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Orphans

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Lorraine

Lorraine Report 21 Oct 2008 17:25

Dear Miriam,
Thank you for the prompt reply. I know about the Henry Bailey at The Strand Union Children's Establishment, aged 12 which would make him born in c.1869. My grandfather always believed he was born c.1873 (he retired when he was 60 in 1933). He never knew who his parents were and spent his entire life trying to solve this mystery. He was told that he had been orphaned at a very early age and place in an orphanage by an uncle.. In his admission documents to the Royal Army Medical Corps, Aldershot, in 1893 he gave his age as 20, and that he was born in Edmonton. He married in Cape Town,South Africa in 1903 and his age on his marriage certificate is 29. There is no Henry Bailey registered in the Edmonton district.
He had been sent to South Africa for the duration of the Anglo-Boer War with the RAMC 1899-1902) and decided to settle in South Africa, having no known relatives in England. He sent for his fiancé in Southampton,England and she joined him here. They lived in South Africa for the rest of their lives in South Africa. Although I have ordered numerous birth certificates, to no avail, I too have been unable to find out who his parents were. Regards Lorraine

Miriam

Miriam Report 21 Oct 2008 13:33

Dear Grandaughter

I found him on the 1881 as an inmate in the "Strand Union Childrens Establishment" aged 12

census ref: RG11; Piece: 1391; Folio: 81; Page: 9

You can view the 1881 census free on familysearch.org

Info on the home from the Enfield council site: -

Strand Union Children's Establishment
The Strand Board of Guardians opened a children's establishment at Millfield House, Silver Street, Edmonton in 1849. A workhouse was later built alongside. Both establishments closed in 1913.


Best wishes

Miriam

Lorraine

Lorraine Report 21 Oct 2008 13:29

How do I go about trying to find out in which orphanage/institution/workhouse my grandfather was at the time of the 1881 Census? His name was Henry Bailey, born c 1873, but I have been unable to trace him with this name. Is there a way to find a list of orphans/inmates in the 1881 census, without using a specific name? I think he was at an establishment in Middlesex, perhaps Edmonton, but I may be mistaken.

Granddaughter