Genealogy - Home Children in Canada

History

Between 1869 and the mid 1930s over 100,000 children were sent from Britain to Canada during the British Child Emigration Movement. Many were sent to Australia and South Africa but the greatest numbers were sent to Canada.

By 1889 The Canadian Department of Agriculture (who was responsible for immigration), recorded more than 50 agencies bringing children to Canada for farm labor.

If your ancestors are from Canada there is a good chance that you a have connection somewhere in your tree to a "Home Child".

Home children are responsible for about 4 million descendants in Canada and it is rare to find a family without a connection. Many have said in the past that Canada was "built" by home children.

If your ancestor was a home child it can create a roadblock, especially if you don’t know the circumstances on which the child was admitted. Sometimes the birthdates were wrong and the names misspelled. Sometime the wrong age was given to make the child seem older to increase the chances of them going to Canada.

The first home in Canada

The first group of Home Children arrived in Canada on May 13,1870. They were sent to the Marchmont House in Belleville Ontario. They were brought to Canada by Annie Macpherson. The home was run by Ellen Bilbrough-Wallace and the REV. Robert Wallace. The house was located at 193 West Moira Street.

Belleville's newspaper, The Intellegencer ran a nice story a few years ago on the history of Marchmont. You can read it here.

• Link to databases,passegenger lists and Children associated with Marchmont house

Life as a Home Child

Many of these children were orphans but a large number were not. My grandfather and his brother were admitted to the Barnardo's home because their father had had a stroke and their mother was unable to look after them. She was told that sending them to Canada would give them a better life.

Those sent to Canada faced a long journey by ship that usually lasted about 3 weeks. Once in Canada some were welcomed with open arms to loving families but sadly a large majority were faced with hard and unhappy situations.

Most children were sent to rural Canada where life was rough and the long Canadian winters were harsh.

A book written by Phyllis Harrison in 1979 titled The Home Children is a collection of personal stories written by home children. Some of the experiences in this book are hard to read without a tissue handy as they are heart wrenching and describe sad conditions, a reality for so many of these children.

Anne of Green Gables

The best known "story" of a Home Child is that of Anne of Green Gables. Written in 1908 by Lucy Maud Montgomery, It is the story of an orphan girl who was sent to P.E.I in Canada to work on a farm. Although this story is a work of fiction it does represent in many ways what many home children experienced. The farming community of Prince Edward Island was a common destination.

Websites On Home Children

• British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association
  To bring the true stories of the British Home Children to light, to maintain their memory and to reunite the families separated during the child migrant scheme.
• British Home Children in Canada compiled by Lori Oschefski
  Wonderful page. You will spend hours here :)
• Barnardo’s Homes and Orphanages
  Barnardo’s ran hundred of children’s homes across the UK until the 1970s. This is a directory of all the homes and their history.
• Library and Archives Canada Podcast on Home Children
  In episode #006, we talk about the Home Children migration movement in Canada; discussing hardship, success and the breadth of resources available at Library and Archives Canada.
• The Promise of Home | Stories of British Home Children, written, compiled and edited by Rose McCormi
  Stories of British Home Children, written, compiled and edited by Rose McCormick Brandon
• BRITISH HOME CHILDREN
  British Home Children 1870-1940

Canadian Databases

• Home Children Deaths
  This database contains more than 2200 records. We built this database using four primary sources: the RG76 General Correspondence files at Library and Archives Canada, newspaper obituaries and death n
• British Home Children Registry
  
• British Home Children 1901 and 1911 Census of Canada
  
• Home Children – Immigration Records - Library and Archives Canada
  Library and Archives Canada database of Home Children
• British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa - Home Children
  British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa encourages genealogy research & publication by people with ancestry in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Island & the Isle of Man.

Stories and Articles On Home Children

• CM Magazine: Charlie: A Home Child's Life in Canada.
  
• The Barnardo Boys - Winnipeg Free Press
  At a time when children had no rights and little protection, a notorious immigration scheme provided... - United Kingdom - Winnipeg Free Press.
• The Country Connection - Highway of Shame, Highway of Hope
  The Country Connection Magazine -- Ontario's magazine for history, heritage, nostalgia, nature, environment, travel and the arts

Videos On Home Children

British Home Children in Canada

Comments

Scott Roberts from Summerville, Georgia on June 04, 2018:

Thanks for the good info. My great-uncle was a Barnardo boy.