Researching your home child - the basics
A basic list to help you get started with researching your British Home Child
The first place to look when researching your Home Child is the Library and Archives Canada Home Child database.
This record will generally tell you what ship, when they left, when they arrived and usually what organization brought them. Please keep in mind that the majority of the children are in this data base, however many are also missing. If you cannot find your child here, you might have to search the incoming Canadian passenger lists or the outgoing UK lists held by Ancestry.ca or ancestry.co.uk or you can try the free site familysearch.org
This record will generally tell you what ship, when they left, when they arrived and usually what organization brought them. Please keep in mind that the majority of the children are in this data base, however many are also missing. If you cannot find your child here, you might have to search the incoming Canadian passenger lists or the outgoing UK lists held by Ancestry.ca or ancestry.co.uk or you can try the free site familysearch.org
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/home-children-1869-1930/immigration-records/Pages/search.aspx
Check this site for any mentions of your child
-Keep in mind that not all children are in these databases - its ongoing work to add children as we find them. Thousands of names have been added to this site, with more being added each week.
-on this page scroll to the top of the page, type your child's name in the search bar in the upper right hand corner, click on magnifying glass to complete your search.
-Keep in mind that not all children are in these databases - its ongoing work to add children as we find them. Thousands of names have been added to this site, with more being added each week.
-on this page scroll to the top of the page, type your child's name in the search bar in the upper right hand corner, click on magnifying glass to complete your search.
Home Children - Board of Guardians
Many children were sent by the Board of Guardians from Union Poor Houses. The Canadian government did occasional inspections of these children.
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/home-children-1869-1930/boards-guardians/Pages/search.aspx
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/home-children-1869-1930/boards-guardians/Pages/search.aspx
Check the British Home Children Mailing list for a mention of your child
Type your child's name into the the box which says "body"
Type your child's name into the the box which says "body"
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/search?path=BRITISHHOMECHILDREN
Young Immigrants to Canada by Marjorie Kolhi
This site has a wealth of information on the British Home Children including many mentions of the children, newspaper articles,
For Maria Rye Children contact the:
Maria Rye Home Children Database
Gail Collins 1869-1879 [email protected]
Chris Sanham 1880-1896 [email protected]
Maria Rye Home Children Database
Gail Collins 1869-1879 [email protected]
Chris Sanham 1880-1896 [email protected]
Orders-in-Council
If your child came from a Workhouse in England, before 1901 then there is a high chance you will find an inspection report for them on the Library and Archives Canada web site. There were inspection reports done in later years, but they are not on the site.
under Keywords, type in Workhouse, hit enter. There is also a listing of some government reports with some names transcribed on this web site at:
http://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/inspection-reports-of-workhouse-children.html
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/orders/001022-100.01-e.php
The Barnardo Magazine - Ups and Downs.
If your child is from Barnardo's there is a good chance they could be mentioned in the organizations vintage magazine Ups and Downs. There are over 58,000 mentions of children in these magazines.
The British Isles Family of Greater Ottawa has now published an index of the children mentioned in 141 of the 173 issues that were believed to have been printed. Ups and Downs index
70 copies of this magazine have been published on this web site -1895 to 1906, May 1910, May 1913 and August 1912 - published with permission of the Library and Archives Canada and names extracted from issues: July 1939, December 1940, December 1942 and December 1946 - Ups and Downs index on this site
Check Tweetybird's Genealogy Tree web site
Tweety bird's site contains transcriptions of the Ups and Downs magazine from Barnardo's.
Type your child's name into the search box.
Tweety bird's site contains transcriptions of the Ups and Downs magazine from Barnardo's.
Type your child's name into the search box.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tweetybirdgenealogy/
Contact the organizations in England for possible records
Generally you have to be the next of kin to obtain your BHC's records. You should contact these organizations once you know when they came and who brought them. A list of the organizations and how to contact them is found:
http://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/bhcs-records.html
Contacts for persons in Canada holding information & some records for the children
a. Barnardo's, Gibbs Home, St. George's Home, Middlemore: John Sayers of the British Family History Society of Greater Ottawa. John holds information on many of these children and organizations including Barnardo's (Ups and Downs), the Catholic organizations and some Middlemore records. He can be reached at:
[email protected] or thorugh their web site: www.bifhsgo.ca or on Facebook
b. Maria Rye: Gail Collins & Chris Sandman - hold information for Maria Rye children. They can be contacted at: Chris - [email protected] & Gail at: [email protected]
c. Fegan Records: no known contact at this time
d. Dakeyne Boy's Farm: photos can be found at: http://www.dakeynefarm.com/
Jenn who holds the records for these children can be contacted at: [email protected]
e. Middlemore and the East Coast children: Catherine West [email protected] or through their web site:
MIDDLEMORE ATLANTIC SOCIETY, NB, CANADA
British Isles Family History Socitey of Greater Ottawa's index to Middlemore children
f. Lori Oschefski - Lori is the creator or this web site and the founder of British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association. She holds 57 digital copies of the Ups and Downs magazines as well as various other lists and information. Most of what she has is accessible on this web site but you may contact her directly for any help or research questions - or contact her through her facebook group.
[email protected] or thorugh their web site: www.bifhsgo.ca or on Facebook
b. Maria Rye: Gail Collins & Chris Sandman - hold information for Maria Rye children. They can be contacted at: Chris - [email protected] & Gail at: [email protected]
c. Fegan Records: no known contact at this time
d. Dakeyne Boy's Farm: photos can be found at: http://www.dakeynefarm.com/
Jenn who holds the records for these children can be contacted at: [email protected]
e. Middlemore and the East Coast children: Catherine West [email protected] or through their web site:
MIDDLEMORE ATLANTIC SOCIETY, NB, CANADA
British Isles Family History Socitey of Greater Ottawa's index to Middlemore children
f. Lori Oschefski - Lori is the creator or this web site and the founder of British Home Children Advocacy & Research Association. She holds 57 digital copies of the Ups and Downs magazines as well as various other lists and information. Most of what she has is accessible on this web site but you may contact her directly for any help or research questions - or contact her through her facebook group.
The are facebook groups where there are experienced volunteer researchers available to help with any difficulties you are having.
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Assoication
Almost 2,000 members!
An international organization which strives to catalogue Home Child information and Home Children stories, to reconnect families unjustly torn apart by these migrant programs and to promote the story of the Home Children across the world. Sister to the new web site: www.britishhomechildrenadvocacy.weebly.com
RECLAIM OUR BRITISH HOME CHILDREN
UK based group with over 100 members
From the mid 1800's to the mid 1950's, poor and destitute children from England were sent away from their families, often without their Parent's knowledge, to countries like Canada and Australia, to repopulate desolate cities and work on the land etc, as child labour. Many were sexually, mentally and physically abused. Most people don't even know what A British Home Child is ...This group is to help people find out and trace their loved ones ...
British Home Children of Chatham Kent, Ontario, CA
Facebook page by Dawn Heuston
British Home Children Advocacy & Research Assoication
Almost 2,000 members!
An international organization which strives to catalogue Home Child information and Home Children stories, to reconnect families unjustly torn apart by these migrant programs and to promote the story of the Home Children across the world. Sister to the new web site: www.britishhomechildrenadvocacy.weebly.com
RECLAIM OUR BRITISH HOME CHILDREN
UK based group with over 100 members
From the mid 1800's to the mid 1950's, poor and destitute children from England were sent away from their families, often without their Parent's knowledge, to countries like Canada and Australia, to repopulate desolate cities and work on the land etc, as child labour. Many were sexually, mentally and physically abused. Most people don't even know what A British Home Child is ...This group is to help people find out and trace their loved ones ...
British Home Children of Chatham Kent, Ontario, CA
Facebook page by Dawn Heuston
British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa
Middlemore index
http://www.bifhsgo.ca/cpage.php?pt=15
Quarriers Narrative of Facts - the annual newsletter
Many immigration group photos from Quarriers and an abundance of back ground information, information on children in Canada (not many names mentioned - initials given)
http://content.iriss.org.uk/goldenbridge/nof/index.html
Other sites which might be useful
Library and Archives Canada, Soldiers of the First World War
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/canadian-expeditionary-force.aspx
Western Land Grants
This database relates exclusively to Letters Patent issued by the Lands Patent Branch of the Department of the Interior. The records refer to grants issued in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the railway belt of British Columbia, c. 1870-1930. Many of our Home Children obtained land under the Dominion Lands Act. This data base would be of patents issued for land.
Saskatchewan and Alberta Homestead Index
Organizations such as Barnardo's promoted and offered packages to assist boys in Ontario to come west and obtain homesteads from the Dominions Lands Act. This database would allow you to find and order their application forms and files for their property if the Home Child obtained land through this program.
Find A Grave
Find a grave is a free resource for finding the final resting places of famous folks, friends and family members. With millions of names, it's an invaluable tool for researching.
The Maple Leaf Legacy Project
Hundreds of British Home Children lost their lives in the wars. The aim of the Maple Leaf Legacy Project is to photograph or obtain a photograph of every Canadian War Grave of the 20th Century. These photos will be made freely available on the project’s web site - many of these entries are our Home Children.