the Toronto Sun:

Al
Saw this in the paper last week and remembered you had something on Home Children. 
The nice thing here is the date and location of a home that was used to house some 
of them and thought it may help some looking for guidance. They may have the names 
of people in the picture, so I scanned it and am sending it onto you.
Taylor




December 12, 2010:

Taylor Kennedy has transcribed an 1892 list of Home Children who came to Belleville and Toronto in 1892 on the S.S. Sarnia


March 27, 2019: 

Over 100,000 British Home Children came to Canada between 1870 and 1930. The largest reception and distribution center was 
the Marchmont Home (see next photograph) in Belleville, in Hastings County, Ontario. 
Children were sent from England and Scotland to new opportunities and homes in Canada.
Photo Surce: The Home Children, edited by Phyllis Harrison, page 200.


________________________________________________________________________________

March 10, 2011:
Source: University of Waterloo, Barnardo Home Children



Thanks to Taylor Kennedy who is doing a lot of research in the records of England. 
He's very familiar with record sources in England and can find a lot of material quickly.

I'm indebted to Taylor for researching the English Census, Passenger Lists, and a lot 
of other records regarding my Grandfather, Edward Lewis, who came to Ottawa, Canada, 
from the slums of east London in 1901.

Taylor's research is at www.bytown.net/lewisedward.htm.



April 15, 2011:

Good afternoon,  

On behalf of MPP Jim Brownell, I would like to pass on a message regarding his Private 
Member's Bill, British Home Child Day Act. Please find a message from Mr. 
Brownell below. 

"Good news to all British Home Child descendants and friends! 

After two attempts to bring a British Home Child Day Act to fruition in the Legislature 
of Ontario, I am making one last attempt to accomplish this, before my retirement as the 
Member of Provincial Parliament for the Riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry.  

With 2010 having been the national "Year of the Home Children", I had hoped that my 
Private Members' Bill would have been passed before the end of last year. Unfortunately, 
the official opposition would not cause this to happen, so I'm following another route 
in order to have an official day for recognition of the British Home Children in Ontario, 
September 28th. 

On Thursday, May 19th, through the kindness of MPP Monte Kwinter, I will have a chance 
to re-introduce my British Home Child Day bill, and to have it passed through Second 
and Third Readings. MPP Kwinter gave up his 15th spot in Private Members' business, so that 
I could re-introduce my bill. 

As you may know, my previous bills have either died or stalled in the Justice Committee. 
This time, I will have the bill co-sponsored, with PC MPP Steve Clark and NDP MPP 
Cheri DiNovo agreeing to be co-sponsors. I'll be moving Second and Third Reading on 
that day, and then it will require Royal Assent, a formality from the Lieutenant-
Governor's office. The bill will not be referred to the Justice Committee. 

I look forward to the day that we will have an official day in Ontario to recognize 
our Home Child ancestors who contributed so much to the development of our province, 
with little or no recognition. This is our opportunity to honour and celebrate their 
legacy! 

Christine Shaver, my Legislative Assistant is taking the lead on this project, and she 
may be reached at cshaver@liberal.ola.org. 
In the riding, I have asked my new Constituency Assistant, Alex de Wit to assist with my 
latest quest. His email is adewit@liberal.ola.org. 

Kindest regards, 

Jim Brownell, MPP"


April 17, 2011:

Al
Check out the following site. Gives a great description on the process of children being shipped out.
... Taylor 
 
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/archive/displayGuide.aspx?sid=12&mode=html&sorStr=&serStr=&pgeInt=&catStr


 April 19, 2011:
Home Children from Scotland to Canada

Hi Al

 Here is a link to an exhibit about the Home children from Scotland.
 "The Golden Bridge" - child migratation from Scotland to Canada.

 This has a lot of great information about the Quarrier homes. There are pictures, and all the annual reports etc.
 The reports also show groups of children sent over each year.

 http://content.iriss.org.uk/goldenbridge/index.html
 ... John
____________________________

John:

Thanks for this. By the 1860's the settlement in Glengarry County, east of Ottawa, was a well-established Scottish area.
I think that a lot of the Scottish Home Children were sent to Glengarry.

... Al


April 29, 2011:

Hi Al
 I understand that a lot of the land was settled by the Scots in the  region due to the UEL settlers.
 Many of the men of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of New York were settled in the area.
 A number of these soldiers had faught in Lunenburg and Quebec. They had been granted land in New York upon
 discharge but remained loyal to the  crown. Some lost thousands of acres of land and were granted 100 -200 
 acres, depending on rank, around Johnstown (Cornwall) and region.

 John
______________________________

April 30, 2011: 

We have a new Home Child today - Herbert Frank LOCK / LOCKE who came to St. George's Home in Ottawa in 1923. 

... Al


May 14, 2011:

When trying to locate the ship on which our home child ancestor travelled 
to Canada, we need to be careful that we get the correct picture of the 
correct ship. We have a new web page today which helps sort out the different 
ships, from different time periods, but which have the same ship's name.

See www.bytown.net/homekidsships.htm for an 
example using the S.S. Sicilian - the 1948 version versus the 1905 version.


June 28, 2011:

Tammy Thornton is researching Louisa Hinson who came to Durham West in 1890 as part of a group led by Miss Frye.


July 5, 2011:

In May of 2011, a group of us was invited to Queen's Park to see the passing of a bill 
introduced into the legislature by MPP Jim Brownell. The new legislation was a private 
member's bill creating an official day for recognition of the British Home Children in 
Ontario. The day will occur on September 28th of each year.

After the debate concerning the bill, we all went to the Prince Arthur British Pub, and 
sampled the hospitality of Mr. Brownell who will retire from the Ontario Legislature before 
the upcoming provincial election in October.

Thanks to Mr. Brownell for all his work regarding the British Home Children and for 
all his years of service to the constituents of the Riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry.

Here is a photo of three descendants of British Home Children. The photo was taken by Taylor Kennedy.
L to R: Jim Brownell, Cheryl Kennedy and Allan Lewis



July 29, 2011:

Heather Storms is researching her Grandfather, David Scott, who came to Belleville, Ontario, in 1874.


August 25, 2011:

Good morning, 

Please find a Press Release from Chairperson Carol Goddard and MPP Jim Brownell, for 
British Home Child Day at Upper Canada Village on September 28th, 2011. 

Press Release -  

The first ever British Home Child Day to be held at Upper Canada Village on Sept. 28, 2011

 

The "British Home Child Day Act" or Bill 185 received Royal Assent on June 1, 2011.  Under 
this Private Members' Bill, September 28 of each year is now designated as "British Home 
Child Day" in Ontario. From the 1860's to the 1930's over 100,000 children between infancy 
and 19 years were brought to Canada by various charitable institutions in hopes of securing 
a better life for these underprivileged boys and girls.  

A group of volunteers, dedicated to recognizing and honouring the contribution of British 
Home Children to Ontario and Canada, are working with officials at the St. Lawrence Parks 
Commission in order to commemorate the first British Home Child Day on September 28 at Upper 
Canada Village. Plans include the dedication of a maple tree at the Aultsville Station, 
donated by MPP Jim Brownell, a sponsor of Bill 185 and Home Child descendant; displays 
from various Home Children organizations; an opportunity for friends and descendants to 
tell the story of their home child; and a specially planned British Home Child Tour 
of Upper Canada Village. The "Just Kidding" theatre group from Metcalfe will perform a 
sampling of their upcoming production based on a Home Child story, and throughout the 
day musicians will entertain guests. The day ends with a catered dinner at the 
Village's Willard's Hotel, with the purchase of advance tickets required.  

For more information please consult www.uppercanadavillage.com by the beginning of September or e-mail Carolyn Goddard 
at carol.goddard@sympatico.ca. 

"Over 100,000 British Home Children came to our country to work in the homes and on the 
farms of Canadians. Overcoming incredible hardships, these children became contributing
 members of society.  On September 28th, British Home Child Day in Ontario, we will have 
 an opportunity to hear their stories and recognize the contributions they have made." 

Carolyn Goddard, Chairperson

British Home Child Day Committee, SD&G (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry) 

"Canada's British home children are a part of our country's history.  They are a part 
of our heritage.  They represent a part of our past and their descendants represent a 
part of our future.  Their stories are ones that need to be taught in our schools and 
celebrated on Ontario's British Home Child Day, September 28th." 

Jim Brownell, MPP
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry


November 25, 2011:

At the recent monthly meeting of the Ottawa Branch of the Genealogical Society, Sandra 
Joyce gave an interesting presentation regarding her recently-published book The Street Arab - 
The Story of a British Home Child. Her dad was a Quarrier Home Child who came to Brockville, 
Ontario from Scotland. The book is very informative about the conditions and processes faced 
by home children in their "home Country" and the adaptations the children made to adjust 
from a poverty-stricken urban environment in the old country to an agricultural environment in
rural Ontario.

A very good book for those interested in the British Home Children.

Available from Sandra's Web Site, www.sandrajoyce.com.
2011, ISBN 978-0-9877640-0-2, Welldone Publishing in Toronto, Ontario

... Al


January 16, 2012:

There is a very interesting article in The Calgary Herald regarding child adoption and placement in Spain. 
This points out the very similar experiences which the British Home Children 
and their descendants went through. Well worth the read! And the BBC has created a 
documentary detailing the roles played by the churches and the state 
in handling these 300,000 children. Coming to CBC in Canada?
... Al


September 18, 2012:

Don Cherry, from Kingston, Ontario, is a British Home Child descendant. See his video at http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2280297370/

... Al


September 21, 2012:

The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical 
Society has a very good collection of material available for research at 
their library at 100 Tallwood Drive corner of Woodroffe. Here are what popped 
up when I did a search for "Home Children" in their library catalogue:

Heritage Renfrew, Opeongo Lines Researchers Kit on Home Children sent to 
Canada between 1869 and the mid-1930's 920 HAR  The Home Children : Their 
Personal Stories Phyllis Harrison, (edited by) 362.7 WES  Westminster List of Home Children  
305.23 BEA  Lost Children of the Empire, by Phillip Bean & Joy Melville

... Al


November 16, 2012:

Good Afternoon,
 
I found your names on The British Home Child site. Orangeville Music Theatre is 
producing a show entitled Homechild The Musical written by Barb Perkins a 
Homechild Decendant.  I thought perhaps you could share info on the page and 
perhaps also with Homechild Decendants that you may have in your database. 
Please let me know.  I have attached a poster as well. 

Best Regards 
Amanda Laughlin, Orangeville Music Theatre.

HOMECHILDThe Musical, is a highly emotional, musical tribute to the British Home children 
and their descendants, who today make up 12% of the Canadian population. There are millions 
of descendants worldwide, and there will be many in the audience in January, as this show 
tells the story of their beloved ancestors.

The granddaughter of a Homechild, Playwright/Composer, Barb Perkins from Erin, travelled 
to Wales to research the story of the CHILD EMIGRATION MOVEMENT. This chapter of Canadian 
history has been quietly ignored in British and Canadian history texts until recently. 
Between 1860 and the 1930's a number of schemes were devised to ease social and economic 
problems in Britain. Agencies sent hundreds of thousands of children to the colonies at 
this time in an attempt to populate the colonies with "good white British stock", while 
at the same time providing them with a young workforce. The agencies that set up the 
Child Emigration Movement did so on the assumption that poor or orphaned children would 
have a better life in a new land, but often it was a life of unremitting hardship and abuse.  

This (family friendly) musical was workshopped at The Charlottetown Festival in P.E.I. 
and has since been extremely well received with standing ovations from sold-out audiences 
in Erin, Oakville and Ottawa. In conjunction with the show dates, Orangeville Library 
will be presenting a display of the Homechild memorabilia including trunks and memorial 
quilts, as well as available books, etc. on the subject.

ORANGEVILLE MUSIC THEATRE PRESENTS 

"HOMECHILDThe Musical" 

By: Barb Perkins     Directed by Raeburn Ferguson 

Music Director: Pam Claridge

Choreographer: Mariah Abbott

Costumes: Andrew Cleveland 

TOWN HALL OPERA HOUSE

87 BROADWAY, ORANGEVILLE 

JANUARY 12-26 2013
 

"HOMECHILDThe Musical"  SHOW DATES:
 

Jan.12,18,19,25,26  (@ 8 p.m.)
Jan. 13 and 20   (@ 2p.m.) 

Tickets  $20.00 

Child 12 & under  $15.00
(Plus Box Office Fee) 

BOX OFFICE :519-942-3423    Or Online At: www.orangevillemusictheatre.com


March 17, 2013:

Note: The following notice appeared yesterday on the British Home Children 
Mailing List at rootsweb.com

Breaking the Silence--British Home Children in Canada
Saturday April 6 2013 at the Main Library in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Over 120,000 impoverished children came to Canada as indentured servants
from the British Isles between the 1860's and the 1940's.
Only now are many Canadians learning that a family member was a Home Child.
Ontario East British Home Child Family, the British
Home Children Advocacy & Research Association and others will present
information and provide assistance in finding their stories.
Join us in giving these children a voice and a place in Canadian history.
Speakers are John Sayers, Lori Oschefski, Gloria Tubman, Sandra Joyce and
Dave Lorente.

Ottawa Public Library, Main Library, 120 Metcalfe Street
Mezzanine and Auditorium
Saturday April 6, 1:00-4:30 p.m.
Register (613) 580-2940
or www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca/Program


April 13, 2013:

New Orpington Place (Later called St. George's Home) 
for British Home Children in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Photo Source: The Home Children: Their Personal Stories, edited by Phyllis Harrison, 1979,
Watson and Dwyer Publishing, Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba,ISBN 0-920486-04-5, page 65.



While it is true that many of the children who arrived at St. George's in Ottawa were 
placed in Quebec, they were usually placed with English speaking Irish Catholic 
families in the Gatineau Valley or in Pontiac County. Few were sent to French-speaking families in Quebec.

There were many Irish settlements on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River which 
received these children - Jockvale in Nepean Township, South Gloucester, Goulbourn Township to name a few. Some of the Catholic 
children became Anglicans through marriage. For example, my Grandfather, 
Edward John Lewis.
... Al








August 9, 2013:

This notice appeared in the British Homechild mailing list:

News release concerning the opening of the British Home Child Exhibit in the Aultsville 
Train Station, Morrisburg! Very excited to be having the BHCA&RA display as part 
of this wonderful exhibit!

Aultsville Train Station to house a British Home Child Exhibit

News - August 7, 2013 Edition

MORRISBURG Leader

Ontario East British Home Child Family, in partnership with Upper Canada Village, 
is pleased to announce that the Aultsville Train Station will house a British 
Home Child exhibit on weekends from August 31st 2013 until September 28, 2013.

Between the 1860's and the 1930's, over 100,000 impoverished children from the 
British Isles were sent to Canada to work as indentured servants in the homes 
and farms of this country. These children, ranging in age from infancy to 16 
years, were removed from their homes by philanthropic organizations and sent 
to Canada in hopes of securing a better future for them.

After travelling to Canada by ship and spending time at one of the many receiving 
homes located in this country, the British Home Child would often travel to their 
new "home" via train. There is little doubt that many of these littlest of immigrants 
would have been found waiting in or near a building such as the Aultsville Train 
Station for pick up by their new "family".

It is for this reason that the Ontario East British Home Child Family, which seeks 
to preserve and promote the story of the British Home Child, approached Upper Canada 
Village to seek permission to house a collection of memorabilia and information on 
British Home Children in Canada at the Aultsville Station.

The Aultsville Station will be open from 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from 
August 31st until September 28, 2013.

The exhibit will be composed of various artifacts and information that have been 
collected by British Home Child Descendants and interested members of the public.

On site there will be a member of the OEBHCF available to provide information and 
answer questions as required.
_________________________________

NEWS FLASH

The 1921 census of Canada has just been released at www.ancestry.ca. This will add another large group of our familiy members
and will be especially useful for researchers of our Home Children family members.

... Al


January 4, 2014:

Al:

A very sad story and maybe you should add this one as one of the horror stories.

From the Ottawa Citizen, January 12, 1907

Happy New Year

... Taylor Kennedy

Surname: WALSH
Given Name: Arnold
Age: 14
Sex: M
Ship: Bavarian
Year of Arrival: 1905
Departure Port: Liverpool
Departure Date: 1905-06-29
Arrival Port: Quebec
Arrival Date: 1905-07-07
Party: Catholic Emigration Association
Destination: Hintonburg, Ottawa, Ontario (St. George's Home)
Comments: Party from the Catholic Emigration Assn., Coleshill, Birmingham, England, going to St.George's Home, 
          Hintonburg, Ottawa. 43 boys total, 26 not from Workhouses and 17 from Workhouses.
		  D. O'Feely was a guardian and travelled with his 8 year old son, Mr. Jaye
Source: Library and Archives Canada Home Children Database
Reference: RG 76 C1a
Microfilm: T-485



Keywords: Arnold Walsh, James Kelly, Masson, Quebec


March 18, 2014:

Hi Al
I've attached copies of a song & poetry relating to Home Children. 
The first is from the Quarrier Home of Scotland. The Quarrier Village children would gather to send the children off to Canada.
The children would be taken to the train station and then on to the port for transport to Canada.
... John

Don't forget the orphan homes of Scotland,
Don't forget the dear friends here;
Don't forget that Jesus Christ your Saviour
Goes with thee to Canada.
And remember we're still a-praying
That your life will be good and true,
And that you may find a blessing
In the land you're going to.
Farewell Song sung by children at Quarrier's homes for those leaving for Canada.
 
Take them away! Take them away!
Out of the gutter, the ooze and slime
Where the little vermin paddle and crawl
Till they grow and ripen into crime.
Take them away! Take them away!
The boys from the gallows, the girls from worse:
They'll prove a blessing to other lands
Here, if they linger, they'll prove a curse.
Take them away! Take them away!
To con the lesson they never knew
And never can learn mid the reek and rot
Of the sweltering garbage where they grew.
Take them away! Take them away!
The bountiful earth if wide and free.
The new shall repair the wrongs of the Old
God be with them over the sea!
Departure of the Innocents by Horsley 1887


June 27, 2014:

ONTARIO EAST BRITISH HOME CHILD FAMILY
have partnered with the 
ST.LAWRENCE PARKS COMMISSION
to use Aultsville Station at the Crysler Marina.
 
FREE ADMISSION 

Doors Open Weekend, June 21 & 22 
10:00am - 4:00pm
 
Aultsville Station/Ontario East British Home Child Family Museum Exhibit
11:00am - 5:00pm
 
Saturday & Sunday, August 23 & 24, 2014
Saturday, Sunday, & Monday, August 30 & 31, September 1, 2014
Saturday & Sunday September 6 & 7, 2014
Saturday & Sunday September 13 & 14, 2014
 
Judy Neville (E-Mail)


August 13, 2015:

Here is an important primary document from John:

Hi again Al
 I'm not sure where I got the attached document from.  It's the Quarrier indenture document for home children placement.
 The requirements are actually child centred.

 ... John
 


Also, new today, a very good book about the home children: The Little Immigrants, The Orphans who Came to Canada,
by Kenneth Bagnell, MacMillan of Canada, Tronto, 1980, ISBN 0-7715-9593-X, 265 pages.


November 20, 2015:

Further to the 4 newest large additions to the Home Children Database at the LAC

http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/home-children-1869-1930/immigration-records/Pages/search.aspx

This database also includes names indexed from other various archival records or published sources from the:

Canadian Department of Agriculture
Canadian Immigration Branch, Central Registry Files
Catholic Emigration Association, England
Charlotte A. Alexander, England
Chorlton Union, England
Barnarbo's Homes, England
Father Berry's Home, England
Father Hudson Society Archives, Coleshill, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Fegan Distributing Home, Toronto, Ontario
Gibb Home, Sherbrooke, Quebec
Girls' Friendly Society, England
Isle of Man
Leeds Board of Guardians, England
Middlemore Children's Emigration Homes, England
National Children's Home, Hamilton, Ontario
Urgent Care and other Catholic Liverpool Agencies, England
Soeurs de la Charité, Rimouski, Quebec
West Derby Union, children sent to Canada by Father Berry's Home, England
Westminster Catholic Diocese, London, England

This database also includes names of Home Children:
Sent by Maria Rye to Canada from 1869 to 1879
Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and who died in the First 
World War.

In addition to the names of Home Children, some of the records that were 
indexed include the names of:
Some unaccompanied juvenile migrants who were not Home Children
Some older boys who were recruited for farm training schemes
Some older children and young adults who were recruited by immigration 
agents in the U.K. for farming and domestic work in Canada
Some Armenian orphans who arrived with Home Children groups
Some young adults who had been in care as children and travelled as 
chaperones for the organizations


Has anyone tried it and found extra details and information?
We would love to hear about it. 

... Gail Collins via  britishhomechildren-l@rootsweb.com, 
a good group to join if you have British Home Children ancestors!  


March 27, 2019: 
 
Here are two British Home Chidren who came from Sheffield, England in 1926 and worked in the Forestry Industry in the Ottawa Valley:

Keywords: Fort Coulonge, Pembroke, Eganville, Forester's Falls, Bennett, Reynolds.

Text and Photo source: The Home Children : Their Personal Stories edited by Phyllis Harrison, page 230, 231

    



September 4, 2020:

Larry EDWARDS was a British Home Child who came from Ireland to North Augusta Township at age 6


 September 29, 2020:

Here is the ship Sarmatian which brought many home children from Liverpool to Quebec City. From Quebec, they 
were sent by train to Montreal, then to Ottawa, Kingston or Toronto.