Genealogy Chat

My mums elder half sister was a British Home child who went to Canada in 1909 aged 10. her mum had died in 1906 and she and her two brothers were put into a Mcpherson's Home. her Dad .my grandad NEVER signed to say she could go to Canada. They only found out she had gone end Aug 1909 after grandad had remarried to my gran and they then asked for the three children to be returned to the family home only to find that the eldest child Nell had been sent to Canada early AUG 1909 so she was missed by 3 weeks. They wouldn't give grandad any info as to her whereabouts
.
The family were only reunited in the 1940,s when one of Nell's daughters came to London as a nurse in the Canadian Nursing Corp and she set about trying to find her mums two brothers and her Dad, unfortunately grandad had passed in 1939 in his 50,s but Gran ,who was her stepmom, took all the family on board and she was reunited with her brothers and all her half siblings.

this is a good site to read

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~britishhomechildren/

Shirley

Thanks for all you help

Richard was born April 1906, his mother died in 1917 but I cannot find his fathers death. So according to family he was sent away at 14 so that would be about 1920 a bit late for 1911 census.

I don't know if any information can be found because of time barring

As far as family know he was in inthe Canadian army and died in a war veterans hospital.
Isobel

Isobel -- you may be interested to know that it is estimated that 10% of the Canadian population descends from Home Children -- Barnardo's was one of the most prolific bringers of children here, and to Australia.

My mum's aunt married a Barnardo boy. He came here as an older teenager, and rather than being adopted, became a farm hand, as happened with many of the children. He went on to prosper and become a farmer himself. I have recently been able to tell his kids than he wasn't a nameless orphan at all, as they thought, and that his real name really was Charles Smith -- found his marriage registration on line, and he himself had put his parents' names on record! They were both dead, but I've traced them back a fair ways now. No English cousins yet, though.

Many of the Barnardo's children's descendants are looking to be reunited with family members in England. You can contact the Barnardo's organization directly, or organizations and websites assisting in tracing the children and their families. Just google Barnardos.

Do provide a DOB for your Richard Ward, and one of us Canadians will try to hunt him up in censuses etc.

If he came to Canada before 1911, and if he married, we may well be able to find records of the marriage as well, but not likely of the births of any children, since that info is protected in most provinces for 100 years, and not accessible to the public for searching. Marriage registrations are also protected for a long time afterward, so if he didn't come here until after 1915 or so, that info might not be findable.

When was your Richard born, Isobel?
We might be able to find him on the 1901 or 1911 Canadian census.
Margaret

The Collections Canada site here:

http://search-recherche.collectionscanada.ca/archives/search.jsp?Language=eng

They have some records. Click on "Home Children"
There are 3 Richard Wards:
1. WARD Richard 17 M Victorian 1911
2. WARD Richard 15 M Niger 1871
3. WARD Richard 13 M Sarmatian 1887

On looking into my husbands family I have been informed that his great uncle Richard Ward was sent to Canada when he was about 14. His brother signed papers which gave Barnado's permision to send him to Canada as both his parents were dead.

Is there a site than gives the people sent to Canada as children probably as orphans