Young Immigrants to Canada

UWInfo | 19th Century Immigration | Genealogy | Local History

When the topic of child immigrants to Canada is raised many people first think of Barnardo's. Some may know about Annie Macpherson, Maria Rye, Fegan Homes, Dr. Stephenson and the National Children's Home or even some of the Roman Catholic organizations. I am researching ALL of the organizations which brought children and young women to Canada between 1833 and 1939.

Plaque dedicated to Home Children at 51 Avon Street, Stratford, Ontario, August 19, 2001.

News

• Reunions of British Home Children and Descendants: new ones will be posted as they become available. Former reuions are also mentioned.
  • British Home Children And Descendants Association Nova Scotia will hold their 5th Annual Reunion on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at the Bible Hill Junior High School, 741 College Rd., Bible Hill, NS.

    Special speaker will be Dr. Patricia Roberts-Pichette of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa. She will be accompanied by her assistant Caroline Herbert. Dr. Roberts-Pichette will speak on the Conditions in the Industrial Cities of the UK during the late 1800's early 1900's. Dr. Roberts-Pichette and her assistant Caroline Herbert will give a presentation on Letters and Correspondence of Middlemore Children.

    Registration is from 9:00AM to 10:00AM, with opening program to follow. There will be an opportunity to meet, chat, and view research and display tables. As well as a time to share the story of your Home Child with others. A light lunch will be available at Noon with the afternoon program wrapping at 4:30PM. A freewill offering will be taken.

    For more information please contact: Cecil Verge, 902-681-6697, willowcb@auracom.com.

  • MIDDLEMORE REUNION - 2006
    The 26th Annual Reunion of Middlemore Home Children will be held Saturday, September 16th, at St. Mary's Anglican Church Hall, McEvoy Street, Fredericton, (Devon - Northside Fredericton), NB. Doors open at 10AM for registration, meet and greet. A light pot luck lunch will be held at noon and meeting begins a 1 p.m. Guest speaker is Councillor Reginald Corns, from the City of Birmingham, England. All British Home Children and their descendants are welcome to attend. For further information please contact Marion Crawford

  • Fegan Home Boys & Family Gathering Picnic was held on Saturday, August 7, 2004. There were about 60 people in attendance including two Home Children and a representative from Fegan Homes in England. Doug and Irene Fry organized the event and should be congratulated on the success of the event (even the weather co-operated!). This was the first Fegan boys reunion and hopefully it will not be the last.

• National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations
  Important Announcement
  Re: wind down of Child Migrant Central Information Index at NCVCCO
  The Child Migrant Project is coming to a close here at NCVCCO on 31st October 2002. The British Department of Health will take possession of the Index of children that holds details of around 20,000 British child migrants, after this date. It has been proposed that the Department of Health website ( http://www.doh.gov.uk/childinf) will be updated to include improved signposting which will enable former child migrants and their descendants to identify the most likely agencies to contact for further information on themselves or their ancestors. They will not be posting any sensitive personal information on the website, only names and addresses of relevant agencies and general statistical information.

• Letter From Barnardo Homes to children from Barnardo Homes, Macpherson Homes, Liverpool Sheltering Home (Knowlton) and Marchmont, Belleville, Ontario.

• Check out the web page of the British High Commission.

• Home Children Canada
  • Home Children Canada - Pacific Branch
• Viv Sadler's Barnardo Pages
• Carol Russell's pages on Home Children (including some passenger lists)
• British Home Children List

Flash!!!!!!!!!!

NEW

• List of Mrs. Birt's children Miss Rye's early children (up to 1877); Quarrier children of 1888; Shaftesbury children and Church of England Waifs and Strays parties. Children direct from Unions.
• Check out names of workhouses and institutions which sent the children.
• How to research a child using resources in Canada.
• Lists of Children from Middlemore, Lacy, Rev. Douglas, Mrs. Joyce, Miss Rye, and Dr. Stephenson
• 1901 Bristol Emigration Society party
• 1935 Fairbridge party
• Reports on the Children for the Unions
• 1891 Census from the Liverpool Sheltering Home
• Web Pages of Home Children
• Other Sites of Interest
• Armenian Children - 1927
• Orphans and Widows of 1847
• SS Brooklyn, April 1881 partial passenger list with Dr. Stephenson's party on board.
• SS Manitoban, April 1881 passenger list with Quarrier children on board.

• Emigration as a Solution
• Religious Organizations
• Roman Catholic Organizations
• Other Denominations (eg. CofE Waifs and Strays, National Children's Home, Salvation Army, United Church of Canada)
• Societies and Organizations (eg. Barnardo, Macpherson, Birt, Middlemore, Quarrier, etc.)
• Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools
• Orphans and Widows of 1847 and Records of the Fever Hospital in Toronto, 1847
• Children From Countries Other Than Great Britain
• Groups Especially For Women (see also Filles du Roi - The King's Daughters)
• Names of Some of the Children
• Queries About The Children
• Other Sources of Information
• World War I Records from the LAC - if you are looking for a male who was old enough to serve during the war check this out. Some records read: "c/o Dr. Barnardos Home" or "Mr. Pullam" (who was the Smyly Homes superintendent in Hespeler, ON).
• Obtaining marriage and death certificates from Ontario
• Young Immigrants Sent to Places Other Than Canada
  • Children to Bermuda in 1849-50
  • Australian Information
  • Females to Australia, New Zealand and Van Diemen's Land in 1830s - on the Sarah and on the Duchess of Northumberland
• Government Report of 1887 on the Number of Arrivals and Their Destination
• Records for Children who were in the care of former London Boroughs (pre 1965)
• Organizations Who Will Help Search
• Poor Law Records
• Ships they came on If you know the name of the vessel check out TheShipsList or Lou's site for details on the ship.
• Chaperones on voyages
• Books on this topic
• Libraries With Special Collections
• Archives of Interest
• Latest News - Recommendation of the British Government, July, 1998
• National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations (NCVCCO)
• Information For Child Migrants From The British Government
• Publications by the author

© Marjorie P. Kohli, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 1996-2007
Last updated: Nov 12, 2007, and maintained by Marj Kohli