The GoldenBriclge Young Immigrants to Canada, 1833-1939
MARJORIE
KOHLI
Foreword by J.A. David Lorente
NATURAL HERIT...
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The GoldenBriclge Young Immigrants to Canada, 1833-1939
MARJORIE
KOHLI
Foreword by J.A. David Lorente
NATURAL HERITAGE BOOKS TORONTO
Copyright © 2003 Marjorie Kohli All rights reserved. No portion of this book, with the exception of brief extracts for the purpose of literary or scholarly review, may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the publisher. Published by Natural Heritage / Natural History Inc. P.O. Box 95, Station O, Toronto, Ontario M4A 2M8 www.naturalheritagebooks.com National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Kohli, Marjorie The golden bridge : young immigrants to Canada, 1833-1939 / Marjorie Kohli; foreword by J.A. David Lorente.—ist ed. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-896219-90-X i. Immigrant children — Canada — History. 2. Home children (Canadian immigrants). 3. Canada — Emigration and immigration — History. 4. Great Britain — Emigration and immigration — History. I. Title. FC548.I4K64 2003
305.23>o86>945O97i
02003-903690-1
Cover and text design by Sari Naworynski Edited by Jane Gibson Cover photographs: Front cover: top - Boys (NAC/PA-0348381); bottom - Girls (NAC/A-020906), Toronto (Illustrated London News, 1847). Back cover: top - Boys on boat (NAC/PAAPJV-7282 C4C3); bottom - Two boys destined for Toronto (Kirkgate Centre Museum). Printed and bound in Canada by Hignell Book Printing, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
&
ONTARIO ARTS COUNCIL CONSEIL DES ARTS DE I/ONTARIO
Natural Heritage / Natural History Inc. acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We acknowledge the support of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation's Ontario Book Initiative. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and the Association for the Export of Canadian Books.
This book is dedicated to the thousands of young immigrants who came to Canada and stayed to strengthen and build a better country.
We sow the glebe, we reap the corn, We build the house where we may rest. And then, at moments, suddenly, We look up to the great wide sky, Inquiring wherefore we were born ... For earnest, or for jest? ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING 1
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Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
X
FOREWORD
xii
PREFACE
xv
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT CHAPTER 1
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration
CHAPTER 2
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
xviii i 12
Doyle Report and the Canadian Reaction
21
As Time Progresses
28
The Voyage Over
37
The Allan Line
44
Other Lines
53
The Trip Inland
57
The Work Begins
62
Children's Friend Society
63
The Lull
69
Maria Susan Rye
71
Annie Macpherson
#5
The Work Grows: Major Agencies
105
Ellen Agnes Bilbrough and Robert Wallace
112
Louisa Birt and the Liverpool Sheltering Home
119
John T. Middlemore
131
Dr. Thomas Bowman Stephenson - The National
137
Children's Home Thomas John Barnardo and the Barnardo Home
143
Church of England Waifs and Strays Society/Church of
156
England Children's Society/Church of England Emigration Society The Church Army
CHAPTER 6
163
James William Condell Fegan
164
William Quarrier
168
Latecomers and Smaller Organizations The Organizations Charlotte A. Alexander
178 190 190
CHAPTER 6...
Mrs. Blaikie Boy Scouts' Involvement In Emigration Brighton Emigration Society Bristol Emigration Society Mrs. Ellinor Close George Carter Cossar Miss Croall Dakeyne Boys' Farm Shaftesbury Homes Children's Aid Society of London East End Emigration Society/British Dominion Emigration Society/Self-Help Emigration Society/Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK)/Church Emigration Society/Tower Hamlets Mission East London Family Emigrant Society/East End Emigration Fund/East London Emigrant and Relief Committee/British Colonial Emigration Fund Fairbridge Society Gordon Boys' Home WJ. Pady Salvation Army Leonard K. Shaw and the Manchester and Salford Homes Smyly Homes Stanley Boys' Home Miss Emma Stirling and the Edinburgh and Leith Children's Aid and Refuge Society Mrs. Janet Wallis and Hurst House Training Home Charles E. Baring Young Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) British Oversea Settlement/Empire Settlement Act Vimy Ridge Farm Dakeyne Farm, Nova Scotia New Brunswick Farm Vermilion Farm Agencies of Which Little is Known Headingly Orphan Homes Home for Orphan Girls St. Chad's Children's Home
190 191 191 191 194 197 199 199 201 203
206 206 206 207 208 209 213 215 222 222 226 227 228 228 231 232 232 232 233 233 233 234
Colonial Training-Home for Girls Ladies' Associations for the Care of Girls The Traveller's Aid Society Saint Joseph's Orphanage Other Agencies Children from Countries other than the United Kingdom Stop 69: The Armenian Relief Fund United Church Overseas League Russian Children CHAPTER 7 Roman Catholic Participation Organization London (Westminster and Southwark Dioceses) Liverpool Birmingham Manchester/Salford Emigration Liverpool: Father Nugent and the Catholic Children's Protection Society (CCPS) Westminster: Cardinal Manning and Father Seddon Southwark: Father St. John and Reverend Lord Archibald Douglas Salford Irish Institutions Unions - Directly Other English Institutions The Work Comes Together CHAPTER 8 Poor Law Participation in Emigration Poor Law Child Emigrants Leeds Board of Guardians "Poor Union Girls" CHAPTER 9 Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools Reformatories Industrial Schools Ragged Schools The Institutions CHAPTER 10 Female Immigration The Organizations
234 234 234 235 235 235 235 237 238 238 238 243 245 246 246 246 249 251 253 254 254 254 254 265 267 277 279 291 298 300 302 305 307 315
Booking Agents British Ladies' Female Emigration Society London Female Emigration Society Columbia Emigration Society: Bride Ships Edinburgh Female Emigration Society Female Middle-Class Emigration Society Vere Henry Louis Foster Girls' Friendly Society Catholic Emigration Society'/Ste. Anne's Emigration Society Girls' Home of Welcome Women's Emigration Society (WES) Colonial Emigration Society (CES) United Englishwomen's Emigration Association /British Women's Emigration Association (BWEA)/'United Women's British Emigration Society [Association] (UBWES)/United British Women's Emigration Association Women's Protective Immigration Society Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS) James Hack Tuke Women's British Immigration League Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) Aberdeen Ladies' Union Salvation Army Smaller Agencies Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women (SOSBW) Women from Other Countries Madame von Koerber's Female Emigrants APPENDIX A Text of Forms Used by Various Organizations Forms used by Miss Maria Rye Form of Indenture Form of Adoption Smyly Home Form APPENDIX B Father Seddon's Last Party of Children APPENDIX C Limerick Union Party of 1865
315 315 316 316 318 318 324 333 338 340 341 341 341
345 347 348 351 351 352 352 354 354 356 356 359 359 359 360 361 362 364
APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX
D E F G
A Fegan Boy's Story Text of a 1903 Barnardo Advertisement Smyly Home Boys Who Enlisted from Canada October 8,1915 Number of Children Immigrated Recorded by Mr. G.B. Smart, 1900-24 APPENDIX H Circular of 1895 Sent to Agencies Involved with Immigrant Children APPENDIX I List of Institutions: Reformatories, Farm Schools, Industrial Schools, Ragged Schools APPENDIX J Home Children Canada
367 374 375 376 377 379 396
NOTES
398
BIBLIOGRAPHY
430
INDEX
438
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
4&2
Acknowledgements I wish to express my thanks to the many people who have contributed to this manuscript. I have been helped along the way by a good many friends. Ron Lambert encouraged me to pursue this endeavour and Rosemary Ambrose, Frances Hoffman, Robert Kane, Gail Collins, Chris Sanford, Bruce Elliott and Norma Huber provided me with information. Geoff Blackburn, who researched the Children's Friend Society, gave me valuable information on that organization. Charlotte Neff of Laurentian University, North Bay, Ontario, shared her information on the Children's Friend Society in Canada, the Redhill Farm boys and the Ragged School boys. Brendan Hall provided information on Vere Foster's Irish emigrants. Anna Jackson assisted with the Vimy Ridge information and John Sayer lent me his collection of material on the home children. Marjory Harper, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, helped from her side of the ocean as did David Stanley, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, and Simon Wilson, University of Liverpool, School of Social Work Archives. Donald J. Tyler sent me valuable information on Hereford Union and Aline Elliott, of the Kirkgate Centre Museum, Cockermouth, sent information on the Cumberland Industrial School. Margery Burdon of the Heathbank Museum of Social Work, Glasgow, Scotland, contributed information on some of the organizations. Jennifer Colclough and Michael Baldwin contributed in a special way. They are stamp collectors and hold a most interesting collection of covers from the Liverpool Sheltering Homes. These envelopes sometimes contained notes and bits of information which have been invaluable. A special thanks goes to Sue Swiggum, friend and fellow shipmate, who helped a great deal with the shipping records and allowed me access to her ship arrival database. Thanks also to Gery Swiggum for his creative suggestions for a potential cover design. Mary Munk of the National Archives of Canada was most helpful in assisting me in various ways throughout the research process. Fawne Devan Stratford was very helpful with records from the Archives of Ontario. I am also indebted to the staff of the University of Waterloo Dana Porter Library who saw more of me at times than my family. H. Richard (Dick) Wright, and his wife Hazel, generously shared their life story with me and Dick gave me a great deal of insight into Fegan homes. Information also came from Christina Dobson Brazzoni on the Fairbridge Society, and Sarge and Pauline Bampton supplied information on the Church of England's home in Sherbrooke. Thanks also go to the many other young immigrants, and members of their families, who shared their stories and letters. To them I owe a great deal. x
David and Kay Lorente assisted with the information about Catholic children. They also shared their insights into helping many of the children and their families search for their pasts. Dave has also generously agreed to write the Foreword for this book. I am truly grateful for their friendship. My sisters, Cathy Hayward and Frances Stephenson, and my mother, Alice Edwards, put up with me on visits to Ottawa and Winnipeg while I searched the archives. John and Jean Kohli and family supplied room and board and entertainment on our visits to Ottawa. My sister, Marie Edwards, was chauffeur and research assistant, finding books in the University of Manitoba's collection which I could not find at home and proofreading parts of the manuscript. And my sister, Joanne Newsham, who introduced me to people who helped me find material on the Russell Farm and always kept her eyes open for items of interest, also has my gratitude. My son Mark, and his wife Julie, have put up with my talking about this topic for years. And my granddaughter, Madison, who may not understand what this is all about now but in the future may understand that it is only by the grace of God that her maternal great-great-grandfather did not come to Canada in this way, living as he did in the East End of London where many found refuge with the agencies described in this book. Special thanks go to my daughter, Jennifer Kohli, and to Rosanne Atwater-Hallatt who helped edit the manuscript. I am also indebted to Glenn Anderson who assisted with the photographs. But most of all, I owe my husband, Frank, my deepest gratitude, for he has always encouraged me to do things and has made me believe that I can do them. In acknowledging all such generous help from so many, I must also acknowledge that the responsibility for accuracy resides with me. Any errors brought to my attention, or to my publisher, will be dealt with in subsequent editions of this work.
XI
Foreword A foreword, as the name implies, is an introduction or message to prepare the reader for what follows. To the extent that it is a "Preface," it can also be said to be a thanksgiving and so I thank Marj Kohli for writing The Golden Bridge and for the honour she bestowed in asking me to pen these words. The Golden Bridge is more than an intriguing read for anyone interested in the migration of young people. It is a welcome and indispensable tool. Marj Kohli has given the researcher a "Golden Bridge" of her own making - a treasure trove of data that will facilitate the process whereby one can access home children records and, in doing so, better comprehend the whys and wherefores of British child migration. Anyone interested in the 100,000 boys and girls whom Canadians alone call "Home Children" will pick this book up again and again. Britain has the dubious distinction of having the longest history of exporting children. No one knows how many hundreds of thousands - dare one say millions? - were shipped from the Mother Country to far-flung reaches of empire and commonwealth in the 350 years after the first boatload of boys, swept up from the streets of London, landed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1618, to work on tobacco plantations and be paid in kind - in tobacco. In the centuries that followed, Britain continued to send mere children to penal colonies. They could even be ordered as cheap help from suppliers in Britain, along with staples such as flour, cloth, molasses etc, by planters who had settled in remote areas on North America's coast. Assisted emigration schemes were also used to deplete the poorhouse, orphanage and asylum populations back home and, in the process, lend a measure of relief to British taxpayers, ease political, social and economic problems for the government, and "fertilize the empire." Philanthropists, religious zealots, caring agencies and Lord Shaftesbury, a paragon among parliamentarians, also recognized that, given the conditions in Great Britain, sending destitute children across "the Golden Bridge" (the Atlantic Ocean) to the colonies offered the poor "Waifs and Strays" a better fate than keeping them in squalor and consigning them to crime, degradation and an early death at "home." But the child migrant story to Canada as we know it today is generally accepted to have begun only after Confederation, when Maria Rye in 1869, followed by Annie Macpherson in 1870, opened the first receiving and distribution homes in Niagara-onthe-Lake and Belleville respectively. That child migration happened at all has never until lately - been mentioned in British or Canadian schools. Indeed, it was only a short xn
while ago on August 19, 2001, that the Government of Canada unveiled a historical plaque at a former receiving/distribution home in Stratford, Ontario. This tangible symbolic proof demonstrated that, finally, this hitherto suppressed chapter in our history was of true "national historical significance." Over 1,200 people attended the unveiling and the Home Children Canada reunion that followed. That child migration had happened at all and that there had been abuse in the system was presumably exposed for the first time in Britain and Australia, in the late 19808. But a decade before that time, three Canadian authors had already informed North Americans - and presumably readers abroad - of the plight of child migrants. Social worker Phyllis Harrison's Home Children, Their Personal Stories, (1979) is a collection of extracts from letters solicited from home children across the country. She let the children speak for themselves. Meanwhile, doctoral candidate Joy Parr had already made a clinical forensic analysis of every tenth individual case record held by major former sending agencies in the United Kingdom. She had broken down data on each file into 52 cells, entered them on cardex and fed the latter into an early computer at Yale. She let the paper trails - the children's records - speak for themselves. She had already defended her thesis before a short version of it was published in 1980 under the title Labouring Children, British Immigrant Apprentices to Canada, 1869-1924. (It should be noted that, though her research had to stop in 1924 - 50 years before she was allowed to look at the records, Professor Parr's disinterested approach and findings about child migration remain unique because of the very sources and method she used.) Newsman Kenneth Bagnell's The Little Immigrants, a popular history of the movement, followed. In short, each of the authors contributed something different, a product of the times and for the times. Marj Kohli continues that tradition. Marj is known world-wide for her University of Waterloo website on juvenile migration. What is perhaps less well known is that she is one of over twenty Home Children Canada volunteers across Canada who have shared information and worked together at their own expense to help child migrants and descendants access personal records. Marj has made use of her considerable computer skills to amass data and make contacts worldwide; she has also accessed government records at home and abroad and compiled lists which she has shared on the web along with others she has received. The Golden Bridge is the culmination of her years of active involvement with home children issues, answering queries, attending our reunions, meeting home children and delving into the precedents one must study to fully understand where child migration fits into the panorama of world history. It is also a work that reflects the fact that we live in an age wherein computers and the world-wide web facilitate the retrieval, organization and dispensing of highly detailed knowledge. It should be noted also that Marj has Xlll
eschewed the temptation to be subjective and pass judgment. She is concerned with the who, what, when, where, why and how data as they appear in official documents. The Golden Bridge, Young Immigrants to Canada 1833 to 1939 paints a broad picture of juvenile migration to our shores prior to the Second World War. And while the book is essentially about the "home children," virtually all of whom came in the years between Confederation and the start of the Second World War, it also deals with philanthropic movements immediately prior to that period - the emigration of young girls, the Children's Friend Society, Shaftesbury, and others. And it does not fail to touch on the last 76 boys who came to Duncan on Vancouver Island between 1945 and 1948. This book is a keeper. It will be consulted frequently to research home child history or delve deeper into the background of juvenile migration. The ten chapters provide a veritable smorgasbord of information on conditions in the United Kingdom and in Canada, the initial efforts of Rye and Macpherson, Doyle's UK Government Report, the voyage over, the efforts of seven later major "movers" and of more than three dozen other groups, the Poor Law Unions, the Schools (Ragged, Industrial and Reformatories) and female emigration. Roman Catholic emigration is the subject of a separate chapter. There are ten appendices, a full bibliography, and an extensive index. Readers hungry for more will want to go back to refresh their memories regarding details that might concern them most. For almost 12 years it has been the experience of Home Children Canada founders in answering questions about accessing records and locating lost family members that giving a simple answer to a question merely opens several more doors to even more quandaries. It is a rare inquirer who simply writes us just once. The Golden Bridge will fill in a lot of blanks for such people. The book will answer questions even before most readers think of asking them as it provides such detailed data about ships, routes, conducting officials, schools and agencies abroad, inspections, policy, receiving/distributing facilities, and the "movers" in our land and in, what my Dad and other home children called, "the old country." J.A. David Lorente, founder Home Children Canada
XIV
Preface When I first became interested in tracing my own children's roots my husband told me many stories of his boyhood in Hespeler (now part of Cambridge), Ontario. He mentioned attending school with children from a place called the Coombe which, he said, housed orphans. With my curiosity piqued, I began to investigate this institution off and on over the next few years. In 1992,1 decided to put this information together for the Waterloo Historical Society (WHS), which subsequently published the article in Volume 80,1992. I discovered that the Coombe was run by the Children's Aid Society. However, it had previously been a home for Irish child immigrants. During my research I also discovered another home located in Gait (now also part of Cambridge), Ontario, which was run by Annie Macpherson. This research was published by the WHS in Volume 81,1993. As my knowledge of the topic grew I created a web site, at http://www.ist.uwaterloo.ca/-marj/ genealogy/homeadd.html. Later, the task of putting it all on paper became my objective. This book is intended to give a brief history of the immigration to Canada of young people arriving between 1833 and 1939. With possibly several millions of Canadians descended from young immigrants, and with the growing interest in family history, it is hoped that through an understanding of the process and the areas in which the various organizations worked, some mysteries may be solved. My experience has shown that for those who learn after years of fruitless searching that a grandparent or great-grandparent came to Canada as a young immigrant, they are most happy to have found a piece to their familial puzzle. It is also hoped that some of those still living who came to Canada as young immigrants will now be more willing to share their experience with their families. Regrettably the nomenclature "home boy" or "home girl" was often applied indiscriminately by Canadians to all young immigrants. While we hope to be more sensitive to the individual today, such was not often the case in the past. Little wonder then that so many of the young people grew up reluctant to acknowledge their past lives. Some even invented a history with which their own young families could be comfortable. There were many organizations involved in this work and considerable effort has been made to discover something about each of these agencies. However, as with all projects of this nature, the research process is dynamic. Included in this book are those agencies documented in the immigration records at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. Information was found in the annual reports of the immigration agents, in the Sessional Papers of the government of Canada, in the Sessional Papers of the Provinces and in the Parliamentary Papers of XV
Britain. While many other sources were also consulted, special emphasis is placed on Canadian records and the Canadian perspective of the operations. It is also important to note that while only the period from 1833-1939 is covered, some children did enter Canada after 1939. Children who came as "guest children," those evacuated from England at the time of the Second World War, and the Jewish children, who came just after the Second World War, are not included here. They have, however, been discussed in other books written on those specific topics and reference has been made to them in the bibliography. An unfortunate misconception has grown over the years leading many people to believe that Barnardo Homes was the only organization involved in the emigration of young people. Some may know about Fegan's Boys, Quarrier's children, Miss Rye's girls or the children brought to Canada by the Roman Catholic Church. However, many other institutions were involved in child emigration including reformatories, the Girls' Friendly Society, the East End Emigration Society, the Salvation Army, Big Brothers, and the Boy Scouts, as well as organizations in Ireland and Scotland. There were also groups set up for very specific reasons such as the Fairbridge Society, Cossar Farms, Mrs. Close's Farm, the United Church Overseas League, among others. Also presented here are many organizations which brought young women to Canada to work as domestics in the mid-i8oos and, in later years, as factory workers. Although a number of these women were over 18 years of age, some married and some widowed, many were young girls in their teens. Mention is also made of groups of young immigrants from Switzerland and Armenia. This publication makes no attempt to analyse the pros and cons of child emigration or its effects on the child. However, the bibliography does make reference to publications which do. What you will find here is a history of the immigration of young people to Canada which I believe to be a much neglected part of Canadian history. It is important to remember that the social structure of the period being discussed was far different from what we know in 2003. Adoption was not introduced into law in England until 1927, and 1930 in Scotland. Ontario passed adoption legislation in 1921. Apprenticeship, enacted in Upper Canada in 1799, was the usual way of handling orphaned children with boarding out (foster homes) being used in the late i8oos and early 19008. Emigration was seen as a solution to many problems and encouraged by the governments of both Britain and Canada. Mr. G. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes, wrote in his 1915 report of the importance of juvenile immigration. "To thousands of young people, emigration has been the golden bridge by which they have passed from an apparently hopeless childhood to lives of useful service and assured comfort in this new land."1 xvi
This plaque, dedicated August 19, 2001, to commemorate the contribution of "Home Children" to Canada, stands at 51 Avon Street, Stratford, Ontario. Courtesy of Frank Kohli. Even though the government placed a great importance on the immigration of these young people, the Canadian public did not always see it in the same light and some negative impressions were formed. The stigma attached to these children came through no fault of the children, but rather from the ignorance of the Canadian population of the time. Children were scattered across Canada by the thousands much as one would sow a field of wheat and, while the yield was plentiful, it was not without its problems.
xvn
Abbreviations Used in the Text The following abbreviations have been used in this text for major collections. AO CIHM NAG NLC BPP SP OSP
XVlll
Archives of Ontario Canadian Institute for Historical Micro-Reproductions National Archives of Canada National Library of Canada Parliamentary Papers of the Government of Britain Sessional Papers of the Government of Canada Sessional Papers of the Province of Ontario
CHAPTER 1
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration IN 1837, WHEN YOUNG QUEEN VICTORIA ascended the throne of Britain, she inherited a nation in the throes of transition. Industrialization and innovations in transportation were changing the face of the country and old ties to the land were quickly disappearing. Cottage industries were replaced by mechanized factories and, as the need for agricultural workers declined, a population shift took place. Cities were bursting at the seams as populations grew faster than resources could manage. From her penal laws, to education, to sanitation, and the everyday way of life, Britain was in desperate need of reform. They swarmed the streets, they gamboled in the gutters, they haunted the markets in search of cast-away food; they made playgrounds of the open spaces; they lurked under porches of public buildings in hot weather; and they crept into stables or under arches for their nights lodging. They lived as the pariah dog lives, and were treated much in the same way; everybody exclaimed against the nuisance, but nobody felt it to be his business to interfere.1 As industries developed and mechanized, rural inhabitants in search of work moved to the cities. This influx of humanity into the cities of nineteenth-century Britain created situations hard for many today to imagine. Cities swelled with populations doubling, tripling, or in some cases increasing by as much as tenfold in as little as ten years. It took people such as Lord Ashley, who became the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury,2 Mary Carpenter, Dr. Thomas Guthrie, William Booth and other reformers of the time to draw I
2.
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
attention to the plight of inner city inhabitants, especially the children, as evidenced by Shaftesbury's observation quoted above. Victorian attitudes towards children were vastly different from those of today. "Childhood," it was said, "was a time of preparation for adulthood, for work and responsibility."3 Children of the lower classes did not play but rather worked to help support the family. A father with children could be refused parish relief if it was felt that the children could help support the family. Many families could not afford having a mouth to feed that did not pay its way. There were precious few schools for the masses to attend and even less opportunity to consider the luxury of an education. For many, just keeping food on their table, a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs was a daily struggle. As Shaftesbury started his work for reform he became acutely aware of the desperate situation in London: He found, in some cases, hundreds of human beings - equal to the population of a whole village - compressed and hidden in a dozen small and wretched houses packed in a court, the houses and court occupying less than the area of a good-sized barn, or a village church, or a moderate-sized emigrant ship.4 London was not the only city in the British Isles faced with the problems of overpopulation. Liverpool, being a major port of entry for many Irish fleeing starvation, also saw its population skyrocket. Other centres such as Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol found themselves in similar situations. In 1847 and 1848, the streets of many cities in England and Scotland were overrun by Irish driven from their homes in search of food. In January of 1848 the Mendicity Society, a Roman Catholic charity, had 18,589 applications for assistance from Irish families who had been in London less than a year.5 After a visit to England, an American reporter named Daniel Kirwan wrote of London: ... from all this misery and destitution of a quarter where the inhabitants are packed like rabbits in a well-stocked warren, the road leads through the Upper March down to the rare pleasurance or garden of the palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the most sumptuous ecclesiastical retreats in England. The Archbishop's gardens, although located in the heart of a populous city, cover as much ground, it is calculated, as gives sleeping and eating room to 11,000 human beings in the New Cut district.
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration
3
Children from lower-class families were sent out to work in mines, brickyards, woollen mills and factories of all kinds from the time they were very young. Children were a source of income and so were put to work as soon as possible to add even a few pence to the meagre family income. Children were employed as farm labourers, chimney sweeps, rag pickers, matchbox-makers and beggars. Small children were sent into cold, dark mine shafts in places where men could not fit or into woollen mills where they could scurry under equipment, like rats along the floor, to change bobbins, collect waste and check machinery. Children of suitable size were often stolen, sold by parents, or obtained from workhouses and apprenticed to chimney sweeps where they were forced up chimneys to clean them, sometimes becoming wedged in the bends and dying of asphyxiation, or eventually succumbing to work-related disease. Children were purposely mutilated and then used as beggars to invoke the sympathy and charity of passers-by. Thousands lived in ditches, under bridges, or in flop houses for a penny a night. In this street [New Cut], crowded at night - on Saturday night it is almost impassable - children of a tender age may be seen begging for coppers [pennies] and soliciting assistance from those of more mature years, but to the full as wretched as themselves. Vice is in every glance of their eyes. Crime has already made its graven lines in their young faces, and their dialect is a combination of uncouth sounds, obscene imagery, and slang corruptions of the English tongue.7 Kirwan reports seeing children "with small bags made from the material used in potato sacks, collecting cigar ends and crusts of bread from ash heaps and dust bins."8 The bread crusts were often mixed with a little oatmeal and water to make porridge while the cigar ends were sold to the "tibbaccy man" and on a good day could bring tuppence for the effort. Others collected leather bits and pieces of old shoes and sold them to the used shoe dealers who repaired them and resold them. There were those who hunted the sewers (although forbidden by law) to find coins, jewellery, iron, rope, metal and other items which could be sold, while the "mud-larks" collected items from the mud of the riverbanks when the tide was out. Still others devoted their efforts to dogselling stating that "[d]og stealing among professionals is looked upon as a noble science, and deserving of long and arduous practice."9 Legislation was passed at various times to improve the working conditions of children. The 1802 Restriction of Hours Act was passed to reduce the number of hours children worked to 12 hours a day (exclusive of meals) with no night work allowed. Previously, some children worked as many as 16 or 18 hours per day, in shifts, so that as one child tumbled from bed another would crawl, totally exhausted, into it. Legislation
4
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
for better clothing and food was also sought, but this act did not address these issues and only applied to children working in cotton factories. By 1819, no child under the age of nine years was allowed to work in a cotton factory and those under 16 were restricted to 12-hour days, exclusive of meals. By 1825, the cotton factories could not have a child under 18 years of age work more than 69 hours in a week and night work was prohibited in specified departments. The Ten Hours Bill of 1831, which tried to reduce working hours to 10 in a day, received great opposition, since the gentlemen who voted on these bills were, in many cases, the owners or investors in the businesses affected. This bill was followed in 1833 by the Factory Act (a watered-down version of the Ten Hours Bill) which was implemented gradually. The Factory Act Amendment Bill stated that no child was to work in more than one factory in a day and that two hours of schooling each day were to be provided for the children. The fact that this act had to be passed at all suggests that many factory owners were finding ways around the earlier legislation or around the inspectors sent out to see that they complied with the law. The dangerous childhood jobs of the chimney sweeps and miners were affected by the passing of several different acts. First, in 1834, an act to restrict the age of a chimney sweep to 10 years or older was passed. There was also a need to state that no child could be sent up a chimney which was on fire, for the purpose of extinguishing it. Also, regulations were established as to the size of a chimney a child could clean (14 inches by 9 inches minimum). In 1840, an act was passed which forbade anyone under 21 years of age to ascend or descend a chimney for the purpose of cleaning it and restricted the age of apprentices to 16 years and older. But, it was not until 1875 that legislation finally restricted the use of children for the purpose of cleaning a chimney. The Collieries Bill was passed to protect children, as young as four years of age, who were working in mines 12 to 14 hours a day and who often never saw the light of day except on Sunday. Sometimes they would work 36 hours continuously. A Royal Commission was set up to investigate the mining situation; in 1842, it presented a report which shocked many. The horror stories of children naked and beaten working in the mines were told to members of the Commission and documented in its report. As a result of the report, the Mines Act of 1842 restricted the employment of children going underground to the age of ten. Single mothers, often having no alternatives, took their infants to work with them. There are reports of infants being drugged to prevent them from crying. They were given drugs such as Godfrey's Cordial, Atkinson's Royal Infant's Preservative and Mrs. Wilkinson's Soothing Syrup.10 This kept the infants quiet while their mothers worked to earn enough to keep food on the table and possibly a roof overhead. Housing in London's East End was wretched and made worse by the removal of
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration
5
many dwellings to allow for the construction of the railway. As one observer noted, "It is necessary first to get rid of some hundred, or even some thousand, people. So they are turned out, commonly by pick and crowbar, and no one asks where they go."11 The effect was to increase the population density in the remaining buildings and the effect was odd indeed. For example, if one entered Soho, bordering on St. Giles: ...In this district you may enter long passages, and perceive numbers of rooms on either side, then at the end ascend a flight of stairs into another long passage, with rooms on either side - 'a forest of rooms' - then cross a kind of bridge over a small yard and find, still further on, more galleries and passages, as if there had been once a garden to the first house, and these had been built out into it. So little light and air can penetrate into these rookeries, that the people may well prefer sitting out on the curbstone, with their feet in the gutter.12 In Liverpool things were every bit as bad with 20,000 people living in cellars: ...These cellars were ten to twelve feet square and sometimes less than six feet in height. There was frequently no window, so that light and air could gain access only by the door, the top of which was often no higher than the pavement, so that the cellars were dark and ventilation was out of the question. They were generally damp from defective drainage. There was sometimes a back cellar, used as a sleeping apartment, and, having no direct communication with the external atmosphere, deriving its scanty supply of air and light solely from the door of the front apartment. The whole of the cellar population were absolutely without out-offices [bathrooms] or place of deposit for their refuse matter.13 Water was hard to come by and, in some parts of Liverpool, the water was turned on for only short periods of time each day. London was no better even though a few progressive citizens had fought for years to have a decent water system installed but to no avail. Since gin alcohol was cheap, drinking was a major problem among the poor. Parents sent their children into the streets to beg in order that they might buy their gin. Some children were purposely maimed to attract all the more sympathy from the passersby. Others were trained to pick pockets or rob houses so their parents could obtain the necessary funds to feed their habit. To make matters even worse, many very young children also drank the gin and became addicted at an early age. Liverpool, in 1871, records 22,988 arrests for drunkenness in a population of 489,ooo.14
6
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It was the duty of the parish wardens to see that the children were was cared for and in many cases this led to a child being indentured or apprenticed to some tradesman. Shaftesbury observed: Under the "Apprentice System" bargains were made between the churchwardens and overseers of parishes and the owners of factories, and the pauper children - some as young asfiveyears old - were bound to serve until they were twenty-one.15 This apprentice system gave rise to "workhouse-clearing men" who had the job of binding (or placing) pauper children out as apprentices. Many of the children in the larger cities, such as London and Liverpool, were moved north to the big industrial centres. As early as 1810 this was seen as reprehensible as illustrated in this poem by George Crabbe. Peter had heard there were in London then Still have they being! - workhouse clearing men. Who, undisturbed by feelings just or kind, Would parish-boys to needy tradesmen bind; They in their want a trifling sum would take, And toiling slaves of piteous orphans make.1 Reports from the Old Bailey trials show that these children were treated very badly. "Many were victims of murder, manslaughter, assault and rape and although legislation had been passed in 1793 providing for the punishment of masters who ill treated apprentices few children knew of this or had courage or opportunity to invoke it."17 It was not uncommon for the children to run away, many becoming "street arabs"1 or common thieves. When it came to the poor there was no separation of the chronically poor from the temporarily unemployed. They were all treated the same and all fell under the jurisdiction of the "Poor Law" which was controlled by the Poor Law Commissioners. These commissioners made the laws, and it was the job of the elected members of the Board of Guardians to see to its day-to-day workings. It was up to the guardians to see that relief was given to the poor. Some individuals in Glasgow begged that the church get more involved in the problem of the poor "instead of leaving it to the cold, harsh, castiron machinery of the Poor Law."19 In the time of Queen Elizabeth I, under the Poor Law Act of 43rd Elizabeth, the care of the poor became the responsibility of the parish.20 In the late i/oos, however, it was
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration
7
felt that a united effort might be more efficient and some parishes were joined together to create Poor Law Unions. With the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834, the guardians were given dramatic new powers, including the ability to raise funds for use in emigrating their inmates. It was felt that many of those on relief took advantage of the system. Many were on "outdoor" relief, that is, they received money and were allowed to remain in their own dwelling place. However, some people lived on relief and did not even bother to look for or hold a job. To remove these abusers from the system, the Unions introduced the workhouse test, by which the guardians could refuse to pay outdoor relief thereby forcing the destitute into the workhouse. The test stated that, "no poor who refuse to be lodged and kept in such houses shall be entitled to parochial relief."21 Workhouses were often built to the same plan with a small entrance block, housing administrative offices, the wards and, at the rear, the kitchens, laundry and storage area: The wards were large and commonly had unplastered walls, no ceilings other than bare rafters, and rough bare floors. A number had a central valley or depression which served as a gangway. The inmates slept, not on beds, but on straw mattresses spread on sleeping platforms on a raised portion of the floor on either side of the gangway, this arrangement meant a great saving in space.22 These institutions were cold and draughty and often had high stone walls around them, in a prison-like style. The inmates were not to be clothed or fed any better than the lowest class found outside the institution. In short, life in the workhouse was to be made as undesirable as possible. Unfortunately the guardians, in their zeal to remove abuse, turned the workhouse into a place of last resort. For those who did get outdoor relief, payments were made sparingly; so sparingly in fact, that many elderly died of starvation, exposure or illness. What wonder that the average guardian was gradually drilled into a system under which the aged had to choose between starvation on half a crown a week out-relief and the penal servitude of the workhouse; that the children were cooped up within the workhouse itself or herded in barrack schools, and driven to start in life with the minimum of general education and no training for anything save the lowest grades of unskilled labor.23 After the passing of the Poor Law Amendment, a husband and wife could be separated in the workhouse. As well, children could be separated from their parents and
L
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placed in workhouse schools. Here they were taught reading, writing, scriptures and some sort of manual training for up to three hours a day. This training, however, did little to help the children prepare for a productive adulthood and after some years it was decided that the children would be better off attending local schools. Compared to other cities, London had room in its workhouses: ...to accommodate 150,000 paupers under the parochial system, for which the residents or freeholders of every parish in the metropolitan district are taxed at an annual rate of fourteen pounds ten shillings per pauper... yet men, women, and children die of starvation, weekly, in the slums of St. Giles, Saffron Hill, Bethnal Green, and Shoreditch.24 The guardians had done their jobs well; the workhouse was the last place many wished to go, preferring death to this most hated of all places. It is true that the river rolls sluggishly five or six hundred yards below the New Cut, and those who are tired of dog's meat, rotten vegetables, and the offal of the street markets for their common food, and of sleeping eight in a room on straw which is not even clean, can at any time deliver their bodies from further pain and starvation, and their minds from a daily never-ending struggle by a quick plunge in the river, near by.25 Ireland did not have workhouses until 1838, when they were introduced against the wishes of the people. However, unlike the English act, "there was one notable omission - the absence of a legal or statutory right for the Irish poor to be provided with relief, whereas in England every destitute person had such a right."2 Ireland's situation was unique in another way. Twenty-five percent of the English population was involved in agricultural work at this time, but in Ireland that figure was more like 66 percent.27 This dependency on the land led to the already meagre relief system being completely over-burdened during the crop failures of 1846 and 1847. Workhouses were brought to their knees during the famine years with many going bankrupt. There were over 100 hospitals in London "...and yet it will be much easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, or a rich man to get a free pass into paradise, than that a poor wretch without friends or influence should be able to find a bed in an hospital, unless he can succeed by a miracle in dodging the sentinels which red tape has placed at every entrance to these vaunted institutions."2 Cholera epidemics struck London in 1831,1848,1853 and 1866, leaving many orphans
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration
9
in its wake. Miss Clara Lowe, a relief worker among the people of the East End of London, wrote in 1866: In the first week of July there were fourteen cases, in the third week 346 fatal cases occurred, 308 of which were in the East End. In the second week of August there were 1407 deaths. The want of nourishing food made the poor an easy prey, vast numbers were attacked and laid low, and great debility and weakness ensued. The infected bedding was burned in the streets, and children playing round the bonfires were often stricken with the disease. In one house, from which the mother had just been buried, the children had been removed to a wood-shed for safety. One child lay dying on a poor pallet, and when this child breathed its last another sickened and took its place, but for want of bedding and covering he had not been undressed for days. A blanket was borrowed, and in this he was carried to the Hospital to die. Upstairs an aged man of seventy-five was sinking fast. In one corner lay the dead body of his daughter; by his side sat his helpless wife. She had been in the Hospital with a broken leg, but had been removed to make room for cholera patients. In the next room a young widow was almost hopelessly watching her only child, and beside her sat her paralysed mother, for whose support she received from the Parish a shilling and a loaf weekly. In one court the sights and sounds reminded one of that time when there was a great cry 'for there was not a house where there was not one dead.' One poor woman had been called away to see a dying mother, and on her return found her child already numbered with the dead. Another mother of five children had just had the dead body of her husband carried in. In a cellar lay a strong man in the prime of life tossing about in agony. 'Let me rest,' were the only words he had spoken. On a second visit he was dead. Close by a woman was frantically running for a remedy for a friend just seized. In this case the terror of death and the agony of body were all as nothing compared to the grief of being taken from her only little girl. The cries for 'Water, water! My child, my baby!' were heart-rending.29 In her book, Children in Carey Jean Heywood states that the, "inadequate and sometimes inhuman methods, which the poor law administrators used in order to fulfil their statutory obligations to the homeless and orphaned children were responsible for the development of alternative forms of care pioneered by humanitarians and philanthropists."30
10
THEGOLDENBRIDGE
This realization led these evangelicals to try to help the poor, destitute children of the cities by taking matters into their own hands, "for they [the children] are waifs and strays whom it is no one's interest to claim."31 Indeed, although the Poor Law Guardians were supposed to look after the poor, they were not compelled to seek them out. Consequently, at close to the same time, individuals in Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester began the job of child saving. Many of these humanitarians got their start in the Ragged Schools, a name derived from the ragged condition of the pupils. These institutions began to spring up in the 18408 in various cities and offered a little reading, writing and scriptures to those who attended. Often classes were held on Sundays (or in the evening) so as not to interfere with work. Sometimes the students were given a meal and could spend a few hours in a warm room away from the squalor in which many lived. Annie Macpherson, Thomas Barnardo, Ellen Bilbrough, Dr. Thomas Guthrie, Mary Carpenter and many others first became exposed to the youth of the city through Ragged Schools. Other children, who found themselves in trouble with the law, were at first incarcerated in the same prisons as adult inmates. It was not until 1838 that the first reformatory came into existence. This was followed in the late 18408 and 18508 by the establishment of a number of industrial schools and reformatories founded by philanthropic societies and some church groups. Mary Carpenter and other reformers worked diligently to try to help children in these institutions. These groups wanted to reform the child by teaching a trade and by giving an opportunity to start a new life in one of the colonies. Training, the reformers believed, was the key. As an Evangelical Revival took place in Britain in the i86os, it led to the formation of many religious humanitarian organizations. Groups took up various causes including those of children, apprentices, widows, sailors and others. Buildings, or rooms in buildings, were rented and used to feed and house a few of the destitute children. These 'Homes,' as they were called, grew in size and number. The primary objectives were to teach the children about God and to give them a little food. Soon the girls were taught to sew, boys were trained to chop and deliver wood, and groups were organized to deliver parcels and newspapers. The major change was that these "Homes" were truly becoming the homes of these waifs. Mrs. Smyly in Dublin, Ireland, started her homes by the early i86os while Annie Macpherson established her first home in the East End of London, England, in 1867; Dr. Stephenson soon followed. William Quarrier was working in Glasgow while Dr. Thomas Guthrie was busy in Edinburgh. In Birmingham, John Middlemore began his work with children while Leonard Shaw was organizing homes in Manchester. Thomas Barnardo, who worked with Annie Macpherson in the Ragged Schools in the East End of London, set up his home at Stepney Causeway in London in 1870.
Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration
11
Unlike the Poor Law Guardians, these evangelists played an active role in seeking out the children. As the children were taken into the homes, they had to learn a new way of life. "After having them washed, we had beds prepared for them, little thinking that we had to teach them to sleep in them," wrote Annie Macpherson. They were still children though, and, "[a]fter being put to bed, the light extinguished, we were often obliged to go and stop them fighting, and stay in the room till silence was restored." She went on, "It was the same in everything. They had to be taught the most common usages of social life. But these early difficulties were overcome, and they learnt to play, laugh, work and sit still like ordinary children."32 Some children came to the homes because they had no place else to go and had heard that they could get a free meal and a place to sleep. There were some who, having crossed paths with the law, were delivered to the homes upon divulging the fact that they had no one to care for them. Still others were brought by parents or other relations because they could not feed and clothe the child. Illegitimate children were refused entry in some homes so this fact was often concealed when requesting admittance to a home. But, come they did, and the homes soon found they could not continue to take in children because the buildings were filled beyond capacity. The staff at the homes tried valiantly to find jobs for some of their children but the demand for space for incoming children increased faster than they could place current residents. There had been talk of sending children to the colonies. Indeed, in 1833, the Children's Friend Society and the West Kirk Workhouse had together taken over 200 children to Canada and placed them out as apprentices. As well, workhouses had been sending young men and women abroad for many years and the prisons, reformatories, and even the Ragged Schools, had been sending prisoners, released prisoners and students to the colonies for some time. Thus it was in 1869, that Maria Susan Rye, who began her work by helping young women emigrate, turned her attentions in a different direction and took her first group of children to Canada thereby opening the floodgates.
CHAPTER 2
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning
THE FIRST GROUP OF CHILD IMMIGRANTS, dealt with here, arrived in what is now Canada in 1833. The vast wilderness of this country was still unsettled, but in the Home District of Upper Canada the population in 1829 was 9,380 persons, rising dramatically the following year to 28,560. Towns were growing at the same fast rate. York (present-day Toronto) grew from 1,176 persons to 2,860 in just over one year.1 Upper Canada College was established at York and churches of various denominations were being erected or replaced with more substantial buildings. Other towns were experiencing similar growth including Kingston, Brockville, Belleville, Port Hope, Cobourg, Peterborough, and even Guelph (which was cut out of the bush in 1827 and had a population of 800 people by 1831).2 With this ever increasing population came the demand for workers of all descriptions. Domestics and other servants were in short supply as were labourers of every kind. Lower Canada was more advanced in many ways - colleges and churches had existed for some time. Quebec City, the major port, was generally bustling with activity during the shipping season which lasted from April to early November. Montreal was also a thriving city as it was from here that the traveller could take a boat, and later the train, to other destinations further inland. However, south of the St. Lawrence River, the Eastern Townships were just beginning to develop with settlers moving in and railways beginning to wind their way south on their way from Montreal to the United States. Weeks on end could pass without an individual seeing another human in the backwoods of the country. Rudimentary roads were being improved and new ones under construction. Canals and railways were cutting a swath across the land. But waterways were still the fastest and best means of transportation. Vessels of all sizes plied the rivers and lakes, moving people and cargo to the many towns dotting the shores. 12
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning
13
The areas of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia grew at a slower pace. The backwoods settlements here were often hard to reach and thus even lonelier places. Physical proximity to the United States was important; many emigrants only used these colonies as a stepping stone to cross the border to the United States where work was plentiful. Labourers were at a premium. Winter in Canada brought out a different mode of transportation - the horsedrawn sleigh. "Sleighing is, without doubt, the most delightful mode of travelling you can possibly conceive, but it takes several falls of snow to make the sleighing good," wrote Samuel Strickland (brother to Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill) in his book, Twenty-seven Years in Canada West. But, what seems to have left the biggest impression were the bells. "The horses are each provided with a ring of bells, the sound of which is not unmusical; and I am assured is delightful indeed to the ears of the anxious wife, watching for the return of her husband from a winter journey."3 Through the 18408 and 18508, or rail lines began to connect many rural towns and villages. In an 1852 immigration report, Moses Perley, emigrant agent at Saint John, New Brunswick, stated that the "opening of the railway from Portland to Montreal, has created a new line of traffic for emigrants from Europe bound to Canada through the port of St. John."4 Portland, Maine, was the winter port for the Canadas and from there the train was taken to reach Montreal. Other railway lines ran from Montreal to Toronto and even to Buffalo, New York, from where the emigrants could continue west to Chicago and on to other parts of the western United States.
Toronto in 1847, taken from the Illustrated London News of January 30,1847. J.F. Sanders is identified as the artist.
14
T H E G O L D E N B R I D G E
The City of Toronto had a gas and water system in the 18408, long before London, England. Indeed, in 1864, Alexander Carlise Buchanan, Chief Emigrant Agent at Quebec, wrote: Everywhere postal communication is complete. The most distant hamlet has its post office, and the number of offices in Canada is now about 1,974. The electric telegraph passes through every town and almost every village in the Province, and the number of miles in operation at this time is 4,846. The approach or arrival of a steamer or sailing vessel at Quebec is known very nearly at the same moment in every town of the Lower and Upper portions of the Province. All improvements in the arts or sciences affecting the commercial or industrial interests of her people are quickly introduced into Canada, and with numerous elements of adaptation and progress within her reach, she eagerly avails herself of the practice and enterprise of other countries.5 Labour was of the greatest importance to the Canadian farmer. The seasons dictated the work and when there were not enough hands to do the chores a family could go hungry. As the children in a family grew and left home to make their own way, the home farm would have to hire extra help. It was the need for domestic servants, however, that was felt most acutely and, in 1851, Moses Perley of Saint John wrote to R.T. Pennefather, the Lieutenant Governor's clerk: Government Emigration Office, St. John's, [sic] June 16,1851. Sir, I have the honour to state that, up to this date, about 1,700 emigrants have arrived at this port the present season, nearly the whole of whom have proceeded, or are about to proceed, to the United States. In this city labourers are in demand and wages high; for female servants the inquiries are unceasing. The applications from the country for farm labourers and domestic servants, both male and female, are numerous, and constantly increasing, but up to this moment I have not been able to persuade a single emigrant to proceed to the rural districts. Very many inquiries are made for young persons from fourteen years of age upwards, and I believe that decent families would be willing to take healthy children even younger than fourteen, and bring them up properly.
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning
15
It has occurred to me that the want of domestic servants, now beginning to be felt both in town and in country, might be supplied from the great numbers of pauper children who are being supported at the public expense in the workhouses of England. Healthy English children of sufficient age might at present be sent to this province with the almost absolute certainty of their being engaged immediately as domestic servants; and I venture to suggest for his Excellency's consideration the propriety of informing the Poor Law Commissioners for England of the demand for the labour of young persons in New Brunswick, with the view of arrangements being entered into for sending to this province a reasonable number of such persons before the close of the present season. R.T. Penefather, Esq. I have, &c. &c. &c. &c.
(Signed) M.H. Perley6
This was followed by a letter from the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, Lord Edmund Head, written to Earl Grey in support of Perley's request. Government House, Fredericton, N.B. June 19,1851. Sir, His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor has perused your letter with reference to emigration with great interest, and with every desire to aid in promoting the objects suggested by you. It appears to his Excellency that an especial demand exists in this colony for female servants of good character and industrious habits. It is probable that girls from fourteen to sixteen years of age might, as you suggest, readily find places. It may be doubtful whether those under fourteen would be easily disposed of, or would be taken into families on advantageous terms. In order to commence an emigration of this kind with success, it would be essential in the first place to ascertain whether a definite number of persons at St. John and Fredericton, as well as in the country, would be ready to receive into their families female children of that description. It would also be necessary to organize at St. John a "ladies' committee," who would undertake to receive and attend to the girls thus brought out, until arrangements were made for forwarding them to their destinations. His Excellency would be glad to receive from you any suggestions as to the possibility of thus carrying out the proposed scheme. If a sufficient
16
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number of persons would engage to take on certain definite terms one or more female children, an experiment on a moderate scale might be made for sending out, under proper guarantees for their fitness, and under proper control, a number sufficient to meet the first demand. The success of such an experiment would certainly lead to its renewal and the interest taken in emigration is such at this moment, that his Excellency believes good to all parties on a large scale might be the result. On the other hand, the unfavourable issue of such a trial would inevitably embarrass any future attempt of the kind. It would be essential to settle before hand what would be fair terms to be agreed upon by those receiving children of this description, and on what principles they were to be selected, and distributed to persons agreeing to take them. I am authorized to say that Lady Head would be quite prepared to assist in organizing any committee at Fredericton in connexion [sic] with such an object, and would lend her best aid to promote the success of such arrangements. With regard to boys, his Excellency doubts whether it would be equally possible to make arrangements for their reception and permanent employment; but of this you are a better judge than he can be. A copy of your letter and of this answer will be forwarded to Earl Grey by the next mail, for the information of the Commissioners for Emigration, and of others to whom his Lordship may see fit to communicate them. M.H. Perley, Esq., I have, &c. &c. &c. (Signed) R.T. Pennefather7 What Canada most needed, wrote Samuel Strickland in 1855, was population, pastors and schoolmasters. As to population, he wrote, "[w]e ask her [Great Britain] for her superfluous thousands, to whom she offers the miserable home of the workhouse, while we proffer comfort, independence, and a cheerful old age."8 He continued: We do not want the idle, the over-educated, the sickly. We want men, women, and children, of hardy and industrious habits, who finding work slack at home, resolve to emulate the ants and bees, by leaving the parent hill or hive, for a land where their united industry will furnish them abundantly with the necessaries of life, and enable them to sit by their own chimneycorner to enjoy, in their peaceful old age, the happy home their toils have founded in the wilderness.9
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning
17
Samuel Strickland was convinced that industrial schools were a necessity to train the young. Book learning was all right but had to be complemented with training in agriculture, mechanics, dairy work, housework, etc., - skills which would enable these young people to survive and make a life for themselves: In towns and cities educate the infant pauper population for emigration. I grieve to use the word "pauper"; but I wish to fix the attention of the reader on the lowest state of poverty under which orphan infancy can dawn. We want carpenters, coopers, hand-loom weavers, shoemakers, masons, tailors, blacksmiths, in fact, artisans of every kind. Workhouses, and Ragged Schools in cities ought to supply us with these instructed in the arts we need. Possessed of such a useful education, aided by the learning of which the benevolence of the present day is lavish of bestowing, each industrious honest lad would in a few years possess a little freehold farm of his own.10 Strickland went on to say that every industrial school and Ragged School should teach spade husbandry and that girls should be taught to milk cows and to make cheese and butter. "With these acquirements she would be a treasure in a colony, and we would promise her, in a few years, cows and a dairy of her own."11 These were the skills a young Canada needed and were the ones that the government should be actively pursuing. As well, Strickland stated, the government of Britain should be commissioning ships to bring the children to Canada and should set up depots in places such as Montreal, Quebec City, Kingston and Toronto to facilitate the care and placement of the children. Matrons and governors should be put in charge of these depots and see to the apprenticing of the children on terms of three years. At the end of the three years there should be a payment of money or goods to help the young apprentice get a start on his own. It was assumed that the girls would marry. Although Strickland was ahead of his time in these recommendations, it would not be long before children did start to arrive in Canada. Neil Sutherland, in his book Children in English Canadian Society, states that children were not perceived in the same light in this period. His reasons were: "...first English Canadians showed little awareness of children as individual persons; second, they saw nothing of the inner emotional life of youngsters; third, young people played an important and often central role in rural and in family economics; finally, contemporary English-Canadian child-rearing theory was intimately related to these perceptions and practices."12 As the colony of Upper Canada developed, cities grew, transportation improved and
THE GOLDEN BRIDGE
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advances in communication changed the complexion of the country. Life in Ontario, by G. Glazebrook, states that in the i86os: Neither the townsman nor the farmer felt isolated. Postal, telegraphic, and later telephone communications were well organized. If roads were on the whole still bad they were adequate for most local purposes, and the automobile was not yet a factor....The railway was the essential means of transport, whether for passengers or freight. Towns and rural areas were more self-contained than in later years. The town and the village, too, were more closely integrated with neighbouring farms. The average family in any one of the three moved within a narrow ambit geographically, but without any sense of being circumscribed for to a large extent the localities were selfsufficient, in work or in play. ...Up to about 1860 many towns were progressing approximately equally and it was not yet evident where the main concentrations of people and commerce were to be. Then the question was answered by a steady drain to a few cities.13 Alexander Buchanan, in his 1864 emigration handbook, states: ...It is unnecessary that I should allude, at any length, to the advantages which Canada offers as a field for emigration. Cheapness and easiness of access (being within twelve days' sail by steamer, having a bi-weekly communication in summer, and weekly, via Portland, in winter), a loyal and peaceable population, healthy climate, and millions of acres of fertile lands, abounding in mineral wealth also, and only waiting occupation may be enumerated among some of her prominent attractions. Buchanan observed that, among others, male and female servants and boys and girls over fifteen years of age made desirable emigrants and he supplied the following wage breakdown: Farm labour Female servants Boys, over 13 years Girls Mechanics
per month " " " per day
from " " " "
$8 to $12 $2 to $5 $2 to $8 $ito$3 $1 to $2.50
with board & lodging " " without board.14
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning
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9
The Great Western Railway station at London, Ontario; J. Cooper, artist; taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, November uy 1871. By 1869, when Maria Rye arrived in Quebec City with her first group of children, cities such as Toronto and Hamilton were prospering. Although transportation was easier with the completion of the railway, the backwoods farm still existed. However, they were now moved deeper into the interior of the country away from the early settlements which thrived along the Great Lakes. It was this demand for labour which Maria Rye, Annie Macpherson and others saw as a way to help their children. They believed that the healthy outdoors life would be of benefit to those they brought to Canada. Rye's first party of children, however, came close to not sailing. William Dixon, Canadian Emigrant Agent at Liverpool, was adamantly opposed to the emigration of children. He wrote to John Ennis of the Allan Steamship Line on October 12, 1869, telling them that he thought it was illegal to allow Maria Rye to sail with the children: I hear yesterday that Miss Rye had returned and proposed going out again with the "gutter children" by one of your ships, about the 28th. Please let me know if she brought you a permit from the Gov't at Ottawa to land them at Quebec, as I have not been advised that it is intended to let her and her proposed proceeding is directly contrary to an "Order in Council" of which I notified your House months ago.15
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View of St. Catharines, Ontario, taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, September 23, 1871. The artist is William Craig. When the first of those who became known colloquially as "home children" appeared in 1869, the Canadian public was very much appalled by their circumstances and took them to their hearts. Money was donated to help support the homes and ladies' groups made clothing and in some cases acted as "visitors" to the children. In Gait, Ontario, (now part of Cambridge), the Gait Reporter carried the following item: We have been requested to state that a meeting of Ladies interested in Miss Macpherson's Emigration Scheme will be held in the Council Chamber on Tuesday, Oct. 31s, at half-past 2 o'clock, p.m. Miss Macpherson intends bringing out one hundred boys and girls in May next, and this meeting is called for the purpose of making arrangements to provide a quantity of clothing for their use. We hope there will be a large attendance both of residents of the town and the wives and daughters of neighbouring farmers.1 When Annie Macpherson was invited to speak to the scholars of Gait Collegiate, the Gait Reporter published a copy of a letter sent to her from the students. It read: Dear Miss Macpherson, We thank you very much for your kindness in addressing us this evening,
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and we need only to tell you how disappointed we were at your inability to do so when your [sic] were here before, to show you how glad we are to see you. We heartily welcome you to Gait, and feel confident that you will be as successful in this undertaking as you have been in others, and that your efforts will be blessed with happy results. We, begging you to accept of this small sum, seek to testify our interest in your work, and wish you God speed in it. Your affectionate friends, The Boarders of Dr. Tassie's and Mrs Sabine's Houses.17 In 1874, however, doubt was cast upon the emigration system. Andrew Doyle was sent to Canada by the Board of Guardians to inspect the children previously sent from its various Unions. His report, published in 1875, and caused a great deal of activity on both sides of the water.
Doyle Report and the Canadian Reaction By 1874, children had been coming to Canada under the auspices and sponsorship of various organizations for several years. The Local Government Board, which was responsible for workhouses and several other Government-run institutions in England, decided that it should inspect more closely the state of affairs in Canada with respect to the organizations taking inmates there. It was the custom in England to inspect Poor Law facilities on a regular basis and one of these inspectors, Andrew Doyle, was selected to make the trip to Canada. The Liverpool immigration agent reported: The fact of Miss Rye having obtained pauper children from various Poor Law Unions throughout the kingdom for exportation to Canada has attracted the attention of the Government. I presume this must have been brought to their notice through the auditors, now appointed by the government, to audit the Poor Law Union accounts, instead of the auditors appointed by the guardians, finding entries of sums paid for allowances, outfits &c., for the children taken by Miss Rye. In the month of June, therefore, the Local Government Board, Whitehall, instructed their Inspector for Wales, A. Doyle, Esq., to go to Liverpool and inspect the accommodation provided for 100 pauper children sailing with Miss Rye on the "Sarmatian" steamer, leaving Liverpool on the fourth day of that month, and he afterwards was instructed to proceed to Canada and
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examine into the condition of the pauper children in that country, and I understand from him that his report is now in the hands of the Local Government Board, and that it is in favour of such emigration, but considers that the control in Canada should be held by your Department.18 Andrew Doyle, was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, was a lawyer and had worked as an inspector for the Poor Law Board for almost 25 years. A man in his 6os, in 1874, he came to Canada at the request of the Local Government Board in London to inspect the work being done by agencies involved in the emigration of Poor Law children. On February 8,1875, he released his 40-page report. Doyle's report upset many, including some Canadian government officials. Children under the age of seven or eight were the ones who should be sent to Canada, according to Doyle. He complained of the heterogeneous character of children being sent to Canada. Paupers from the workhouse, inmates of the reformatories and industrial schools and "street arabs" were all mixed together. This, he said, should never be done. Supporting his views was an editorial appearing in The Times on March 10,1875, which stated, that neither "Miss Rye, nor Miss Macpherson, nor the Canadians, it appears, recognise the slightest distinction between the "gutter" or "Arab" child and the comparatively well-bred and well-trained inmate of the Workhouse or the Industrial School." This statement is hardly an attitude that would pass unchallenged today. Doyle accused the organizations of making money on these arrangements, a point which was flatly denied by all organizations involved. Financial accounts were a matter of public record, said the organizations, and open for anyone to see. In a letter to the editor of The TimeSy of March 17,1875, Stephen Williamson, Chairman of the Committee of the Liverpool Sheltering Home, said that Doyle was making "unworthy insinuations" about the finances of these organizations. "Why," he asked, "should Mr. Doyle endeavour to prove that a profit is made out of pauper children, and speak of the Reports to this effect, while he acknowledges that both ladies [Macpherson and Rye] were desirous he should investigate the matter - an investigation he acknowledged he did not make?" Children were supposed to receive training before they left England but many did not, reported Doyle. Some, he said, were placed within a few days of arrival in the home instead of allowing them to adjust and be trained. No consent was obtained to send "street urchins" to Canada and travelling conditions were terrible. There was not enough staff to properly supervise the children and they arrived dirty and vermin infested. This statement was refuted by Miss Rye saying that the children were inspected by health officials and thus if there were such a problem they would have noticed it. According to Doyle, women like Annie Macpherson and Maria Rye, were "inspired by the highest motives" but that their work left much to be desired. Ellen Bilbrough,
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who managed the Macpherson home in Belleville he praised to the highest. "The liberal and unostentatious way in which that lady devotes the rare gifts with which she is endowed to the fulfilment of very onerous duties is beyond all praise."19 Doyle was also appalled by the fact that the children were not checked at regular intervals. In England, he said this was an absolute necessity. Many of the children in Canada had never had anyone come to see them since they arrived. This was a situation made worse by the fact that roads were often impassable and distances great. Macpherson did, he said, have some sort of system in place but Rye did not. The report also noted that some of the older children were poorly paid, and were miles away from other habitation. This was partly to do with the irregular to no inspections and partly due to a lack of proper selection of the homes in the first place, said Doyle. But, in this new country, isolation was a fact of life. The effect of this report on child emigration was considerable. In 1874, some 603 children emigrated to Canada but, in 1875, that number dropped to 312 and further to 250 in the following year. As a result of Doyle's report the Canadian government formed a Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization. The committee held hearings and Maria Rye, Annie Macpherson, Ellen Bilbrough and Emma Barber (who managed the home at Knowlton, Quebec, for Macpherson), were among those called to testify. The First Report of the Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization was published in 1875. Annie Macpherson testified before the committee on March 16,1875, stating: The total number of children brought out under her agency since the year 1870, was two thousand. Upon being solicited to take charge of the children, they [sic] are removed to the Home in Spitalfields in London. The schoolmaster in the Home selected (after they had remained a month) such of the children as were healthy enough in constitution, and sufficiently educated. Those who passed the test were sent to the Homes in the country for training. If the children were ragged when they were taken in charge they were comfortably clothed and otherwise provided for; they were treated in all respects exactly as if they were her own brothers. A doctor was in the institution every day to see to their health, even before they were judged ready to be formally received. The schoolmaster and others engaged in the work united in the consideration as to which of the children were suitable for emigration to Canada. While they were in the Home they underwent a thorough system of education and discipline.
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In their passage to this country the children were in the charge of her (Miss Macpherson) or her co-workers, and of respectable adult emigrants, widows and others who aided them. They had never tried to make any special bargain with the shippers; the children were brought out on the same terms as regular emigrants. She (Miss Macpherson) and her assistants did not trust to the services of the ship-servants for attendance upon and care of the children, but turned in and helped at the work themselves.20 Macpherson's statement continued: She made no particular arrangements for bringing out the children. When her party was complete she went to the Agent-General in London to arrange for the regular emigrants refund bonus given by the Ontario Government. The sums she received amounted in three years to four thousand one hundred and seven dollars. This bonus consisted of a payment of six dollars per head for all emigrants over twelve years of age. No other advantage has been received from the Government of Canada except in reduced passages, such as given to other emigrants. Certain concessions were proposed to her last spring by the Canadian Government for bringing out emigrants by the Dominion line for three pounds five shillings, sterling, but she had declined them; and had paid the regular fare. The average cost of bringing the children out, up to last year, was £4. los per adult; and half that amount for children under eight years of age. That was the fare between Liverpool and Quebec. The cost of transferring emigrants from London to Liverpool was 12s. [shillings] 6d. [pence], making the total fare from London to Quebec £5. is. 6d. sterling.21 Annie Macpherson had one man who travelled all over, without financial restrictions being placed upon him, to visit the children in their situations in Canada. There were also women who volunteered to make "friendly" visits (unofficial visits) to see how the children were progressing. In 1874, there were 1,600 reports completed on approximately 2,000 children by these visitors. Records, she said, were kept in the homes in Canada, with the exception of some being lost when her home, Marchmont burned, as well as in the home in England. Relatives and friends could check with the homes to see how the young immigrants were getting on. She went on to say that she was willing to remedy any situation which was deemed deficient.
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Another person called to testify was Senator Billa Flint,22 who lived in the Belleville area and who was instrumental in helping Macpherson acquire her home, Marchmont. He testified that there were "some fears expressed in the neighborhood that there would be a great deal of pilfering, noise and disturbance among them, but it was afterwards expressed to him that they had never seen a more orderly or well-behaved lot of boys. They had never caused the least trouble and, though the trees were loaded with apples, none had been stolen by them."23 However, there was another difficulty in that once the boys were placed with a farmer "other farmers induced them to leave by promise of higher wages."24 Flint went on to say that he had "carefully examined Mr. Doyle's report, and was astonished that any gentleman could so persistently present the dark side of the subject to the people. It seemed to him that Mr. Doyle had an object in so doing, as he wished to establish a system of red-tapeism by which all the visiting would be conducted by Government inspectors."25 When Andrew Doyle visited Senator Flint, "he found that it was impossible for him to tell anything to Mr. Doyle which that gentleman did not already profess to know. He [Flint] could not get in a word edgeways. He had come to the conclusion that Mr. Doyle had a theory of his own which had to be adopted to the exclusion of all others."2 The Canadian committee had many government officials, judges, bishops, mayors and other prominent citizens come forward to say that they thought the work these ladies were doing "was of great value to the country."27 They had only heard people speak highly of the operations and there were very few complaints about the children. What was most offensive to the Canadians was the fact that Doyle was suggesting that Canada adopt the British system of institutions. John Lowe, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (the branch of the Dominion Government responsible for immigration) when asked to comment on this, stated: I think the "industrial establishments," which he proposes would be really an extension into this country of the English workhouse system, and that it would not be found to be satisfactory. I think it would be altogether unsuited to the ideas and condition of the people of this country. I think if the children are properly placed, the sooner they are so placed and absorbed into the population of Canada, that is if they are such as should be at all brought to the country, the better; and that the less they would have of any workhouse mark, or an "industrial establishment" mark, to distinguish them from the ordinary children of this country, the better. Of course, however, in cases of unsuitability there must be some places to which the children can return; and there must be some supervision.2
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As to supervision, Lowe waffled a little: By the terms of the Union Act the jurisdiction with respect to immigration is joint between the Dominion and the Provincial Governments; and the Dominion Government might therefore undertake any enquiry it saw fit. But under the arrangements between Dominion Government and the Provinces, as established at the conference in November last, the question being as to the care of immigrants after arrival, I think the duty of such an enquiry would naturally belong to the Provincial Governments. It might, however, be necessary for the Dominion Government to transmit the report obtained to the Imperial Government.29 Andrew Doyle placed some emphasis on the fact that children about seven years of age should be brought to Canada and placed out for adoption. But adoption was not something that was achieved in very many cases. As Miss Barber, of the Knowlton Home, pointed out, it is "somewhat difficult to definitely answer your question as to the number adopted by contract, as every person taking children has them on trial for the first year, with the right of returning them if not satisfied; and we, at the same time, reserve the right of removing each child before final arrangements are made."30 She went on to say that while it is "true the children brought out are not perfection, [they] are living children with just the same faults and failings as others."31 While Annie Macpherson read Doyle's report and agreed to make necessary changes, Maria Rye took the report as a personal attack. She wrote letter after letter to The TimeSy such as this one dated April 6,1875, and sent from Montreal: Probably the most effectual way to destroy the character of any one who, like myself, works half the year on one Continent and the other half on another, would be either to insinuate or to prove that a certain line of policy was advocated and defended on one side of the Atlantic, and the contrary view maintained and acted upon on the other. Now, all the Boards of Guardians in England before whom I have had the honour of explaining my work, the Local Government Board at Whitehall, and the London School Board know perfectly well that I have always steadily maintained that inspection of the children when once placed out in their Canadian homes - i.e., inspection as we understand it in England - is absolutely and altogether unnecessary - why, I will explain hereafter. This statement I made, again and again, personally to Mr. Doyle, who in his report, however, has made me responsible for holding in Canada the very
Canada: Promise of a New Beginning opposite opinion. When that gentleman told me that he was perfectly satisfied with my work in Canada, and held out every hope that as far as the girls were concerned the Local Government Board would co-operate with me, provided I submitted to inspection, then I acknowledge I did say that, for the work's sake, for the pacification of the public mind in England, and with a view to its ultimate extension by paid officers, I would throw no obstacles in the way of any workable inspection which might be suggested - a very different statement indeed from that for which Mr. Doyle makes me responsible. Why do I say inspection is not needed over the Canadian homes of these poor children? Well, first because of the tremendous espionage already exercised over the children by persons of all ranks, ages, and conditions all over Canada - an espionage so severe that it positively hinders and checks the work. Every one who has ever at any time had anything to do with the bringing up of children knows perfectly well there are times and seasons when they have to be corrected - sometimes punished. Children certainly rebel at the thought of punishment and evade it if possible, and so great is the dislike of Canadians to inflict even necessary correction, and so become a by-word to their neighbours, that many persons are afraid to take these children on this one ground alone; while, working in another way, it tells upon me and the Western Home very sadly, as all the rebellious, obstinate, and unmanageable children are returned to us for discipline and management. I have had more than 200 such children returned to me within the last five years, for whom I have had to find 700 places. Mr. Doyle saw at Niagara the books of the placing and replacing of these children; but I do not think you will find in his report one word about this part of the work, which I venture, however, to say has taken up more of our time, our ingenuity, and our patience than all the work in England and crossing the Atlantic put together. The second great reason why inspection is not needed in Canada arises from the tremendous difference between the position of the persons taking the children in the two countries. I think I may say truthfully that out of a thousand persons on my books who have taken children, with the exception of about 20, every man is living on his own property, and has so lived either all his life or 20, 30, or 40 years. Compare this with the poor cottager with whom the children are boarded out in England, to whom the child's weekly pay is a matter of most serious moment, and who, should any unforeseen trifle put him out of work, would find very great difficulty in retaining the child in his cottage at all. Houses and lands, and the good things of this life, are not
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the highest good nor the chief thing to be desired - far, far from it; but, all things being equal, let the child be placed where the good things of God are to be had in abundance - for such I am sure is His will who has filled the earth with plenteousness, if we will only come abroad and receive it. In my last letter I had the honour of informing you that I have asked the Government here to make a house-to-house visitation of the children, in common justice to myself and to the work. I now ask that the Local Government Board shall in England, at the same time, order a house-tohouse visitation of the same number of girls taken from the same workhouses during the same dates, and let the public compare the fates of the children left in England with the fates, or, perhaps, I might even say with the fortunes, of the children taken to Canada.32 Miss Rye would carry on this public dispute with Doyle for the next couple of years. In all of this debate, there were many who wished that Doyle had not simultaneously reported on the work of both Rye and Macpherson. In later letters to the The Times, as Andrew Doyle and Maria Rye continued their public argument, Doyle leaves the impression that it was Rye's work he really objected to, but since he had to do a report covering all of the children from the Poor Law, he lumped both groups together. Miss Macpherson had brought about 2,000 children to Canada of which only 350 were from the workhouses, while Miss Rye had brought 1,377 children, mostly workhouse and industrial school children. After the report, Annie Macpherson stopped bringing Poor Law children, an outcome that Doyle would have rather seen go in the other direction, with Maria Rye the one to cease. The Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization tabled its report in June 1875 and, in September of the same year, an inspection of all Union children in Canada who had come with either Miss Rye or Miss Macpherson was ordered. The findings satisfied the Canadian authorities and their emigration work continued.
As Time Progresses The emigration of the children continued with barely a misstep but, in 1882, the Canadian government agreed to carry out an inspection of the children sent from the Unions. As Union children again made their way to Canada, the Canadian immigration agents were now responsible for filing a report on each Union child each year until they reached 18 years of age. In some cases this became a major challenge. Streets in some cities of Canada were gas-lit from the late 18408 or early 18505 until hydroelectricity appeared in the late i88os and expanded rapidly, giving rise to street
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railways in some cities. In many ways it was easier to introduce new technology to the Canadian towns and cities as they were not as well developed as the older cities of Britain. This, coupled with the fact that Canada seemed to encourage men to rise to the occasion, led to early adaptation of things such as hydroelectricity, the telegraph and the telephone. All of this progress should have made it easier for inspectors to get to each of the children on a regular basis but it was not always the case: I was unable to get to W to see Colin H., the roads being quite washed away by floods. I went on to T in hopes of visiting Harry C. and his sister Mary who is in service about five miles from him, but here was the same story - positive waterfalls where the roads should be. Myself and Mr. B. have been travelling five days, soaked to the skin every day and all to no purpose. I will not now be able to get to these young people until next year, when it is to be hoped the Lord will abate the tempest.33 Even though new machinery was helping with the plowing and harvesting, manual labour was still the norm on the average Canadian farm. And, unlike Britain where there was a distinct group of men who earned their living as farm labourers, men in Canada tended to want to own their own farms as soon as they could save the money, thereby reducing the farm labourer pool. Thus the demand for labourers in Canada did not decline in the early 19005 and neither did the emigration of young people. The belief was still strong in Britain that sending children to Canada to fill this need for labourers was the right thing to do. In 1889, Thomas Barnardo wrote: Overcrowding is a primary, if often unrecognised cause of the moral cesspools I and others are continually engaged in deodorising. It therefore behoves any scheme of large hearted Christian philanthropy to make at least an attempt to relieve the 'population pressure' in our congested cities. What avails it to take the weakest out of the struggle, to train them into robustness, and then to throw them back with their new accession of vital force into the crowd who are already engaged in snatching the morsels from each other's mouths? The miseries of those yet unhelped would only be aggravated and intensified by such a process.34 In the 18905 several trials took place in Canada as a number of apprenticed children had been abused, beaten and driven to suicide, one even killed. One RCMP officer in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, reported that some of the lads in the west were treated in a most inhuman manner. This stirred public opinion and caused many to question the
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A photograph of Winnipeg, 1904. Courtesy of Notman, R. & Son/NAC/C-oo6i32. system of child migration, especially the labour unions and the childcare agencies. Some reports were also appearing about the criminal activities of the children. Most of the agencies refuted these findings and did all in their power to prove the falseness of the reports. The government of Canada, however, did begin to recognize the fact that a more permanent arrangement must be made to oversee the welfare of the young immigrants. In December 1899, the position of Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes was created by the Department of the Interior, which by then was responsible for immigration. George Bogue Smart, born in Brockville, Ontario on May 13,1864, became the first and only one to hold this office. He was first hired in June 1899 to assist the immigration agent at Halifax and to accompany new arrivals to the west. On January i, 1900, he was appointed to his new position and would hold it until his retirement in 1933. It was Smart's job to visit the receiving homes both in Canada and in the United Kingdom and to see that the inspection of the children from the Poor Law Boards was carried out. "While my duties, generally, include the inspection and oversight of all juveniles brought to the Dominion by organized and accredited agencies, they more immediately appertain to the poor-law or union children."35 But the workload was growing and Smart found it necessary to obtain the services
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of Charles Mair, of Winnipeg, to carry out the inspections in the west. As he stated a "larger number of children than usual were sent to Manitoba and the North-west [sic] Territories [included present day Alberta and Saskatchewan] in 1902, and on account of the increased number placed in the older provinces, I was unable to personally supervise the work in the western part of the Dominion"36 Messrs. R.W. Hillyard and Blair also helped G.B. Smart with inspections in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As Smart stated: To adequately appreciate the labour necessary, and the amount of travel requisite to the accomplishment of the work of this branch, one has only to bear in mind the fact that the children are scattered through nearly every county in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and in some instances, notably in Manitoba and the new provinces, they are distant from each other a hundred or more miles.37 Smart also noted in his 1906 report that although the majority of girls were placed in domestic service in the country, that was changing with more of them placed in towns and cities. The boys were placed, in the majority of cases, with young men just starting out or who were recently married, with older couples whose children were grown, or with "extensive farmers who keep a number of farm labourers, but who require a boy to do odd jobs about the house and barns."38 He also reported that year that there was a trend in England to send children to Wales for placement as it was much cheaper than to send them across the Atlantic. A great proponent of the emigration of children, G.B. Smart stated in his 1912-13 report: Thus the removal of these children by emigration to other parts of the empire, where they may have the opportunity to become honest, self-supporting men and women, becomes a work of real value to Great Britain, a distinct blessing to the children, and a source of material development to the overseas Dominion - a truly Imperial work. This work of the emigration of children begun in 1869 as an experiment has attained proportions and assumed an importance at the present time quite beyond the expectations of its early promoters. Having personally viewed both sides of the picture, the child in his poverty, his squalor and hopelessness before emigration, and the child enjoying the plenty, the pure air and the freedom of a Canadian home, I may with confidence add that the poorest home in which I have found one of these juveniles in Canada would be palatial to that from which they have been brought.39
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From time to time Smart also made the trip to the United Kingdom where he visited the homes of various agencies. Indeed, one such trip was cut short as he boarded the illfated Empress of Ireland on May 28,1914, "...but in the early hours of the 29th the ship came into collision with the Norwegian collier Storstad, and was sunk, with an appalling loss of lives. My experience was most thrilling, I being rescued after hours of hardship and exposure in the water."40 However, Smart's opinion on child immigration was not shared by all. Charlotte Whitton, who became mayor of Ottawa in 1960, was a member of the Immigration Committee of the Social Service Council of Canada in 1918. In her role with this organization, Whitton expressed many negative views on the immigrant children. She declared them "feebleminded"41 and used statistics reported by Dr. C.K. Clarke of the Psychiatric Clinic of Toronto General Hospital to back her position. Even after Clarke's statistics were proved to be unfounded, she continued to use them to support her cause. Although Whitton's motives were questionable, she did want to have the children "...fall under the jurisdiction of the provinces and therefore the provinces have the right to enforce the same inspection of application of prospective homes."42 She would press for the cessation of the immigration movement right to the end. As Canada went through economic cycles, there were often complaints from trade union leaders about the emigration of the children. The unions felt that the children were taking jobs away from its members or were keeping wages low. Alfred F. Jury and Daniel J. O'Donoghue of the Toronto Labour Council were the major opponents to the emigration of children. O'Donoghue placed resolutions before the Dominion Congress arguing that the immigration of children was "a gross injustice to the people of Canada and in particular to the working classes."43 The Congress argued that any financial support for these immigrants should cease. However, the major contention was in the perceived loss of jobs or in what many of the trade unionists saw as deplorable working conditions experienced by some of the children. They saw them as "mere drudges" treated "no better than slaves."44 The Humane Society of Toronto was established in 1887 for animal protection, but it was not until 1893 that the Children's Aid Society was formed. In 1891, a young John J. Kelso worked hard to have a law to protect children passed by the Ontario government. In 1897, Ontario did pass legislation to control the immigration of young immigrants which had quite an impact on the movement. The Act to Regulate the Immigration into Ontario of Certain Classes of Children stated that a license had to be obtained by the Home. "An account of each child's background had to be produced and the account had to be kept up-to-date regarding character, habits, and so on, during the formative years. If such a child had a job and lost it, or changed to another, all the reasons had to be
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A view of York Street, looking west from James Street, in Hamilton, Ontario, 1927. Courtesy of the Department of the Interior/NAC/ PA- 043837. entered. In other words, a file, or dossier, was to be available for each child in the classified category."45 Alfred Owen, of the Barnardo Homes, stated that "if administered in the spirit that we have every reason to believe it will be, [it] will in many respects strengthen our position, and so far from imposing undue or vexatious restrictions, will prove effectual in removing difficulties from our path and from the path of all who are engaged in legitimate and properly conducted immigration work."46 William Quarrier of Glasgow, however, objected to the fact that the children were being singled out. The law did not apply to all child immigrants but only to children brought by organizations like his. He fought the legislation and, when he did not succeed, he stopped bringing children to Canada. As a result of the legislation, the National Children's Home, commonly known as Dr. Stephenson's Home, cut its number of child immigrants almost in half. Although this 1897 legislation was repealed in 1912, it was followed in 1921 by the Adolescent Act which raised the school-leaving age to 16 and had the effect of slowing child emigration substantially. Now, many agencies restricted the children brought to Canada to those 16 years of age and older. In that same year, adoption was legislated into law in Ontario. For years the Canadian government had paid a two dollar allowance on each of the young immigrants. Then, in 1920, the government realized that juvenile immigration was changing. In a report of the Committee of the Privy Council, dated May 29,1920, it was acknowledged that children from different sources including boys and girls being
34
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given assisted passage under the Oversea Settlements Act, were now making their way to Canada. The committee stated: Recent inquiries indicate that, as a result of conditions largely growing out of the war, there are many thousands of most desirable boys and girls in the United Kingdom who might be secured for Canada and whose immigration would be of great advantage to this country. The Minister, after careful consideration of the history of this movement and the results of federal inspection of juvenile immigrants, is of opinion that the system of Federal oversight and inspection should be extended to all juvenile immigrants from the date of their arrival in Canada until they attain the age of eighteen years, or such further period as may be considered necessary. Only by maintaining oversight and inspection can the Federal Government, a. Offer that protection which is due these orphan children. b. Detect those who, within the first few years after arrival, show their unfitness to become permanent residents of Canada, and c. Assure philanthropic societies and individuals in the United Kingdom interested in this movement, that every reasonable safeguard is taken to insure the success of those for whose immigration to Canada they have contirbuted [sic] so generously. The Minister further observes that the cost to philanthropic societies and organizations for maintenance of Receiving and Distributing Offices and Homes has entailed a greatly enlarged expenditure, which burden is further increased by recent advances in transportation both by land and water. For a number of years a bonus of Two Dollars per capita has been paid to these Receiving and Distributing Homes on all approved juvenile immigrants. The Minister is of opinion that the time has arrived when in the interests of this movement, some further assistance should be granted to these Homes and Agencies. The Minister, therefore, recommends that the bonus be discontinued and a grant be made, for the present fiscal year, to such Receiving and Distributing Homes or Agencies as bring to Canada within the fiscal year, one hundred or more juvenile immigrants (no grant to be paid to Homes or Agencies which bring to Canada less than one hundred juvenile immigrants); the grant to be one thousand dollars, on the basis of the first hundred juvenile immigrants, and an additional grant of Five Hundred for
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35
each additional hundred, or fraction thereof (providing such fraction is fifty or more); these sums to be paid out of the Vote for Immigration contingencies.47 With the passing of the Empire Settlement Act in Britain, Canada entered into an agreement with Britain for emigration conducted under this legislation. Ontario even agreed to wave the school attendance clause of the Adolescent Act to allow the immigration into that province (the Act raised the school leaving age to 16). Under the Empire Settlement Act, boys and girls between 14 and 18 years of age could obtain assistance to come to Canada. With agencies such as Barnardo, Macpherson, Fegan and the Salvation Army already in place, however, they were called upon to assist, not just with children from their own homes, but with any youth who qualified under the Act. In 1924, with pressure growing from the social services agencies in Canada, a committee was sent from England. Margaret Bondfield, a British Member of Parliament for the Labour Government, was at its head, with instructions to investigate the child emigration situation. The following year, before the Bondfield Report was released, the Social Services Council of Canada (SSCC) presented its own report. Adamantly opposed to child migration, the Council continued to use the same statistics which Charlotte Whitton had used from the Toronto General Hospital and eugenics to argue its point. Inspection of the children should be done by the Children's Aid Societies, it argued, and selection of the children carefully carried out. "They ask: what does experience teach as to the quality of this emigration? Is it composed of children whose mental, moral and physical antecedents and conditions make them an asset to Canada, or are they being shipped overseas because they are a liability to Great Britain?"48 When the Bondfield Report was released it stated, "[w]e are satisfied as a result of careful enquiries from the children themselves and from all concerned, that the arrangements made for the comfort and welfare of the children on the voyage to Canada are quite satisfactory...."49 The committee disagreed with the SSCC on several points. "They [SSCC] urged that they already had in their shelters more young Canadian children than they could readily find homes for, and that the difficulty of placing such children was increased in proportion to the number of young children brought out by the migration Societies. This argument, of course, assumes that the farmer who could not secure a British child would take a Canadian child from the local shelter and we [the Bondfield committee] have reason to believe that this would not always be the case."50 In fact, the Bondfield committee found that adoption was a rarity. The Children's Aid Societies (CAS) of Canada suggested that they should be the ones inspecting the children. If the CAS carried out the inspections "it would help to
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remove the distinction between 'Home Children' and Canadian children."51 However, the Bondfield committee did not agree. "The children placed out by the Children's Aid Societies were, we found, known as 'Shelter Children' and were themselves marked off in this way from other Canadian children. We doubt the desirability of adopting any system which would merely substitute one distinguishing mark for another."52 The committee stated that it had found the children well treated and placed and "... found that inspection and supervision, both by Societies and by the Dominion government were carefully carried out...."53 In short, they saw no reason to put a stop to the work. Although many agencies stopped bringing any child under the age of 16 due to the passing of the Adolescent Act, the Bondfield Report reinforced the notion of 14 years being the ideal age for emigration. This was the beginning of the end. The world economic situation in 1932 caused immigration of children to slow and it never began again on any large scale, stopping totally in 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World War. There would only be 76 children from the Fairbridge Society arrive in Canada after the Second World War under special dispensation.
CHAPTER 3
The Voyage Over
A SEA VOYAGE IN THE EARLY N I N E T E E N T H CENTURY Was HOt made in the lap of
luxury but, for thousands of emigrants, it was an evil with which they had to contend. The voyage could be very long, lasting anywhere from four to eight weeks, even longer under unusually poor weather conditions, and fraught with hardships. For the weak or sick it could mean death, for the poor, starvation, with the very young and old claimed as the most common victims. In 1823 and again in 1825, the British government enacted changes to the Passenger Act which made it mandatory for the master of each ship to supply his passengers with food and water for the voyage. Previously, passengers had to supply their own food, a difficult task since they had no notion of how long the trip would last or the conditions under which food could be stored or prepared. Tight controls were placed on the kinds of food and the quantities that were to be made available to each passenger. Of course, this change caused fares to increase thus placing greater hardships on some of the emigrants. An attending physician and medicine chest were also required by law. These physicians, however, were sometimes incompetent. One physician, called to testify before the Commissioner on Crown Lands and Emigration, stated that "the majority of such persons called surgeons are unlicensed students and apprentices, or apothecaries' shopmen, without sufficient medical knowledge to be of any service to the emigrants, either for the prevention or the cure of diseases."1 Conditions on board these early emigrant ships were far from ideal. Even after the passing of these Acts, Parliament was told:
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A captain in the navy who had been employed in the preventive Slave Service on the coast of Africa, declared that the condition of many vessels which he had seen arrive at Newfoundland with emigrants beggared all descriptions of the state of the captured slave ships, even under the accumulated miseries belonging to the existing system of contraband trade.2 The Passenger Act was repealed in 1827 but by 1828 another Passenger Act was necessary. This second Act applied only to ships going to North America. It was a watereddown version of the previous Acts but it regulated the amount of space that each passenger was allotted and required that the space between decks be 5 1/2 feet. It also placed penalties on the master of the ship if he landed his passengers at any port other than the one agreed upon. A few years later, in 1832, the Assembly of Lower Canada enacted a head tax of five shillings per adult, or per two children under 14 years, or per three children under seven years of age. This tax was to offset the cost of any hospital care an emigrant might require upon landing. It was also to be used for the relief of destitute arrivals. Dr. Morrin of the Emigrant Hospital at Quebec City reported on the disgusting state of the emigrant ships: "with a few exceptions the state of the ships was quite abominable; so much so that the harbour-master's boatmen had no difficulty, at a distance of gun-shot either when the wind was favourable or in a dead calm, in distinguishing by the odour alone a crowded emigrant ship."3 Cholera appeared among the emigrants in 1831. It was brought into British North America from Europe through the port cities. As the new immigrants moved inland they carried the disease with them, infecting the rest of the population. Quarantine stations were set up on Grosse He, about 30 miles down river from Quebec City and at Partridge Island near Saint John, New Brunswick. The quarantine stations, created to help prevent the spreading of disease by new immigrants, would prove totally incapable of the task when real disaster struck in 1847. In 1835, another Passenger Act, to replace all previous ones, was put in place. The purpose of the new Act was to try to remedy some of the inherent problems contained in the previous legislation. Now, provisions were to be carried on board adequate for at least 10 weeks, a reduction from the previous 12 weeks, and only ships with more than 100 passengers were required to carry a surgeon. It also gave passengers the right to remain on board for up to 48 hours after arriving at the port of destination. This was seen as a way of assisting the emigrants and allowing them to make arrangements for the continuance of their journeys. Inspectors were to check for abuses and to insure the seaworthiness of the vessel. It was at this time that the Children's Friend Society began to send children to
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Canada. The Wm. Osborne and the Henry and Sarah embarked London for Canada in 1833 with parties of children. The Wm. Osborne, a 282-ton vessel, was described in the Lloyd's Register of ships as having a "single deck with beams; sheathed with copper in 1832." Like many vessels of the time, she was probably used to transport timber to England, then upon arrival, was refitted with primitive facilities for passengers, a type of human ballast, for the return voyage to Canada. Another vessel, the Eleutheria, Captain Wheatly master, sailed from London, for Quebec City, on April 9,1835, with a party from the Children's Friend Society. She was a 340-ton vessel built in Shields in 1835 for the London-to-Quebec trade. In 1836, another group of 34 boys and one girl sailed from London, England, on board the Hinde, Captain Custard being the master. Lloyd's simple description of this 192-ton vessel was "single deck with beams." It arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, on Thursday, June 2, 1836, after 47 days at sea. Mr. J. Charles Forss accompanied the party, and although some suffered from chilblains, he reported their safe arrival: We arrived at St. John's [sic - Saint John, New Brunswick] on Thursday, the 2n day of June, and got into harbour on Friday at noon. We left St. John's by the steamer at six o'clock a.m. Saturday, and got to Fredericton about eight in the evening, and were very hospitably received by J. Stephens, Esq., who this morning kindly introduced me to Sir Archibald Campbell, who wishes every success to the plans intended to be adopted.4 There were 22 girls on board the Toronto when it sailed for Canada in 1836. This 350ton vessel was built in Montreal in 1834 of white oak and sheathed in copper; damage repairs were made to the vessel in 1836 (it is not known if they were made before or after this voyage). The Toronto made a number of London-to-Quebec voyages and, for the trip of 1836, Mrs. Sturt was the matron in charge of the young girls from the Children's Friend Society. At this time separate accommodations for females were nonexistent. Consequently, having a matron to watch over the young girls was considered a necessity. One agent reported his method of separating the passengers: All the single women and girls above fourteen I place in the after berths; ...adjoining to them, and next to their daughters, I berth (as a kind of safeguard to the whole) the oldest and most respectable married couples. The married people I place in the upper berths, taking great care to put relations, friends, and persons from the same neighbourhood along side of and near each other, which is an advantage also in messing them. Their children are put in the berths immediately under them, observing to separate
40 THEGOLDENBRIDGE
40 THEGOLDENBRIDGE
boys and girls above seven years of age, and avoiding, if possible, putting more than three children in each berth.... The single men and boys above fourteen are berthed in the fore part of the ship in the space partitioned off for the purpose of separating them from the rest of the people.5 Few others, however, were as careful. It was not until 1847 that changes to the Passenger Act determined that "adult passengers of different sexes, unless husband and wife, shall be separately berthed."6 In 1842, the Passenger Act was altered to increase the amount of space provided for each passenger. Dangerous cargos such as iron rails or bars that tended to shift in heavy seas were no longer permitted on board when there were passengers. And, for the first time, the life boat was introduced. However, these regulations which were intended to help the emigrant, were seen as hindrances to the thousands of starving Irish when famine hit their country. Due to the great demand for transportation to North America, many of the regulations of the Act were ignored as there was money to be made, even with the cheapest of available transport as was used by the workhouses. The conditions in steerage on board one of these ships in 1847 was described by Stephen E. De Vere who reported what he experienced to the Chairman of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission: Before the emigrant has been a week at sea he is an altered man. How can it be otherwise? Hundreds of poor people, men, women and children of all ages, from the drivelling idiot of ninety to the babe just born, huddled together without light, without air, wallowing in filth and breathing a fetid atmosphere, sick in body, dispirited in heart, the fever patients lying between the sound, in sleeping places so narrow as almost to deny them the power of indulging, by a change of position, the natural restlessness of the disease; by their ravings disturbing those around, and predisposing them, through the effects of the imagination, to imbibe the contagion; living without food or medicine, except as administered by the hand of casual charity, dying without the voice of spiritual consolation, and buried in the deep without the rites of the Church. The food is generally ill selected and seldom sufficiently cooked, in consequence of the insufficiency and bad construction of the cooking places [passengers had to cook their own meals]. The supply of water, hardly enough for cooking and drinking, does not allow washing. In many ships the filthy beds, teeming with all abominations, are never required to be brought on deck and aired; the narrow space between the sleeping berths and the piles of boxes is
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never washed or scraped, but breathes up a damp and fetid stench, until the day before the arrival at quarantine, when all hands are required to 'scrub up' and put on a fair face for the doctor and Government inspector. No moral restraint is attempted, the voice of prayer is never heard; drunkenness, with its consequent train of ruffianly debasement, is not discouraged, because it is profitable to the captain who traffics in the grog.7 De Vere went on to say that this was not an isolated case. And, after talking to many other emigrants, found that his ship was better off than most. The result of these deplorable conditions, he said, left the emigrant demoralized and without the will to carry on. The quarantine station at Grosse He was to experience its worst year in 1847 when emigration to Canada more than tripled. It was the custom for all vessels to stop there to be checked by medical personnel and the vessel was given a "passport" to continue on to Quebec, provided its passengers and crew were free of disease. But, in 1847, the medical staff on the island were totally overwhelmed. Thousands of Irish died on the voyage and thousands more died in quarantine, leaving hundreds of orphaned children. The Irish Unions were sending out large parties, including many young women. But, times were changing. In 1840, the British and North American Royal Mail Steamship Company (better known as the Cunard Line) was founded, followed in 1852 by the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company (better known as the Allan Line). The age of steamship travel had arrived and the old sailing ships would have to move aside. Crossings were now done on a schedule, no longer dependant on the whims of a breeze, and in less than half the time. The days of the single shipowner were on the wane as competition from these shipping companies, which catered more to passenger travel, began to cut into their business. In 1860, Joseph Daley, immigration agent at Montreal, reported to his superior, Alexander Buchanan, on the advantages of the steamships: The past history of Emigration shows that besides those whose necessities left them no alternative, there were many others who, though possessed of pecuniary resources, preferred inferior vessels where a passage was attainable at from 2os. [shillings] to 305. per head, regardless of the risk of long passage, in ships crowded like slave vessels, and often overtaken with pestilence and famine, till at length the Passenger Act of 1852 became an imperative necessity, to prevent a practice of course so suicidal to the Emigrants, and so fatal to the country upon which they landed. Upon this subject, the letter of Mr. Wilcox, of Plymouth, (England,) and the evidence of Hugh Allan, Esq., of the Canadian Ocean Mail Line
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[Allan Line], both of which are to be found in the Parliamentary Report, are worthy of the notice of Emigrants. Mr. Wilcox states that it is quite a mystery how steerage passengers are even now conveyed by Canadian ships as low as from £4 los. to £5; and by American vessels, as low as £3 58., without serious evasions of the Passenger Act. With regard to the New York ships sailing from Liverpool, Emigrants by that route have explained the mystery to me in this way: - From twenty to thirty passengers have been known to be taken on board after the ships had been inspected, and had been drawn from the wharf and anchored in the stream of the Mersey. Mr. Allan states that his charge for adults is £7 /s. sterling. When we consider the shortness of the passage, the generous dietary, the unlimited supply of water, the protection afforded by the better description of these ships, from sickness, from ill-usage, and from the want of cooking accommodation, it is almost impossible to conceive how there can be any room for competition. I am happy, however, to observe that these advantages are telling, and that the passengers by steam are increasing. The comfortable condition and respectability of the Emigrants landed here during the last season, from the Anchor Line, elicited much commendation from those who witnessed it. Still, I cannot but think, that should the cycle of events ever cause Emigration to assume its former dimensions, a large class of steamers inexpensively fitted up, and devoting themselves to the conveyance of steerage passengers and cargo - the former at £5 per head - would not only be a paying speculation, but would so familiarize the Emigrating class of Europe with Canada, as to cause them to look upon it as more accessible than many parts of their own country. Buchanan stated in his report of 1862 that the average length of passage by steamers was 13 1/4 days from Liverpool, England, and 18 days from Glasgow, Scotland. By sailing vessel it was 36a (36 and one-third) days from Britain and 5oa (50 and one-third) days from European ports.9 It was no wonder that the emigrants, if they could afford it, preferred the new steamers. By 1863, about 45 percent of the emigrants were arriving in Canada by steamship. That number increased to 81 percent three years later and, by 1870, was almost at 100 percent.10 The voyage was now taking about 11 days and the old sailing used for passenger trade was all but gone. Regardless of the method of transport, there were a few things that most emigrants
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were sure to encounter on a voyage: ice, fog and seasickness. Reports exist of vessels being stuck in the ice for weeks on end. Others were more fortunate, as is evident in this letter written by Annie Macpherson regarding her voyage on the Sardinian in May of 1876: About noon we had another of those never-ending changes which are to be met with on this great ocean; the sun came out bright and warm, the sky became brilliantly blue, and the sea was one sheet of ice fields as far as the eye could reach. Our noble Scotch ironclad rode on her way majestically, leaving a pathway in the frozen fields to be seen for miles behind, and as she struck her boom upon the massive sheets of ice, they seemed to vibrate and cause a movement in huge sheets on before [sic] and on either side. Some magnificent pieces, when touched by the ironclad's power, shiver into thousands of fragments, others pass our vessel's side, hard as iron, to be wafted on to the Gulf Stream, there to come under a warmer influence. This Arctic scene causes our captain and his officers to look rather serious, and they mount at times to the fore-topgallant mast. Did we but know the dangers which beset us through yielding to the allurements of the work, how often would we also mount aloft, and get upon our watch-tower and look out! You will naturally ask, How far did the ice reach? We were fourteen hours cutting through it, passing sixty vessels and two steamers (many of them fixtures), signalling those we came near. It was touching to see a barque make efforts to get into our opened-up pathway, but she could not make the short distance to reach the cleared waters. Those who watched throughout that long day as we triumphantly, though slowly, broke our ice-girt way, saw seals between the fields of ice, porpoises and whales spouting and bounding in their glorious freedom, sea-gulls and small red birds flying about....To-day we passed a steamer in the ice, which had started a week ahead of us from Glasgow.11 And then, the fog rolled in: "... and a dense fog hiding all headlands retarded our progress, making it necessary to lower one of the boats to take the soundings, and go before the great Sardinian,' showing her how to shape her course in the narrow way."12 Indeed, many parties of young emigrants would experience delays due to fog, some spending hours or even days, waiting for the fog to lift so the journey could continue. As for seasickness, it seemed to strike some with a vengeance. Annie Macpherson described some of her young charges. "They lay like herrings in a barrel around the
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funnel on deck, in nooks under the small boats, some too bad to be hauled up the ladder."13 With the still primitive quarters on board these vessels, it is not too difficult to believe that many of these children arrived in less than desirable condition as regards their state of dress. The lack of soap and water together with the sickness made it very difficult to keep the children clean.
The Allan Line Sailing from Glasgow and Liverpool, the ships of the Allan Line probably carried more young emigrants to Canada than any other ship line. Between 1852, when it was founded, and 1913, when it was officially taken over by the Canadian Pacific Line, the familiar red, white and black funnels of the Allan Line ferried about 50 percent of these young charges to Canada. In 1883, the Glasgow Herald wrote: The best routes to all parts of America are those of the Allan Line, by which there travelled to America in 1882 no less than 55,215 passengers. The splendid steamers of this line (the longest established on the Atlantic) have acquired a reputation for comfort, speed and safety. A special feature of the line is the accommodation provided for and attention bestowed on the intermediate and steerage passenger.14 A few of the old wooden sailing ships of the Allan Line were used by some of the early emigration schemes. These, however, soon gave way to the new, larger, iron steamships. An Allan Line vessel carried Maria Rye's first party of women to Canada in 1868. The first group of children arrived in November 1869, on board the Hibernian. A small, 1,888-ton vessel, she made her maiden voyage in 1861 and sailed the Liverpool and Glasgow service until 1901 when she was scrapped. During her service, the Hibernian carried a number of parties of children from various organizations. The Austrian, at 2,458 tons, was built in 1867. Refitted several times, she was used on the Canadian and the South American service until scrapped in 1905. Father James Nugent, of Liverpool, crossed on this ship for his first trip to Canada in 1870 when he came to check the possibilities for emigration to Canada and the United States. He used it again the following year, but then the Austrian disappears from the list of vessels carrying young emigrants. Annie Macpherson was on board the Circassian when it docked at the port of Quebec, May 7,1873, on its maiden voyage. She wrote to her fellow workers on May 5: "We are now entering the mighty Gulf, and passing through fields of ice." She continued:
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"We are now beyond the vast acres of frozen sea, and every hour brings us into a warmer climate, and nearer to our desired haven. Those interested in our little band, may rest assured it has been a happy voyage with each one. Not one case of disobedience has caused us anxiety. Early to sleep and early on deck has given good appetites, as all their brown and rosy cheeks do testify."15 This was her twelfth voyage and, she stated, all without a storm. Mrs. Louisa Birt (Annie Macpherson's sister) and various Catholic agencies such as Cardinal Manning's, Father Nugent's and the Catholic Children's Protective Society of Liverpool also used the Circassian. The vessel sailed the Liverpool-to-Montreal service until 1896 when she was scrapped. John Graham was Captain of the Moravian which brought boys from the Wellington Farm School Reformatory in Scotland to Canada in 1868. The Moravian was also used by the Ragged Schools, Father Nugent, Miss Macpherson, Feltham Industrial School, Alloe Reformatory, Miss Rye, Dr. Middlemore, Miss Bilbrough, Cardinal Manning and many of the Irish Unions. It appears to have been the real workhorse of the fleet. Only 2,466 tons, she was lengthened from 320 feet to 389 feet and was refitted with compound machinery. In 1881, the Moravian was wrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia. Captain Smith was on board the Scandinavian, built in 1870 at 2,840 tons, when Maria Rye's party arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1872. The captain wrote a letter of introduction for her to the Honorable John Boyd, J.R, in which he stated that the children were well cared for while at sea.1 The vessel was scrapped in 1899 but was replaced by a second vessel of the same name which carried many parties of children, including a party of Barnardo children in September 1920.
The second Scandinavian. Courtesy of Kinships.
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Annie Macpherson also used the Phoenician, arriving at Quebec City on July 10, 1874. This vessel does not appear again in the list of ships carrying child emigrants until April 30,1878, when William Quarrier's children arrived on board her at the port of Quebec. The Phoenician was originally named the Saint David, but was lengthened from 272 feet to 335 feet and renamed. Interestingly, William Quarrier's first party of children sailed to Canada on board this ship when it was called the Saint David, with Captain Edward Scott in charge in 1872. On this crossing, a compartment below deck was set aside for the children as well as a portion of the deck. In 1888, the Phoenician was refitted and removed from the Liverpool and Glasgow service to be reassigned to the South American service. The first large steamer of the Allan Line was the Parisian, at 5,359 tons, sailed her maiden voyage in May 1881. She was the first to have bilge keels17 to lessen the rolling motion, thus supposedly reducing seasickness. Captain James Wylie was in charge of this vessel when it arrived in Canada on June 19,1881, carrying Dr. John Middlemore and party. Another Middlemore party sailed on this vessel in 1891. Reverend Clement Price reported: Arrived at Liverpool, we made straight through several miles of docks for the steamship "Parisian," which was to convey us across the Atlantic. Our party from Birmingham consisted of seventy-four boys and girls, all told. A large section of the vessel was set apart for their accommodation, and was separated entirely from the quarters assigned to the other passengers. It was divided down the middle by a temporary boarding, one side being apportioned to the boys and the other to the girls. The places for meals and for washing, and the sleeping bunks were also separated, and the whole space was well ventilated by a large hatchway. Meals were served three times a day, and the food, if not delicate, was wholesome and abundant, and thoroughly well appreciated. Of course the children suffered a deal from sea-sickness, but as the first few days were very warm and calm, they very speedily recovered, and made a thoroughly good start. Most of the day they spent on deck, playing together in knots, watching the sailors work, telling each other stories, reading what books and papers were supplied to them, asking innumerable questions about the sea sights (which were so novel to them), and speculating eagerly upon their future.... We had our share of bad weather, and on the Tuesday and Wednesday after leaving Liverpool were kept below deck for twenty-four hours by the storm, during which time the children were wretchedly ill; but when they
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could get out again the interesting part of the voyage began.... An iceberg or two chilling the air as we came into their neighbourhood; a shoal of porpoises, a whale spouting at intervals in the distance, a glorious sunset, a passing ship: all these kept their attention on the alert.... On Friday evening, June 12th, we took the pilot on board at Farther Point [Father Point], who brought the expected news of Sir John Macdonald's death; and on Saturday morning, in bright sunshine, and in face of certainly the most beautiful scene which the children had ever beheld, we landed right under the magnificent rock of Quebec....1 Maria Rye had a party of children on board the Parisian sailing August 18,1892, when the Countess of Aberdeen, with her husband (who would, in late 1893, become the Governor General of Canada) sailed on the vessel. The Countess stated: These little ones whom we saw on board the "Parisian" were all full of eager expectation regarding their new homes, and, after the first few days of sea-sickness and discomfort consequent on the vaccination to which every steerage passenger to Canada must submit, they made themselves very happy with their skipping-ropes and various games. A part of the ship had been partitioned off and fitted up on purpose for them - a little dining place, a row of little tin basins and two storeys of little box-like berths where they lay snugly packed away at night: the kind matron, who had crossed the ocean some forty times on like business, sleeping in a little cabin opening into this special section.19 Cardinal Manning's parties and those of Thomas Barnardo also sailed on the Parisian. In 1902, she was equipped with first wireless radio. Used on the Liverpool-toCanada and the United States service route for many years, the Parisian was finally scrapped in 1914. A vessel with a different reputation was the Polynesian, which sailed on her maiden voyage in October 1872. Sailors said this ship would "roll on wet grass"20 and called her "Rolling Poly." She was captained by Robert Brown and then by Hugh Wylie. In 1893, the ship was refitted and renamed the Laurentian. The Polynesian, despite its reputation, was still used by many of the organizations, such as John Middlemore, Maria Rye, Annie Macpherson, Mrs. Lacy and many others. In 1893, a party from the Waifs and Strays Society was on the ship, now operating under her new name, Laurentian. She sailed from Liverpool and Glasgow to Canada and the United States until she was wrecked near Cape Race in 1909.
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The Polynesian ice-bound, W. Schever, artist. Taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, May 22,1875.
The Canadian immigration report for 1870 contained information on the arrival of Rye's children on board the Peruvian, a 2,549-ton vessel built in 1864. She sailed on October 27,1870, with Captain William H. Smith in charge. He was so taken with the children that he travelled to the railway station to say goodbye: So kind had he been to the children on the passage out that they gathered about him, and it was with difficulty that he cleared himself of them; and after he had gone away and they knew they should not see him again, their little faces shewed [sic] the sadness they felt at losing so kind a friend. With more than ordinary thoughtfulness, and induced, no doubt, by his knowledge of their condition, he furnished them with sufficient bread, meat, etc., to keep them from being hungry on the way to Portland [Maine], where they all arrived in good spirits, though very tired from the sea voyage, immediately followed by their railway trip.21 The giving supplies to the emigrants by Allan Line captains was not an uncommon practice. This kindness is mentioned by many of the organizations. Annie Macpherson also used the Peruvian in 1870 on her first voyage to Canada, along with Maria Rye and the Ragged Schools. When Annie Macpherson expressed concern about the bad examples her young charges were being exposed to "by the gentleman of the cabin, with their smoking, drinking and ribaldry of song," Captain Smith saw to it that the boys were kept busy. He gave them the job of "keeping the watch and pulling on ropes, the sailors shouting 'Hey little Macpherson' to all and sundry."22 Captain
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Smith was so impressed with the young boys that he gave Macpherson a testimonial saying "how well the boys conducted themselves on board the ship during the voyage."23 The Sarmatian, built in 1871, was large and very comfortable. She appeared October 22 of that year, with Captain John Graham at the bridge, carrying emigrants for the Brighton and Sussex Emigration Society as well as parties for Macpherson, Miss Rye, Middlemore, Father Nugent and many others. Maria Rye used this vessel on June 4, 1874, when Andrew Doyle, the Inspector for the Board of Guardians, was investigating her work. He reported: The agents of the Allan Line and the officers of the ship showed the utmost anxiety to adopt any suggestion made by Miss Rye for the comfort of the children, and all their arrangements were on Thursday morning, when I again visited the ship, pronounced by the Government Emigration Agent and the medical officer to be in compliance with the regulations.24 The vessel was removed from service in 1908. Joseph E. Dutton was Captain of the Sardinian in the 1870$. Called "Holy Joe" by his crew, Captain Dutton held Sunday services at 7:00 p.m. in the forecastle for the crew and a special service was held in the Chartroom for the officers of the ship at 4:00 p.m. At 10:00 a.m services were held for the steerage passengers.25 There were "30 to sleep in one little room,"2 passenger Miss Glen Airston of Owen Sound wrote in her diary. Built in 1875, this ship appeared on October 5, 1875, carrying Catholic children but Macpherson, Middlemore, Rye and Mrs. Birt used this vessel as well. In May 1878, Macpherson and her party were on board when an explosion occurred while entering Moville Harbour near Derry, Ireland. Their voyage was completed on board the Peruvian. On May 14,1878, the following letter appeared in The Times: Captain Grills, of the Liverpool Mercantile Marine Service Association, going to Derry upon a pleasure trip, was upon the bridge of the 'Sardinian' when the accident occurred, and speaks in high terms of the discipline of officers and crew under the trying circumstances. He says: - 'I was on the bridge with Captain Dutton, looking for the approach of the tender, when in a moment an explosion occurred down in the forehold, where a quantity of coal was stored, and blew into the air thousands of fragments of wood. Immediately afterwards people came shrieking up the companion ways, many of them cut, bruised, and blackened. The scene was indescribable. A great deal of confusion was caused by the separation of children from parents and husbands from wives. One poor woman begged me to go
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and find her baby, which was torn from her arms. The Captain, on hearing the explosion and seeing the smoke, sprang from the bridge, ordered the hose to be instantly applied, and by dint of extraordinary exertions on the part of himself, the officers, and crew, succeeded in saving several people who were in the midst of the debris. The hold was flooded with water from the hose, but the smoke continued to pour out in dense volumes, and ultimately they had to abandon all hope of saving the ship except by opening the sluices and letting the water in. Before doing this the vessel was taken into five fathoms of water, so that when she settled down her decks would be above water, and she might the more easily be pumped out and raised. While these orders were being executed, the whole of the saloon passengers, assisted by many of the crew, were engaged in transferring the emigrants to the mail tender which had just come alongside. About 300 or 400 soon crowded her decks, and she landed them at Moville pier, after which she returned for orders. Subsequently the second tender took off most of the saloon passengers, many wounded, and a large quantity of baggage. The boats were lowered in order to save the baggage. The mail tender returned and took the rest of the people, and I went with them, and we reached Derry about nine o'clock that night. I cannot refrain from referring to the heroic conduct of one lady, a saloon passenger, who, while partially dressed, rescued a baby that was fearfully burnt, at considerable risk to herself; the mother had proceeded to Derry, thinking she had lost her child for ever. The promptitude and energy displayed by Captain Dutton was in every way admirable, and his orders were executed with great decision. Miss Macpherson and her little band of Canadian emigrants showed no small amount of true fortitude and heroism. Most of the children behaved nobly under the trying circumstances, and exhibited much of the fruit of their careful training. They kept repeating to one another many of the sayings they had heard from Miss Macpherson about being patient, and brave, and good. I visited the infirmary before leaving on Saturday, and spoke to each of the nine patients, who are all suffering seriously, but I am hopeful of the recovery of some.27 Annie Macpherson's account of the incident appeared in a letter which she sent to her friends at the Refuge in London: Sunday morning. Since we parted from you and those beloved Christian friends at St. Pancras
The Voyage Over last Wednesday, we seem to have lived years, and learnt more of the reality of the delivering power of our loving Father than in all our lives before. Wondrous to relate, and as marvellous as the deliverance of the three children from the fiery furnace, is the fact that all our precious little ones are in safety, and now gone to a place of worship. Behold the living-kindness of our God! Had the explosion taken place a little while later, our vessel would have been on her way instead of standing still waiting off Moville for the mails. Most of the children were on deck, basking in the lovely sunshine of that afternoon. We were all busy finishing our letters, and I intended to write one more, and then go and spend an hour in the children's steerage, when presently there was a terrible sound, as of a cannon, followed by a deathly stillness for two minutes; I rushed on deck and beheld a man jet black with soot, his hair burnt off, issuing from a gangway near; then one of my own boys came, exclaiming, 'Oh, Miss! I prayed to Jesus, and He saved me.' Then the deck became a fearful scene of confusion, poor foreigners weeping, and oh! The mutilated men and women, ghastly with fright, some of their faces entirely skinned. My first care was for the little ones. They clustered round me, as the two young men, (former boys of 1870, who had been home to see their friends), gathered them out of the crowd. Mr. Merry gave me the list, and they dried their tears, and answered to their names when called. We soon found all accounted for, and were hushed with praise. Picture us all standing near the wheelhouse, awaiting orders, or to see, it might be flames, or another explosion of a still more serious character. Oh! Could every Sunday school teacher in the land realise my feelings at that moment, they would never rest until every child in their class was washed in the Blood of the Lamb. I saw nothing but imperfection in all my work, and want of burning reality for souls. The scene of the disaster was very near to the children's sleeping berths; a very few yards off two women sat upon a box together, one was blown up into the air, the other driven she knew not whither; but late that night I came across her seeking a bed in Moville, and she told me that in those first terrible moments every sin she had ever committed came before her, and the one most awful was her having rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what our God can do in the twinkling of an eye! By unbalancing a little breath of His own created air, then the stoutest-hearted sinners quail.2
51 51
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The Sardinian would continue to ply the Atlantic runs until it was scrapped in 1920. Buenos Ayrean was the "ugly duckling" of the Allan fleet. She had a heavy superstructure and a straight stem but was the first steel steamer on the North Atlantic.29 This ship, built in 1880, constructed of steel, not iron, thus making it lighter than the other ships in the fleet. Used on the Glasgow-to-Canada service, the Buenos Ayrean carried Miss Bilbrough and her party to Canada on May 13, and again on September 16,1880, and was used by her for several years. Many of the other young emigrant groups also took passenge on this vessel which was scrapped in 1910. Refrigeration on board ship first appeared in 1899 on the Bavarian, the first of the 2oth century fleet of the Allan Line. She was followed in 1900 by the Tunisian which boasted good heating and ventilation. It also had hot and cold, fresh and salt, water on tap and four-berth emigrant cabins with spring mattresses. Many parties of young emigrants arrived on this vessel. Alfred Owen related the experience of a Barnardo party on board the Tunisian. They sailed on September 19,1901, with a stop in Moville, Ireland, then headed out into the Atlantic. The weather was so bad on this voyage that the children were dreadfully ill lifeless, as Owen described them. All of the children were undressed and put to bed and sawdust was spread on the floor with, as Owen said, there being nothing more they could do. After a few days he was able to start interviewing the boys. He tried to match each boy to an applicant farmer and selected some of them to go on to Winnipeg, making a special effort to place brothers and chums near each other, he said. They also discovered that some of the vaccinations had not taken and the ship's doctor revaccinated those children. Upon arrival at Quebec, and after passing through immigration, the Winnipeg party was sent off and several hours later the parties for Ontario left the railway station. Breakfast for the children next morning on the train was from the stores
The Virginian at the Montreal docks, 0.1909. Courtesy of Kinships.
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supplied by the Tunisian. Some of the boys were dropped off along the way and the cars carrying the girls' party were separated at Belleville, Ontario, and sent on their way to Peterborough, the boys continuing on to Toronto.30 In 1905, the Virginian (her sister ship was the Victorian) became the first turbine liner. Emigrants in 3rd class (steerage) were served meals at a table. While the food was good, they were kept wholly distinct from other classes of passengers. A Barnardo party sailed on this vessel in 1905. Reverend Wallace had an emigrant party on board on May 19, 1905, and both the Church of England and Louisa Birt also used this vessel during its first year of operation.
Other Lines In 1909, the Canadian Pacific Ocean Steamship Company bought the Allan Line but did not take final possession until 1913. For many years it would be ships from the Canadian Pacific, the Dominion, the Elder-Dempster, the Anchor and the Cunard lines which transported the young emigrants to Canada. These vessels included the Empress of Britain, Empress of Ireland, Duchess ofAtholl, Duchess of Bedford, Hesperian, Victorian, Alawnia, Regina, Sicilian, Carthaginain, Arawa, Texas, Franconia, Andania, Labrador, and Dominion, to name but a few. Dominion Line vessels were used by various groups. In 1897, Alfred Owen of Barnardo Homes reported that nothing could have been "more satisfactory than the arrangements on board the 'Labrador' for the accommodation of both girls and boys, and we cannot speak too highly of the efforts of the company's officers, both on shore and at sea, for the comfort and welfare of the young people."31 Mrs. Annie Smith, of Hamilton, Ontario, travelled to Liverpool in 1899 to visit family, sailing on the Labrador, but the vessel struck rocks off the coast of Ireland in a fog and sank. Although Annie Smith was rescued, she dreaded the return voyage to Canada. However, she boarded the Dominion, another steamship of the Dominion Line, and was placed in the care of Captain James. Both he and his crew did everything to try to alleviate her fears: They went and got a number of the children that were on board from the homes being taken out to Canada, [these may have been children in Reverend Wallace's party heading to Marchmont] and had them stand around me and go through their exercises and sing to me. After they had sung several pieces they started to sing, 'Pull for the Shore, Sailor.' Of course they did not know it at that time, but that undone [sic] all the other good, as it broke me right up and they had to carry me below.32
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The SS Dominion sailed from 1898 to 1914, then was used for war work. Courtesy of Kinships.
On May 24,1910, the Mongolian sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a party from the Middlemore Homes. This voyage was remembered for a very different reason, as noted in the memoirs of one young passenger: We left England the last week of May on the Mongolian. My cabin was in steerage; six wood bunks to a cabin, each bunk with a straw mattress and a grey blanket. The cabin was over the works of the ship and the clank of the steering gear together with the whine of the propeller shaft, the smell of hot oil and steam, and no ventilation, drove me out. I spent my nights hidden in a corner on deck against a ventilator shaft for warmth. On my twelfth birthday, June 4, there was a burial at sea. One of the crew had died. They wrapped him in sail cloth, laid him on a board by the port rail, and stopped the engines. We boys were grouped on deck and sang a hymn and recited the twenty-first psalm. The captain read the burial service and when he came to 'Earth to Earth', two members of the crew raised one end of the board and slid the body overside. We recited the Lord's prayer and sang another hymn. The engines were started and we were on our way again. I still don't get that 'Earth to Earth' in the middle of the wide Atlantic.33 That same year, 1910, a party from the Salvation Army sailed on the Sicilian. It was a very rough voyage indeed: ...I bet the propeller was out of the water half the time. This shook the ship something awful. First we would seem to be reaching for the skies; next
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reaching for the bottom of the ocean. As a change of pace, we would roll from side to side. The ship was covered with ice a foot or two deep on every chain and rope. We had a pot-bellied stove for heating - burned soft coal - and beside the stove was a large apple barrel to hold the coal. I remember the barrel well, because of an incident. My chum Fletcher was real seasick and confined to his bunk for days. One of the young men suggested we get Fletcher up to go for a walk. Fletcher got as far as the stove, reached for the apple barrel and sat on it. Suddenly the boat took a savage heave to one side. Away went Fletcher on the open-top barrel - bang to the side of the wooden partition. The ship changed her mind and lurched to the other side. The barrel hit the wall with a hefty wallop. This jack-knifed Fletcher firmly into it and believe me when I say it took some yanking to get him out. He returned to his bed and stayed there for the rest of the journey.34 The Sicilian was used by a Barnardo party sailing on September 8,1915; two children died of pneumonia on the voyage. This vessel was carrying munitions (during wartime the Act forbidding "dangerous objects" and passengers on the same vessel was suspended) which were delivered to Le Havre, France, under the watchful eyes of the children. Then, they continued their voyage across the Atlantic arriving at Quebec on September 22, ipis.35 Sometimes there were other, more mainstream activities to keep the children busy,
A National Children's Home party boarding ship in Liverpool c. 1920. Taken from the Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children for 1920-1921 (Ottawa: 1921)y 15; NAC/PAAPJV7282 C^C?,.
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DUCHESS OF BEDFORD. Captain A. R. MEIKLE, R.D., R.N.K.
ABSTRACT OF LOG. From Liverpool to Montreal via Belfast, Greenock and Quebec. DATE. April * 8 April 9 April 10 April II April 12 April, 13 April - 14 April 15 April 16
• +
LAT. NORTH LONO.WEST Liverpool to To 55.13 53.31 51J4 48.06 46.14 46,31 49.11 To To
Belfast Greenock 14,00 25.31 36.05 45.15 * 52.10 55.40 64.23 Quebec Montreal
DIST.
WIND
135 , N.E. 83 N,E. 344 S.S.E. 415 S.-E. 410 S. 402 N.W. 326 E, 150 S.S.E 38d N.N.W, 332 1^139^ 1 Qljt'4 -
FORCE 3 3 5 5 4 3 2 2 3
REMARKS 4-34 p.rn.t JefTLiverpool 5-48 p.m., left Greenoek Clear and cloudy Rough sea, overeat Rough sea, overeat Moderate sea, overcast Overeat with periods o* Hist Overeat with periods of miat Fine clear weather
BEAUFORT WIND SCALE j OCalm; 1 Light Air; 2 Light Breeze; 3 Gentb Breeze ; 4 Moderate Breeze ; 5 Fresh Breeze ; 6 Strong Breeze ; 7 Moderate Gale ; 8 Fresh Gale ; 9 Strong Gale; 10 Whole Gale; 11 Storm; 12 Hurricane. T. JONES, Chief Officer. W. H. VINE, Chief Engineer. D. F, ARMOUR, Parser. J. 1. BENNY, M.D.* C.M., Surgeon. T. BURNS, Chi«f ?* reward. • , . « . CP.T.O
Log of the Duchess of Bedford's 1938 voyage that carried a Fegan party. Courtesy of Dick Wright. such as those offered on the Montrose in 1926. "There was boxing on the hatch most afternoons and I won several prizes purchased with the money given by the first-class passengers who watched from the higher decks."36 Sometimes, boys played English football to keep busy, as on the Duchess of Bedford in April 1938, that is, until one lad kicked the ball overboard!37 Conditions on board did improve over time. Steerage (later called third class) evolved from large dormitory-type facilities with bunk beds to cabins with four to six in a room. Washing facilities became more readily available and soap, water and towels were provided. Food became very good, better than some of the children ever remembered, that is, if they were in any condition to eat it. Having stewards waiting on them and making up their rooms was quite a change from the experiences of those who came pre-i88os. Some of the children only remembered the dishes moving back and forth on the table but, one young sailor related his experiences on board the Duchess of Bedford in 1929 with a party from the Big Brothers Movement in England:
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One other lad and I, plus our escort, were all who ate breakfast next morning. I never missed a meal. One boy never ate a meal on the whole trip except the Friday supper. If the ship had sunk he would have been happy. The second or third day out the smell below decks was horrible - not really the vomit but the disinfectants. However, as long as I could remain on deck I was fine. But I was always thankful to get away from my cabin which was away, away down. My mother was a good cook - I thought but the meals on board were fit for a king! I never saw such variety.38
The Trip Inland Upon arrival in Canada there was a flurry of activity as boxes were packed in preparation for departure from the vessel. There was the immigration agent to meet and arrangements were made for transportation to the railway station. Messages were sent to inform the Canadian homes of the party's arrival and health inspections of the children were carried out by Canadian authorities. Although health inspections were done in the United Kingdom, a doctor was on hand to check the children again when they arrived in Canada. The ports of arrival for the immigrants varied over time. In the early years, many arrived at Quebec City, Quebec, while others steamed into Saint John, New Brunswick. Later, ports of arrival included Montreal, Quebec; Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Portland, Maine. The fact that the port of Portland was open in the winter and had a direct railway connection to Montreal increased its popularity. Halifax did not have a railway connection to Montreal until the mid-iS/os. Occasionally other ports such as Boston, Massachusetts, were used. However, this did cause a controversy. On March 14,1891, a letter from Edwin Clay, immigration agent at Halifax, reported that Thomas Barnardo was requesting his capitation allowance (a $2 per
The harbour at Saint John, New Brunswick, 0.1909. Courtesy of Kinships.
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person fee paid for all agricultural workers and also granted for the children). Clay wrote: I am informed that Dr. Barnardo has a party of Boys on the way for Russell Manitoba But he will land them at Boston instead of a Canadian port. Last spring the party for Russell was landed at Portland, instead of Halifax. Mrs. Birt has done the same thing. Now I understand the Dominion Government pays a commission of $2.00 per head for each child brought out by these parties. If such is the case, I am of opinion that these people should land their children at a Canadian port, and give the Canadian Railways the benefit of their travel. I do not think we should pay a commission to people who will not land at a Canadian port. We have no right to pay these people for landing in the United States. I spoke to Mr. Owen, Dr. Barnardo's Agent, about it last year, and told him I would report the case if it was done again. Of course it is only reported that the party will land at Boston. But I think the Department should take the matter up and see that the commission is paid only to those parties who land at a Canadian port. I am for Canada first, last, and all the time.39 Portland was used by a number of parties in 1901 when both the Allan and Dominion Lines stopped their sailings to Quebec due to a dispute with the Canadian government. Once at the port of arrival, however, it was the railway which moved the immigrants to their new Canadian homes. For those arriving pre-i85O, boats were used to take them to their final destinations. In Quebec City the immigrants would board a train which took them along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River and went through Richmond, before arriving at Montreal. Doyle's report spoke highly of the Grand Trunk Railway. He mentioned that Macpherson's parties "frequently break the journey at Montreal, a distance of 180 miles. They are lodged upon such occasions at the St. George's Home, an emigrant depot in the Cote St. Antoine, formerly under the control, I believe, of Mr. Pell."40 However, Doyle was not very impressed with the accommodations, although granted that they had a very large party and short notice to make arrangements for them. However, he felt it best to keep the stay short. Maria Rye, on the other hand, often broke her trip at Toronto where hotel accommodations were found near the railway station. The next day the party would board a steamer and cross Lake Ontario to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Later, they used the train for this final stage of their journey. A Middlemore party of 45 children landed at Quebec City in June 1891, and took the train to Fredericton, New Brunswick. Reverend Clement Price reported on this eventful trip:
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Various types of trunks were used to pack the children s belongings. Courtesy of David Lorente. ...Unfortunately, we had landed on quite the worst day of the week for this journey. No trains on the Inter-Colonial Railway ran on Sunday, and, as it was impossible to reach Frederickton [sic] in the day, the journey had to be broken, and the whole of the Sunday spent either at Quebec or at some other place en route. The decision was quickly made to proceed that day as far as Riviere du Loup, a pretty village off the St. Lawrence, about 130 miles east of Quebec. We crossed over to Point Levi, the landing opposite Quebec, took train at about 2.5 and reached Riviere du Loup at 5.30 on a beautiful summer afternoon. The rather formidable duty was now before me of finding board and lodging for my large family for two nights and a day in a strange place, inhabited for the most part by French-speaking people. The only provisions we had with us were a tub of bread, butter, and tinned meat, which the ship's steward had packed for us, as we could purchase no provisions on our journey. Leaving the children in the station waitingroom, with strict injunctions not to move away, I found my way, after a one-and-a-half mile walk through the village, to the house of Mr. Crockett, the traffic manager of the line, to whom I had obtained an introduction at Quebec; and, after explaining our condition, obtained from him the welcome permission to use one of the long and roomy railway cars standing at the station as our lodgings for the time of our stay.... We had to wait some little time before our hotel was drawn up on the line, but we got in about nine o'clock, and after supper and prayers, the lights were turned down, the boys took off their boots and jackets, and settled
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down on the benches of the long car to sleep. The next morning we were up at seven, and early made experience of the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Fergusson [sic], our friends near the station. Mrs. Fergusson made tea in her house for us, supplied us with milk, lent us crockery and knives, and, last but not least, fitted up the brewhouse for the washing of the boys, who went there in batches of half-a-dozen for a refreshing scrub. ...Our route had been taken for us by a new railway through the Temiscoata Lakes, much shorter in point of mileage, but being badly worked, and not in connection with the main system, the time occupied was more than it would have been by the longer route. Accordingly, it was only possible, by dint of a forced march, travelling all day and all night, to reach our journey's end before Tuesday morning at earliest. However, the weather was fine throughout, and though the changing and waiting for hours in the middle of the night was trying for the children, they stood it very well, and got plenty of rest between whiles.41 Many children arrived at Halifax and they too boarded a train to make their way inland. First impressions of the trains were often ones of awe. "It was a blessing to pass through the freight shed to the awaiting train which seemed to us like a gigantic monster after riding on the English railways."42 Even the train whistle was different. "We
One of Annie Macphersons party of girls waiting at a train station in 1908. Courtesy of NAC/Ao209o6.
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reached Quebec City safely on July i, 1905, and heard a lot of strange bells. They were the railway trains. We crossed the St. Lawrence on a large ferry to Levis, Quebec, and entrained for Toronto."43 Many remember the early colonist train cars as being very rough with wooden benches made of slats for sleeping. The children often sat three to a seat. Others tell of reaching the end of the line in the west and having to take a stage coach to finish the journey. However, the west was not the only location from which the stage was used. The Middlemore group described above had to take a stage from the station at a village called Fredericton Junction "in the heart of the country" to the next point on the railway line before they could continue the train ride into Fredericton, New Brunswick. Barnardo children referred to the train as the "Barnardo Special." The Grand Trunk Railway transported hundreds of these children to various parts of Ontario. Later, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway, which amalgamated with the Grand Trunk Railway, carried the children inland and across the country. Often these parties travelled at no cost. In the later years, when the ships docked at Halifax, Nova Scotia, the children would board the train and head west. One boy from a Fegan home remembered his trip in 1910: Our party embarked from Liverpool on the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland. The Governor, as Mr. Fegan was respectfully called, accompanied us on the voyage and came with us by way of the old colonist train from Halifax to Toronto. The coaches were primitive indeed. One day the train stopped for a lengthy spell at some country point. We were all allowed to get out for a leg stretch and some refreshment. As we left the car, Mr. Fegan stood at the outlet with a basin of warm water, some soap, a wash cloth and a towel. Each boy was given a refreshing rub over the hands and face and a kindly word from cThe Governor.' The incident did not carry great significance with me until years later. Then the words 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren' brought the memory of J.W.C. Fegan indelibly to my mind.44 Train service was improving and by the 19208 the children were often picked up at the station by bus to be delivered to the home. The comfort of railway cars was also changing from the slat seats to something a little more conducive to sleeping. "We had our own car on the train - one of the old type where the seats slid out to make a bed. There were no covers and I don't think I got out of my clothes until we reached Vancouver. Our meals were cooked in the coach at one end: beans - morning, noon and night."45
CHAPTER 4
The Work Begins
EMIGRATION FROM THE BRITISH ISLES was a well-established practice by the 18308. Many had made the long, arduous voyage to the North American colonies as well as to the new colonies of present-day Australia and New Zealand. Cape Town, South Africa, also saw an increase in immigration. As the economy evolved and British industrialization took hold, more and more people found themselves without a means to make a living. Emigration societies were organized by various guilds. As well, organizations began to help those in distress such as the weavers, the dockworkers and the crofters. The intention was to assist these men and their families to emigrate to the colonies where work was plentiful. Some landholders, with extensive estates, saw emigration as a way of removing unwanted tenants. In many cases this was done in a well organized way. However, some landlords simply saw emigration as a means to rid themselves of many of their small tenant farmers. This was most evident in Ireland especially in the years after the famine. After the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834, the Unions began to view emigration as a means to empty the workhouses. It was far cheaper to pay the cost of transport to Canada than to keep a person in the workhouse for years. The administrators of the Irish workhouses were especially interested in emigration as a solution to their over-subscribed accommodations in the 18408 and 18508 during and after the famine. They had sent shiploads of young females to Australia in the 18308 to try to answer the demand for domestic servants in that country, thereby setting a precedent. More than anything else, emigration was seen as a way of removing excess population. With emigration becoming an everyday occurrence, it was not surprising that the Children's Friend Society decided in 1832 to emigrate some of its charges. 62
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Children's Friend Society The Society for the Suppression of Juvenile Vagrancy (later renamed the Children's Friend Society), was founded in 1830 in London, England, by Captain Edward Pelham Brenton. Born in the State of Rhode Island (in the United States), Brenton joined the Royal Navy at 14 years of age. Upon retirement in 1813, he settled in London, England, and became the author of several naval histories. In July 1830, Brenton joined several other gentlemen and together they passed a motion which stated: That it is expedient to establish a charitable institution, for the purpose of suppressing juvenile vagrancy, by affording agricultural and other employment to the children of the poor, between the ages of eight and sixteen, of whom not less than 15,000 are now estimated to be totally destitute in this metropolis.1 From this motion the Society for the Suppression of Juvenile Vagrancy was initiated. The intention of the Society was to rescue destitute children by teaching them a trade. After a period of training, work was sought for the children where they could put their new skills to the test. At first the Society sent its children to a school at Abbey House, West Ham Abbey, Essex, where they were under the care of Henry Wilson. There appears to have been some problem with this arrangement for, in 1833, Captain Brenton opened his own asylum, called the Brenton Juvenile Asylum2 at Hackney Wick. An asylum for girls at Chiswick was also opened and named the Royal Victoria Asylum, after the young Princess Victoria. Brenton managed the boys' home at Hackney Wick while the Honorable Miss Murray managed the girls' home. The homes could accommodate up to 200 children each. The children came from many of the boroughs of London with a few coming from other parts of England. For example, in the 1834 annual report it was stated that children came from St. Mary-le-bone; St. George and St. Giles; St. Leonard Shoreditch; St. Mary, Islington; St. Botolph, Bishopsgate; St. Pancras; St. John, Wapping; St. Luke, Middlesex; St. John, Hackney; St. Saviour's; St. James, Westminster; St. Andrew, Holborn; St. Mary-le-Strand; All Hallows, London Wall; Parish of Bungay, Suffolk; Parish of Croydon, Surrey; Parish of Frome, Somerset; The Refuge for the Destitute; Coldbath Fields Prison; The Foundling Hospital and The Philanthropic Institution. Some came from prisons or workhouses, some came from the streets and others were brought in by parents or other relatives. A child would be taken in by the Society for a
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placement fee of four shillings per week, and a training payment of £10 when the child was ready to be apprenticed. Brenton believing that magistrates would willingly place first-time offenders in his institution rather than in the same prisons in which adults were placed, stated: There is no Doubt that the Magistrates themselves, if the present System were so altered as to give them the Power, would willingly and zealously co-operate with the Society; and would gladly place under its redeeming Care many a Child for whom there is now, under the Law, no Resource but the Impure Associations of a Prison.3 On August 4, 1834, Captain Brenton testified before the Select Committee on Education and stated that the usual age of the children at admission was 10 to 14 years. He said that his school was four years old and that it presently housed 32 children. The Society had also opened a branch society at Bath. Thus far the Society had cared for 514 children and had emigrated 270 boys and 40 girls. The other children were either provided for by friends or had left or absconded. No child was kept longer than six months. The Brenton school taught reading, writing and arithmetic and spade husbandry. The students grew potatoes, cabbage, beans, mangel, wurzel, hemp and flax, and had a flower garden. It was the custom to rise each morning at 6:00 a.m. in summer and 7:00 a.m. in winter. The rest of the day was scheduled as follows: Time allowed for dressing and washing to be Half an Hour; reading the Scriptures, Prayers, and general Education, from Half past Six or Half past seven to Eight. - At Eight, Breakfast. - From Nine till Twelve, Employment in the Field or Garden (Weather permitting). - From Twelve till Two, Dinner and Recreation.-From Two till Five in the Summer, and from One till Four in the Winter, Employment in the Field or Garden. - From Five to Six Washing and Supper. - From Six to Eight, Reading, with Admonitions and Prayers. - At Eight the Boys to be called over, and retire to Bed.4 The boys slept in hammocks and kept their rooms as one would if aboard a naval vessel - "a Place for every thing, and every thing in its Place."5 They moved from meals to fields to the classroom on the blowing of a whistle. The children, said Brenton, were "rapidly brought into habits of order, regularity and obedience, and this without the agency of any other means than kindness and firmness." Boys were given agricultural training on the 10 acres of land surrounding the asylum. William Wright was headmaster of the boys' asylum and he was assisted by J. Charles
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Forss, a carpenter by trade and agriculturalist by training. In addition to agricultural lessons, training was given in several trades, including carpentry (for the girls it was domestic education). After some months of indoctrination, work was sought for the child. However, by 1832, the Society found that obtaining employment for these children in England was proving to be more difficult than expected. By the fall of that year the Society started to emigrate children from 10 to 14 years of age to the Cape of Good Hope. Later destinations for the children were Swan River, South Australia, parts of the Canadas (Upper Canada, present day Ontario, and Lower Canada, present-day Quebec), and New Brunswick. Brenton was also willing to send children to Nova Scotia if that government would pay part of the cost. Mr. Washburn, Clerk of the Peace for Upper Canada, stated that these children were apprenticed to farmers in Canada under these terms: The usual and very common Method of binding Children in Canada is this: the Child being bound, the Master, together with the usual Covenants of Lodging, Clothing, &c., enters into another, that if the Apprentice (being a Male) shall behave properly during his Apprenticeship, he shall receive at its Expiration a new Suit of Clothes, a Pair of Oxen, Yoke for the same, an Axe, and any other small Matters that may be thought of, to enable him to go on his Land; or, in lieu of these, a certain fixed Sum in Money-say 60, or 80, or 100 Dollars. In the case of Females the Covenant usually is, to give a Feather Bed, Bedding, a Cow, Spinning-wheel, new Dress, &c., as it is supposed she will immediately marry, a Matter which occurs so often, if of good Character, that it is considered almost a Matter of course. In the Case of Apprentices to Trades (and they are perhaps more sought after than any other) the Bargain usually is, for the Master, in addition to Board, Lodging, &c., to pay the Apprentice so much per month In lieu of Clothing, and at the Expiration of his Time to furnish him with a certain Quantity of Tools. The Sum paid varies according to the Age of the Apprentice, increasing with his Age till the last Year, when he generally receives a Sum nearly equal to Journeyman's Wages. If prudent, the Apprentice generally saves enough to set himself up in a small Way in some Part of the Province.7 With advice from the Honorable Peter Robinson and Reverend Thomas Sockett, a Canadian organization, called the General Committee of Management, was formed in Toronto. Others were formed at Huntington, in Lower Canada, and at Cobourg, in Upper Canada, with one at Kingston just beginning when the work ceased.8 These organizations
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apprenticed the children on farms and in homes as domestic servants. Some were apprenticed to tradesmen. Children were placed from Montreal to Niagara and some in parts of New Brunswick. The New Brunswick government even passed legislation to "provide specially for any Difficulty which might occur in apprenticing the Children."9 The Toronto-based General Committee of Management watched over the children and saw to their welfare as the official guardians. This committee, and the others which were formed, were comprised of many of the more prominent citizens of Upper and Lower Canada including: W.B. Jarvis, Sheriff; Robert Jamison, Attorney General; Archdeacon John Strachan; Reverend A.N. Bethune; R.B. Sullivan, Mayor of Toronto; and G.S. Boulton. In 1836, a ladies' committee, with Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Wells, Mrs. Crookshank and Mrs. Strachan among them, was formed to care for the girls who were sent out by the Children's Friend Society. The first group of children arrived on August 19,1833, on board the Wm. Osborne. They were followed by a party on the vessel George Canning, May 10, 1834; the Lexington, June 5,1834; and the Concord, which sailed July 26,1834, with Captain Hicks in charge. Only the Concord arrival, the week of September 20, is noted by the immigration agent at Quebec, Alexander Buchanan, who simply stated, "[i]n the Concord from London, there were 20 boys sent out by the London Children's Friend Society."10 Although Buchanan stated there were 20 boys on board, the Society records show there were 20 boys and two girls on the Concord. The records also indicate that the George Canning sailed for Halifax that same year with one boy aboard. The destination of the Lexington is not mentioned, but it is possible that it sailed for New Brunswick. In the spring of 1835 several more parties made their way to Canada. They came on the vessels named: 574, Mr. Elder, Master, which sailed April 4; the Eleutheria, Captain Wheatly, April 13; Queen, April 18; Englishman, June 20, Captain Sharp; Henry Bell, July 4; and the Ottawa, September 7. The Montreal Gazette of May 26,1835, reported the arrival of the party on the Eleutheria: About forty boys, sent out by the "Children's Friend Society," from London, have arrived by the Eleutheria. We understand they proceed to Montreal, where Mr. Orrok, the Society Agent, resides, to be apprenticed to different professions in that city and in Upper Canada. In the immigration report for 1835, Buchanan notes what may have been the arrival of the Henry Bell: Week ending 22 August. - Mr. Orrock, who proceeded from this city to upper [sic] Canada with 31 boys, sent out by the Children's Friend Society
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in London, to be apprenticed, reports that he found not the slightest difficulty in placing those boys advantageously at Toronto. A fresh arrival of boys from the same institution may soon be expected, and will be disposed of in a similar manner.11 The Englishman warranted this remark: Week ending 29 August - The children sent out by the ship Englishman, from the Children's Friend Society of London, consisting of boys from that institution, 25 in number, proceeded yesterday to Toronto to be apprenticed there. Mr. Orrock accompanied them. They were in excellent health and spirits.12 There were also 20 boys on the ship Eleutheria, according to Buchanan who stated that, "by the Ellentheria [sic], from London, 31 boys arrived from the Children's Friend Society in London; they proceeded to upper [sic] Canada, under the care of Mr. Orrock, in the Canada steamer on Friday night 22d instant, with the necessary instructions."13 Geoff Blackburn, in his book The Children's Friend Society, states that there were also two girls on this vessel but no record of them has been found. He also states that the Englishman sailed with 25 boys and this corresponds to Buchanan's report. From Quebec City the children were taken to Toronto using the canal system via Bytown (present-day Ottawa), by Mr. Orrock, who was the secretary of the Society. At Toronto the children were placed as apprentices. Alexander Buchanan enclosed a copy of a letter in his immigration report for 1835 from the Society. It states: Copy of a Letter from the Secretary of the Children's Friend Society, 3, Exeter Hall, Strand, London, 28 March 1835.
Sir, Twenty boys will be embarked on board the Elentheria [sic], for Montreal, to be forwarded to and apprenticed at Toronto, under the care and directions of Mr. Orrock. I am directed by the committee of management of the Children's Friend Society to express their thanks for the valuable assistance rendered by yourself to their agent, Mr. Orrock, and to request your further aid in forwarding those children to their destination, and in rendering any further assistance in your power in providing for them when there. This request is more particularly made with a view of affording these
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poor children your aid and assistance, should any unforeseen circumstance deprive them of their departed guardian, Mr. Orrock. I have, &c. To A.C. Buchanan, (Signed) Henry Wood, Esq. Secretary. Chief Agent for Emigration for Quebec.14 On April 16,1835, a party of 34 boys and one girl, under the care of Charles Forss, set sail aboard the Hinde, with Captain Custard as Master, and headed for New Brunswick. Forss, who worked as a teacher in the home in England, emigrated to New Brunswick and took a few of the boys as his apprentices. Additional placements were worked out with the government of New Brunswick and with the New Brunswick Land Company-many of the boys were placed at Stanley on the Company's land. In 1835, upon their arrival, Charles Forss stated: The boys attracted great attention at St. John's, (where labour at present is in great demand;) several gentlemen and respectable tradesmen expressed a wish to be supplied with boys through the Children's Friend Society, and it is the option of J.V. Thurgar, Esq., as well as myself, that a great number of boys might be apprenticed (much to their advantage) in this province. I am now anxiously awaiting the arrival of E.N. Kendall. Esq., to arrange about forming Committees. The boys behaved themselves in an orderly manner on the passage, and I have no doubt but they will do well.15 Forss gave the number of the party as 34 boys and one girl, but a count of 35 boys is given by John Stephens of the New Brunswick Land Company. However, Stephens also talks about having placed the "little girl in my own house, where every care will be taken of her until the arrival of Mrs. Kendall."16 As interest in the children mounted in Canada, a new committee in Kingston was taking shape. The first party of 1836 sailed on the Active on April 13, having 15 children on board. The Newnham, sailed July 24, and the Toronto on August 16. The Toronto had 22 girls on board and Mrs. Sturt accompanied them as matron while John Bourhill came as the General Superintendent. Orders were given that a roll call was to be taken while at sea and that names were to be used instead of numbers as "it sounds kinder." The children were also to be kept" 'usefully' occupied throughout the day, their behaviour being regulated by the belief that moral, orderly and steady conduct must be the great object on board."17 The Toronto Committee expected more children to arrive in 1837. "Notice is hereby given that a considerable number of Boys and Girls from the Children's Friend Society
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in England will shortly arrive in Upper Canada, when they will be indentured to parties wishing to have Apprentices..." However, with the outbreak of rebellion in 1837 and problems reported from the Cape of Good Hope regarding the treatment of the children, emigration ceased. Charlotte Neff, in her unpublished paper on the Society, states that legislation dealing with apprenticeship in Canada had been on the books since 1799. One of these apprenticeship agreements still exists for Gwenderlam Israel (it is believed this is the child listed in Blackburn's book as Wynn Clan Israel) who was apprenticed in 1836 at the age of ten.19 Gwenderlam was to be paid An advertisement in the Kingston Gazette, May 6, two pounds and ten shillings each 1836, announcing the coming arrival of a party of year until she was 18 years old. children - terms "Ten Dollars"per annum. One pound and 15 shillings of this money was sent to the Committee and placed in trust for the apprentice. The agreement also states that the apprentice was to be clothed, fed, boarded and cared for if she became ill. As well, the apprentice was to "be taught and instructed in the various branches of her business."20
The Lull After the arrivals of 1836 from the Children's Friend Society, there was a lull in the emigration of young people, or, for that matter, of any emigration to Canada due to the 1837 rebellion. But, in 1847, a mass migration of Irish, fleeing their homeland due to famine, arrived in Canada. Although this was not a migration of children as such, it did bring to Canada hundreds of orphaned children. Some arrived at the quarantine stations of Grosse He and Partridge Island as orphans while others became orphans as they, and their families, moved inland. "In proof of the malignant character of the disease,"
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reported Governor General Lord Elgin to Earl Gray, "under which they have laboured, I may mention that, although the mortality among children has been very great, nearly 1000 immigrant orphans have been left during the season at Montreal, and a proportionate number at Gross Isle, Quebec, Kingston, Toronto, and other towns."21 Hundreds of these children were taken in by families in Quebec while others found homes or work in Ontario or New Brunswick. Moses Perley reported: The orphan children of deceased emigrants have been placed in an asylum which was reported by me, in the same despatch, to have been fitted for their reception in the city [Saint John, New Brunswick]; the number of these children amount to 170, and there is accommodation for more. This establishment I have placed in the special charge of two Commissioners of the almshouse, and it is visited by several gentlemen and ladies who have taken a humane interest in the welfare of the children.22 Toronto also set up an asylum to care for orphans and to assist in placing them with families or in situations. This method of apprenticing the children had also been done in 1831 when cholera took many emigrant lives. A.C. Buchanan reported at that time, "At York, Upper Canada, the plan of apprenticing the children out to farmers and tradesmen has been adopted with considerable success."23 Reports of the emigrant agents at Quebec and Toronto list many of the orphans from 1847 and in some cases show the placement or apprenticing of the children. In the late 18405, the Poor Law Guardians in Ireland began to send young women and children to Canada. In the 18508, this was followed by the emigration of children from the Ragged Schools, reformatories and industrial schools. These special cases will be discussed individually. There were other cases of young immigrants, some who even tried to make the trip on their own. Although these were few, an interesting item appeared in publication, Illustrated London News dated October 17,1868, about just such an occurrence: Robert Watt, Master, and James Kerr, Mate, of the 'Arran,' whilst on a voyage from Greenock to Quebec, finding in the hold of the vessel half a dozen stowaway lads, turned them out on reaching Newfoundland, although, owing to the ice on the coast, the ship could not get nearer than twelve miles to the shore. Two of the little fellows, aged only about eleven years, died in attempting to reach the land and the others suffered dreadfully. The Master and the mate were, on October 9, committed for trial charged with the wilful murder of the two boys.
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The Quebec Gazette reported that the two boys, "Hugh M'Innes and M'Ewan"24 fell through the ice and the other boys were not able to save M'Ewan. However, they were able to pull M'Innes to safety but he later died of exposure. After many hours the [other] boys were saved by a boat's crew from St. George's Bay, "who travelled two miles over the ice to rescue them."25 Three of the boys, Brand, Bryson and Reilly, returned to Glasgow. "M'Ewan belonged to Glasgow, and M'Innes lived in Nicholson street, Greenock."26 With the rise of the evangelical movement in Britain in the i86os, efforts to save the children became a major campaign. As these early homes filled beyond capacity, a solution was sought and thoughts again turned to emigration.
Maria Susan Rye - "He setteth the slitary in families."27 Maria Susan Rye was born in 1829, the eldest of nine children of Maria Tuppen and Edward Rye, a London solicitor and bibliophile. Her brother, Walter, was also a solicitor and Mayor of Norwich, while brother Edward was an entomologist who worked at the British Museum. Maria was educated at home and started her social work activities at St. Luke's, Chelsea. She was interested in the women's movement and worked to promote the bill on married women's property rights. Maria also wrote articles for publications such as The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, under the initials M.S.R., never using her full name. Maria Rye is described as a tall, powerfully built woman of robust appearance. She had a strong and forceful character, was enterprising and resourceful, quick to take offence and did not like anyone meddling in her affairs.28 She worked within the establishment and with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Many of the others involved in child saving were evangelicals who believed they were doing God's work and did not seek the assistance or the approval of the government. She started her work in the Ragged Schools. Struck by the conditions of the women there, she became interested in trying to help them through training. Later she became interested in organizing emigration parties of young women and initially sent many of them to New Zealand and Australia. This was followed in May, 1868 by her first party of women sent to Canada (see Chapter 10). Maria accompanied the party to Canada and visited Toronto as a guest of the city. She also journeyed to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. After one small and two larger groups of women were brought to Canada, she turned her attention to children. Using The Times to help gain support for her work, Maria Rye wrote, "why not take the 'gutter children' of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool and emigrate them to Canada and the Western States of America?"29 She went on to say that
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"Our Western Home" Miss Maria Rye's distributing homefor children in Niagara-on-theLake. Taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, October 7,1871.
Great Britain was "over-taxed, overburdened, overpopulated" and that the removal of these children to Canada, the land of plenty, could not but benefit everyone. She continued, "What treatment will they receive from the cold, the starvation, the temptation they receive in our gutters; what justice will they receive from our hands when the police, the gaol, the hospital and the Magdalen receive them? Can anything I introduce them to in Canada or America be worse than that to which they are doomed if we leave them where they are now?"30 Miss Rye visited several cities during her visit to Canada. "In 1869, Miss Rye visited the city [of London] and was entertained by the Corporation in recognition of her work on behalf of the waifs of England...."31 However, she rejected London, Ontario, and instead bought, with contributions from some influential men, the old court house and gaol at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The building, converted into a distribution home and named "Our Western Home," was officially opened on December i, 1869. The home, a brick building, was situated on two acres of land. An article in the Illustrated London News of 1877 described it: "The Judge's court is made the dormitory for a hundred little girls, and small beds are placed also in the spectators' gallery, while the butter and other provisions are kept in the condemned cell."32 One former resident remembered the features which came from the old court house, "...the huge dormitory [was] the width of the house, and a wide stairway in the middle leading to a gallery. The huge entrance hall went right up to the roof, and the second-floor rooms opened off a balcony, which went around it."33 On October 30,1869, Rye sailed from Liverpool with 92 (or 94)34 children. The passenger list from the Hibernian, arriving at Quebec City, November 8,1869, listed the following children among the passengers: Emily Clayton, 7; Maria Grant, 8; Mary McGill, 9; Margaret Eden, 10; Sarah Wright, 10; Anne T. Ferguson, n; Florence E. Hutching, 11;
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Harriet Parry, 13 (she was classified as an adult) and Margaret Carr, 7. About 50 of this group of girls came from the Kirkdale Industrial School near Liverpool. The children then boarded a train which took them to Toronto and from there they took a steamer across Lake Ontario to Niagara-on-the-Lake. An article in the Illustrated London News of November 6,1869, described Maria Rye's departure: By the Allan Company's steamer Hibernia [sic-should be Hibernian], which left the Mersey for Quebec yesterday week, Miss Rye took with her a hundred young girls she has selected - seventy of them, from five to eleven years of age, being from the Liverpool industrial schools. On arriving in Canada, Miss Rye will house her charges in a "home" she has selected near Niagara. There they will be trained to domestic service, and when fifteen years old they will be hired out to respectable families, only too happy in that country to procure "helps" who really know their duties. At eighteen the girls are of course free to act for themselves.35 Whether it was Rye's intention to train the girls, or simply creative journalistic licence, is not known. However, she did not train the girls and place them out at age 15, but rather, almost immediately upon arrival, both the young and old those few who were over 18 were placed with families. Unlike Thomas Barnardo and Annie Macpherson, Maria Rye did not move into the East End of London and gather the children to her. Instead, she relied on the workhouses and other institutions for her children. William Rathbone, MP for Liverpool, introduced her to the Board of Guardians at Kirkdale Industrial School, from which many of the children would come. In June 1870, the Earl of Shaftesbury presided over a meeting at which Rye suggested she should take orphaned and deserted girls to Canada. These girls were to be between seven and twelve years of age and were to come chiefly from the London workhouses. It was agreed by the Boards of Guardians of London that both Maria Rye and Annie Macpherson, who had just started her emigration work, would be allowed to remove the children to Canada. Miss Rye took young girls to Canada from several of the Unions under the jurisdiction of the London Board of Guardians. In 1870, some 146 children were sent and 461 were sent the following year.36 By this time, 36 Unions were using her services, including the Hereford Board of Guardians. With the support of The Times, Miss Rye raised money to buy Avenue House on High Street in Peckham, London, which opened July 13,1872. There, under the superintendency
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of her sister Elizabeth (Bessie) Rye, about 60 to 70 girls were given an elementary education based on Christian principles. "They were given three months' training in domestic work at her Little Gutter Girls' Home in Avenue Road, Peckham, and then sent to Our Western Home at Niagara, from which they were hired out to Canadian families."37 (Maria Rye is said to be the first to have used the term gutter children from which the term "guttersnipes" came.38) However, she preferred to take the children from the workhouses because then the education was undertaken and paid for by the workhouses and not by herself. Rye visited New Brunswick in November 1870. At this time she made arrangements with the Director of the Protestant Orphan Asylum in Saint John for use of the home in case a child was in need of refuge. She made additional visits in October of the following year and another in July of 1872. The Honorable John Boyd, J.P., commented on the affection the children had for her: Their devotion and love for her was most touching: each morning in going to the Orphanage the little ones at the windows, on seeing her, would dance with delight, exclaiming "I see Miss Rye!" And they would flock around, taking hold of her, begging for a kind word, or a kiss, from their noble-hearted benefactress. Miss Rye brought a letter of introduction to me from Capt. Smith, of R.M.S. [Royal Mail Ship] Scandinavian. Since then he has repeatedly assured me of her care of the children while at sea.39 Indeed, Captain William Smith made a very big hit himself with the children. This item comes from the Emigration to Canada and the United States report published in Liverpool in January, 1871: Those who were interested in the batch of orphan children taken out by Miss Rye, on board the Allan steamer Peruvian, which sailed from this port on the 27 October, will read with pleasure the following quotations from the St. John, New Brunswick, Daily Telegraph of the 14 of November: "The children brought over by Miss Rye have some of them been taken to their new homes in the city and different parts of the province. The remainder are at the Protestant Orphan Asylum, awaiting their guardians' arrival. The children are all smart and intelligent looking, and can all read, write, and sing. When the Peruvian was about leaving Quebec for Montreal, Captain Smith went to the railway station at Point Levi, to say good-bye to Miss Rye.
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"Mr. Gregan, of New York, at once took charge of them and ordered beds to be spread for them in the ladies' cabin, while supper was made ready, to which they did ample justice. We trust that Miss Rye will be induced to bring another troop of these fine children to homes which are always awaiting them in this province, and that as their experience amongst other people became known in Great Britain their older relatives may find it to their interest to come over also and avail themselves of the advantages which New Brunswick offers to the industrious settler. Mr. Shives expects that those who have applied will call for the girls now in his charge before Saturday next."40 Ontario was not Miss Rye's only destination. Some of her "last lot,"41 who arrived November 9,1870, went to Saint John, New Brunswick, and 40 orphan girls who sailed on the Peruvian were sent to various parts of New Brunswick. In 1871, the Sessional Papers report that 50 of Maria Rye's children arrived in Halifax and were sent on to New Brunswick. The Halifax immigration agent went on to say that the "children brought out by Miss Rye have given so much satisfaction, that a very much larger lot could be placed in first-class homes here immediately."42 The Saint John, New Brunswick agent stated that 41 children and 11 adults arrived with Rye on the "Nestorian, of the Allan Line, and thence were conveyed by rail and steamer to this city. The applicants more than doubled the number of the arrivals. The expenses of transport from Halifax and maintenance, were defrayed by the Local Government."43 To confuse things even further, the 1871 summary by the Minister of Agriculture reported that Miss Rye brought 253 children in 1870 and 277 more in 1871. Of the 145 children who sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1871, only 36 remained there and 60 were sent on to Saint John, New Brunswick, with the remainder going on to Quebec City and Montreal. Altogether that made 520 children brought to Canada by Maria Rye. Of the children who arrived in 1871, there were 30 from London, five from Brighton, seven from Wolverhampton, and 50 from the Kirkdale Industrial School in Liverpool (most of the Kirkdale children were 12-year-old girls). There were only 11 children in 1871 who were under eight years of age. The immigration report of 1872 states that under "the contract with Miss Rye, sixtyfive persons were brought out. She also brought with her 108 boys, all of whom readily found situations."44 These boys were between 12 and 15 years of age and the report states that "of the 108 boys brought out by Miss Rye, 100 were placed with farmers, only eight remaining in the city."45 Not wanting her hands tied or options reduced, Maria Rye insisted she have the right to send children to the United States at her discretion. This she did and many of
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the girls were placed in New York State and a few much farther afield with at least two ending up in the state of Mississippi. By 1874, she reported she had placed 42 children in the United States. Social events were, from time to time, held at the home to allow the children to reacquaint themselves with old friends. One such event was a tea party held in 1872 with invitations going out to all of the children and their guardians. The invitation read as follows: Our Western Home, Niagara, Canada, November 20 ,1872 Dear Sir, It is now some little time since I placed one of the Orphans from this Home with you. It is exactly three years since I opened this Institution. It would give me great pleasure to see all my Children here [sic] again and their kind Guardians. We therefore intend having a large party here, on TUESDAY, 3r DEC., to which we beg to invite you, your wife, and our little girl. As many of our friends come from a distance we propose having tea at 4 o'clock and making it an evening gathering, and shall be glad to give your wife and little girl a bed here, if you would kindly put up your horses at the Village. As many of our Children are placed near together we think neighbors might join and make one party from a District; that is if more convenient to yourselves, but in any case we shall hope to see you, and shall be obliged by your writing and letting us know if you will kindly accept our invitation. Yours Very Faithfull, Maria S. Rye and Geraldine Allaway46 In 1874, a complaint was received by the Board of Guardians regarding Miss Rye's treatment of her children. The complaint was made by Mr. Allendale Grainger, who married Miss Martin, she having been dismissed from Rye's employ. The charges were that: the girls were friendless and great care was needed to protect them; the ratepayers were paying too dearly for this work and Miss Rye was profiting from it; the children would not benefit any more in Canada than they would at home; the Canadian orphan is better protected; their religious instruction was uncertain; the work could be very hard; two testimonials as reference was not enough, especially in the United States, where "...bribery and intimidation are rife, which, coupled with the general desire to oblige a neighbor, would enable many bad men to obtain children;"47 the letters, as a
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means of checking up on the children were worthless; only Miss Rye really had "a clue to the whereabouts of all the children;" and the Local Government Board should be seeking a person who really knew the workings of Canada and its farmers. Maria Rye, never one for mincing words, replied: ...First of all, I thank you extremely for giving me this opportunity of answering the most extraordinary statements contained in that letter, and the still more insulting and mischievous insinuations which it unfolds, for I feel that the spirit of fair play, as shown in your conduct to me, forms a very strong contrast to the spirit involved in the closing of Mr. G.'s letter, which counsels that parties interested in the work shall not first be warned of your inquiry for fear we should be on the alert.48 She went on to name all of the people who supported her work in Canada. Miss Geraldine Allaway, who was co-secretary, and was living at the home in Niagara-onthe-Lake, and had been doing so for the last four years without payment, helped care for the girls. On the advice of Canadian legal authorities, Maria had nominated Canadians to act as custodians for the children in various areas of the country. In the Niagara district, Henry Paffard, Esq., Mayor of the town, and Robert N. Ball, J.P. acted as custodians, while Rector, the Reverend Dr. McMurray also helped locally. In Saint John, New Brunswick, the Honorable John Boyd, J.R, Honorable T. Daniels, J.R, Mr. Attorney General G.E. King, Ex-Governor Wilmot, and the Reverend Canon Scoville stood as custodians for the children in that province. Miss Cogswell and the Reverend Mr. Hill helped distribute children in Nova Scotia (Miss Cogswell died in 1875). At Newcastle, Ontario, J. Robson, Esq., Reeve, was busy placing children in his neighbourhood while in Mount Forest, Ontario, Sydney Smith, Esq., J.R, was also placing children. At Chatham, Ontario, F. Scane, Esq., Solicitor, and Mr. McCrea, Police Magistrate had agreed to help. In London, Ontario, Captain and Mrs. Whitehead assisted Miss Rye while in St. Catharines, Ontario, it was Dr. Holland, Reverend Mr. Burson, Dr. Hill and Mr. Clarke, Collector of Customs; in Grimsby, Ontario, there was Cyrus Nelles and Dr. Reid. She continued: Reference is made in Mr. Grainger's letter to the wonderful protection afforded by English society to women and children, and to the rarity of cases of cruelty in the county persons. I beg to refer to a society formed for the very express purpose of protecting women and children in England, the pages of reports are black and sickening enough to make us as English
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people hide our faces, and silence for ever our condemnation of other countries in this matter; for as a nation we are guilty of wife-desertion and beating, of child-selling and child neglect, to an extent to which there is no parallel in any other civilized nation under the sun.49 In her rebuttal to the charges made by Allendale Grainger, Rye admitted there had been a few deaths among her children. They were: Hugh Astin, aged 12, who was killed by the kick of a horse at Mount Forest, Ontario, in 1872; Edith Hutchins, aged 17, who was accidentally burned to death in the house of Mr. Rhind, Niagara, Ontario, in June 1873; Polly Thompson, aged 12, who also was also burned to death in 1874, in the house of Mr. Adamson, of Hamilton, Ontario. The other three deaths were Herbert Radley, aged 18 months who died suddenly of mesenteric disease50 in 1870, and for whom an inquest was held; Elizabeth Schofield, aged 20, who died of typhoid fever in February, 1871; and Caroline Newbold, aged 14, who died of the same disease in August i873.51 Several of these children are buried in St. Mark's Cemetery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Regarding her financial accounts, Miss Rye said she had never been asked to submit an account but was doing so now so that no questions about the monies she received could be left unanswered. She also stated that she had no objection to having an inspector sent over to investigate her work. Although the Board of Guardians found in her favour, she would soon regret this final statement. This lack of accountability in her work came back to haunt Maria Rye, when Andrew Doyle arrived in Canada to inspect her operation for the Local Government Board. She was deeply offended by Doyle's report, released in 1875, and it caused her to cease her activities for two years while she publicly fought with Doyle in the press. She wrote letters to The Times proclaiming that Doyle did not know what he was talking about. How could anyone, she wondered, who spent but a short time in Canada, know the workings of such a complex operation? She went to great pains to point out errors in Doyle's report and solicited letters from a number of people in Canada to support her cause. Doyle accused her of having very careless policies. He said she did not supply any supervision of her wards and did nothing to inspect the homes in which they were placed. Having a very abrasive personality may have caused Maria Rye to lose some supporters, however, in rebuttal to Doyle's report came many letters, which Rye submitted to the government of Canada in her defence. The Honorable John Boyd, J.P., of New Brunswick, wrote, "...but her young people, girls from six to twelve years, and boys from ten to fourteen, have found happy homes and kind protectors."52 He went on to say, "In the work of placing the children, she was assisted by leading ladies and gentlemen of our city, and not even their recommendation would be taken until she had personally talked with each applicant, and satisfied herself that all was right. She also appointed as
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Guardians - to whom either the children or their employers could appeal, and to whom they were told to apply in case of difficulty - Hon. G.E. King, Attorney-General, Rev. Canon Scoville, Thomas W. Daniels, Esq., J.P., and myself."53 Mr. Boyd stated that approximately 200 of Miss Rye's girls were currently in the province. It is true that Maria Rye selected the elite of the community as guardians, but one has to wonder if a child would have ever turned to them in a time of need. At Newcastle, Ontario, J. Robson, Esq., Reeve, had placed about 100 children in his district. Sydney Smith, Esq., J.P., of Mount Forest, Ontario, placed about 50 children. Children were also sent in a number of other Ontario locations, including the Arthur area, Guelph, London, Port Stanley, Sherwood, Petrolia, Chatham and Woodstock. In 1877, still very bitter about the Doyle Report, Miss Rye wrote a letter to the Local Government Board in London, England. She tried to justify her methods by explaining that children placed in good Canadian homes did not need to be inspected. Mention was made of her imitators, "Messrs Macpherson and Bilbrough" and that she was under staffed, thus the reason for her accounts being in bad shape. She also stated that in Doyle's report he claimed she had sent children to London, Ontario, and this she had not done. But Doyle, now retired from his position with the Board of Guardians, had no mercy. He stated that, "I am still of the opinion that no pauper children ought to be sent to Canada under Miss Rye's present system."54 He talked of the total lack of any kind of supervision which he believed left the children open to abuse. Doyle quoted letters written by some of the children to show the conditions in which they were placed. He believed that Maria Rye was more interested in numbers than in the welfare of the children. To conclude, Doyle took her to task over children who, he stated in his report, were sent to London, Ontario, (but had since discovered this was an error and that they were sent to Chatham, Ontario). He said, "they were ranged round the Public Hall, on view, with their backs to the walls, while persons seeking them came in one by one and selected the child which he or she might happen to fancy."55 He found this a most objectionable way of distributing children. Maria Rye and Andrew Doyle had become very bitter enemies. Although no parties of children under Miss Rye's care arrived in 1875 or 1876, as time passed, she did resume her work. Then, in 1878, a special report was prepared on all of Rye's children thus far brought to Canada. This report shows a number of children going to the United States as well as Quebec and New Brunswick, with a few to Nova Scotia. The vast majority, however, were placed in Ontario. In a letter to John Lowe, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, William Wills submitted this report and pointed out the problem of being a "pauper child":
Sir, I most respectfully beg leave to submit copy of Report of inspection of
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Miss Rye's children by the Govt Immigration Agents in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Under the heading Lost Sight of it must not necessarily be infered [sic] that all those young people have gone astray. Very many of those young boy's & girls have benefited by the experience and instructions received, and having acquired a thorough knowledge of the duties of farm, and household work, and also a knowledge of the surrounding country, left for the purpose of obtaining a higher and more remunerative rate of wages, and others removed to a distance in the hope of removing the stigma of being known as Pauper Children which the more sensative [sic] of them to my own knowledge feel on approaching man or womanhood. Refering [sic] also to those who have gone to the United States, many left with their employers which speaks well for them, it shows that the guardians or employers must have been kind too & treated them well, also that the children must have been well disposed, or otherwise they would have been left behind. In taking a general view of the children whose names are contained in the Report, I feel it my duty to say, that great care must have been taken in the placement, or distribution of those children. With very few exceptions, they are all of them placed in good suitable homes. All of which is most respectfully Submitted by your Ob. Sev. W. J.Wills, Agent56 Most of the emigration work carried on by the child migration organizations depended greatly on the financial contributions received from the public. However, Maria Rye also found it necessary to make appeals to the government for assistance. In order to stretch the proceeds, the government of Canada was asked to defray the costs of transportation, and also asked to help in other ways. For example, she wrote to Sir Alexander Gait, Canadian High Commissioner to Britain, in 1881, stating her case: Emigration Home for destitute little girls Avenue House High Street Peckham S.E. Our Western Home Niagara 12 July 81
The Work Begins Dear Sir Alexander I am most anxious to realize the sympathy & assistance of the Canadian Government on behalf of this work & write to ask your help & kind cooperation. In 1869 - I commenced the Emigration to Canada of pauper & other children from England, - Since the date now given - I have purchased & furnished the house in Wh. [which] I am now - & the London home - the address of Wh. [which] is on the head of this paper. - in addition to this I have prevailed [sic] on 50 boards of Guardians in England to send children (chiefly female of from 5 to 13 years of age) to this country - in addition to the stray children who go into my London Home for training before coming here. The London Home is absolutely dependent upon my own personal exertions for support - but the work house children have been paid for by the rates. - A few years ago we had a severe check given to the Emigration of the pauper children - but the difficulties there placed in my way are now all but removed - & I think I may venture to say - that our English Government will now once more endorse my work for our pauper children if the Canadian Government will kindly undertake to inspect & report once a year to the Local Government Board at Whitehall - the positions & condition of the children. -1 know no work that can so easily secure to the great country of Canada so wise, so cheap, or so continuous a stream of English emigrants - as this of the emigration of our poor children. whom your settlers can receive & train after the fashin [sic] of the country - making them in time bona fide settlers Wh. [which] so many of the elder emigrants never become. - I believe if we can only fix the first links together between England & Canada that a golden chain may be handed on for many generations of thousands of sorry[?] souls & bodies saved, to the honor of both countries, & I shall be for ever grateful to you if you can secure for me the co-operation of the Canadian Government - & I leave entirely to you - the method of carrying out the Inspection & Reporting. I may in conclusion say that since I commenced this work in 1869 about ten different workers have followed in my steps showing that the idea is an acceptable one to this nation. Believe me Dear Sir Alexander Yours very faithfully Maria S. Rye57 Sir Alexander Gait
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The Illustrated London News of May 20,1882, recorded the preparations for Maria Rye's next party, stating that they were preparing for a July or August departure "and she will be glad to hear through Bible women, City missionaries, district visitors, or others interested in the poor, of any destitute little girls between the ages of nine and fourteen, whose friends are willing for them to emigrate."58 Applications, said Miss Rye, could be made to the home at Peckham, to Lizzie (Elizabeth) Still, secretary of the home. Still acted as Rye's secretary and bookkeeper from the beginning and she remained with her until she retired, then moved into a house with Maria and her sisters. Rye would allow children under nine years of age to be adopted and those over the age of nine were placed out. (The term adopted is used very loosely since adoption as we know it today was not enshrined in law in Ontario until 1921.) Her terms were that a child from three to 13 years of age was to be clothed, fed and sent to Sunday School. Those from 15 to 17 years of age the child was to be clothed and paid $3 a month wages with the wage increasing to $4 when she turned 17. Under no condition was a child to be moved to another location without first contacting Rye; the right of removal also rested with her. Although she did bring some boys to Canada, they were few in number and often placed by another agency - for example, by Ellen Bilbrough from Marchmont in Belleville.
Boys brought by Miss Rye, c.1888. Courtesy ofNAC/C-156267.
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An 1888 report found in the National Archives of Canada shows some of Maria Rye's children being placed out by Reverend Wallace and Mrs. Ellen Bilbrough Wallace in the area around the Marchmont home in Belleville. Many of these children, mostly boys, were placed out with terms of clothing and schooling for a period of years, usually three years. Some are shown as being placed for "clothing & schooling but able to earn wages."59 The work of child emigration would continue for Maria Rye. She usually brought two, sometimes three, groups of girls to Canada a year (occasionally boys were included in the parties). Miss Hannah Soffe became a regular chaperon (for more than 25 years) and she was joined by Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Flynn, Miss Hopkins, and Mrs. Foster in bringing children to Canada for her. Bessie Rye was also involved in helping her sister with her emigration operation from the home in England and she sometimes visited the Canadian home. In 1894, the Buffalo Express wrote an article about Miss Rye and her work. It described Our Western Home in detail, stating that a schoolhouse was attached to both the Niagara and the Peckham homes. Children attended class after prayers in the morning, under the watchful eye of Miss Flint, and broke for lunch at noon. ...At 2:30 o'clock all meet in the schoolroom to do needlework, making clothes for those who will succeed them. As many of the children come to Miss Rye very poorly clad, several hundreds of garments are made in the Home each year. The girls are taught to darn in a way that would shame most of our educated young women. In both the homes the children are taught to wash, to scrub, to sweep, clean windows, peel potatoes, weed in the garden. In fact, to use their hands. It is a favourite theory of Miss Rye that more general knowledge of handicraft would be a cure for most of the social evils of the present day. ...With their rosy cheeks, clear eyes, and short cropped hair they look like ideal maid-servants. A quaint little curtsey which accompanies every "yes ma'am" or "no ma'am" makes them seem the very embodiment of respect.... 4.
6
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Families, the article went on to say, were to board and clothe the child and send her to Sunday school until aged 15. At that time Ontario law required children to attend school for at least half a day until they were 14 years of age. By age 15, the child was to receive $3 a month in wages, and took on the responsibility of paying for her own clothing. At age 17, wages were increased to $4 a month and, at age 18, a child was considered to be on her own.
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Miss Rye's office was located in the northwest corner of the building, "a large airy room," the paper said. She told the reporter: My children are not fitted for the refinement of the cities. They are suited better to the farm. We do not rescue them from the cities to return them to the same temptations. My aim is to find them good homes with farmers' wives, with whom they can grow up, working side by side, into honest smart capable girls fit to be the wives of thrifty young farmers. I am in receipt of letters constantly from people in Toronto and elsewhere applying for servants, and when I tell them that this is not an employment bureau they are offended. I want homes for my children not places of drudgery. * Although Rye devoted most of her time to girls, the Buffalo Express noted that "occasionally, a boy finds his way to Canada along with Miss Rye's rescued ones, although there are other channels through which the boys may emigrate, and she points with almost a mother's pride to one, who after a brilliant course in a Halifax, Nova Scotia, college, is now finishing his education at Harvard University." 2 The reporter also gave a passing grade to the food, stating that "...lunch was served on the veranda, and consisted of a large bowl of steaming vegetable soup, bread and cheese of a good quality and plenty of it for each person." The article continued: No Irish and no Scotch girls are brought to Canada through Miss Rye's agency. When the waifs are free to talk their vocabulary is wonderful. The cockney slang of London predominates, and it sounds strange to Canadian and American ears. "My heyes, e's gaun to tike our photographs," exclaimed one youngster at the sight of the camera. The old court-room of the building now occupied by the children has been turned into a dormitory for 98 girls. The niche formerly occupied by the judge's bench now contains a large bathtub. The old room is in some respects unchanged the public gallery and broad stairway leading hereto, remaining as they were when Niagara was a thriving town and St. Catharines a country hamlet. Now the building is showing signs of old age, and the roof is badly in need of repair. A new roof would be much better, but Miss Rye says she cannot build a new roof for the want of funds and she is wondering if there is not some one ready to give the money for this purpose. When Miss Rye began her work in Niagara, 25 years ago, the building was an unattractive structure, as an accompany picture shows, and the grounds surrounding it were barren. She bought eight acres, and, with
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Some of Miss Rye's emigrant girUy taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, May i, 1875.
careful tilling she raises all the vegetables and fruit, poultry etc., used in the Home. The house now stands in a bower of weeping willows. Feathery tamarisk [tamaracks] and broad-leaved catalpas are interspersed with flowing shrubs and beds of fragrant violets, japonica, narcissus and geraniums. Speaking of the results of the work as a whole, Miss Rye said, "There are eight homes for the rescue of such children in Canada. In the last 25 years these homes have distributed 30,000 children through the Dominion. Of that number not 25 have been sent to prison. That's a pretty good record isn't it!63 On November 6,1896, the Canadian government was notified that Our Western Home was now in the hands of the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society with Maria Rye retiring due to poor health. By that time over 5,000 children had arrived in Canada through her organization.
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Maria Susan Rye died on November 12,1903. The Times, which had supported her on numerous occasions during her lifetime, wrote: It was in 1868, whilst travelling in the United States, that Miss Rye became personally acquainted with the labours of Mr. [W.C.] Van Meter, and the latter's method of emigrating the young made a deep impression on her.... Accordingly, in 1869, aided by The Times, and by such men as the late Lord Shaftesbury and Mr. Rathbone, M.R, Miss Rye substituted for her plan of emigrating adult women (which plan, taken up by others, was not, however, dropped) the plan of educating waifs and strays and afterwards transferring them to Canada. A house with spacious grounds was purchased at Niagara; another house, with a large garden, was procured at Peckham. To the latter were sent waifs and strays, mainly girls, ranging from the ages of three to 16 years. They were instructed by Miss Rye's sister, by her friend Miss Still, and by other workers, in the three R's and in needlework, housework, and religion; and, when sufficiently advanced, they were drafted from Peckham to the home in Niagara, where, under the personal supervision of Miss Rye, their education for Canadian life was completed and situations found for them in respectable Canadian families. For over a quarter of a century Miss Rye, her sister, and her friends went on with this useful work. The result, in spite of a few examples to the contrary, was excellent, and has proved that emigration on the above lines is a practicable remedy for the evils of over-population, the factory systems, and over-academic education of the lowest orders. In 1895, Maria Rye began to feel the effects of a life of unceasing mental and bodily toil. She transferred her homes to the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society, and retired with her sister and Miss Still to Hemel Hempstead, where she was quietly passing her remaining days when she was attacked by intestinal cancer.64
Annie Macpherson Annie Parlane Macpherson was born in 1833 at Campsie, by Milton in Stirlingshire, Scotland, the daughter of James Macpherson and Helen Edwards. The eldest of seven children, Annie had four brothers, and two sisters - one named Rachel Stuart Macpherson and the other, the youngest in the family, Louisa Caroline Stirling Macpherson. Added to this group of seven, Mrs. Macpherson took in two orphaned children and raised them along with her own.
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James Macpherson, Annie's father, was a teacher and a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers). He was invited by Lady Lovelace to establish schools in the area of her English estate. Annie accompanied her father to his work and learned the art of gaining a child's confidence. James saw to it that his own children also received a good education and sent Annie to Glasgow and then to the Home and Colonial Training College in Gray's Inn Road, London. Annie assisted her father with his correspondence and record keeping and also taught Bible classes. After the death of her father in 1851, Annie, her mother, and the younger members of the family moved to Eversden in Cambridgeshire to be near her sister Rachel who married Joseph Merry in 1852. He ran a prosperous farm in there, giving him experience that would later be put to good use by his sister-in-law, Annie. Joseph and Rachel had four sons, three of whom (William, James and Edward) would later join in Annie's work. A shy young lady, Annie taught Sunday School and Bible Class in Eversden and, when the population began to swell with miners, she was faced with a new challenge. Annie found the rough ways of the coprolite65 diggers in the area, a great challenge for her. Life was to change for her, however, when she travelled into London one day to attend a revival meeting. She wrote: Well do I remember the first time of meeting Mr. Radcliffe, about 1861. As a reader of the paper called The Revival, my attention was drawn to a notice of a service to be held in the City of London Theatre by Reginald Radcliffe and Richard Weaver. The notice stated that there would be an after-meeting. My great desire was to see how such a meeting was conducted. I had not the slightest thought that this would open up a way by which my life could be spent in serving and helping little children in London. 6 Annie considered this the turning point in her life. It was also on this trip that she met Lady Rowley and several other evangelicals who would play a role in her future. She finally won the miners over and started up a mission with clubs, coffee-rooms and evening classes. Cambridge University undergraduates often came to speak on various topics. Annie continued to work in Cambridgeshire until 1865 when she and her mother moved to London. Here she was invited to teach at the Bedford Institute, run by the Society of Friends. The following year she accompanied her sister and brother-in-law, Rachel and Joseph Merry, on a trip to the United States to visit relatives and to investigate the possibility of moving to America. The Merry family sailed in October 1866, on board the Caroline; bad weather caused
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the trip to take several months, a nightmare when the sea turned very rough. Annie described it in a letter: The half-fed emigrants broke into the cargo, getting fearfully drunk with London porter, threatening a mutiny. Their pistols were locked up by the officers, and a band of them were handcuffed. Often in the midnight hour the sea would come rushing into our cabins, several of the boats were washed away, the bulwarks stove in, the sailors telling us that humanly speaking the vessel could not stand another gale. The last week our provisions had been chiefly salted meat and our last tank of water had shipped the sea, and even this we had on short allowance. The water made most of us ill, and laid low my little niece and Mrs. Merry's darling baby boy with typhus fever. There was no doctor on board, no nourishing food for them, nothing but salted water, the sea rolling in on us, everything wet, no means of drying, everybody engaged in holding on for safety. Three times we tried to comfort mourning mothers as their little ones were committed to the deep.67 On her return to England, Annie became immersed in the Evangelical movement in London and embarked on charitable work. The Honorable Mrs. Hobart (who later worked with the East End Emigration Society), Ellen Logan, Clara M.S. Lowe and her cousin Lady Rowley, introduced Annie Macpherson to the East End of London. What she saw there made her despair: We can but be deeply thankful that in parts of the East End four out of every five infants die before they reach their fifth year, because the other side of the picture among the living ones is so black, so awful, so crushing in its dreadful realities. For, wiser in their generation than the children of light, the sons of darkness seize upon the young, and bring their evil influences to bear upon the formation of character of the youngest of these little ones. While yet in their mothers' arms, gin is poured down their infant throats, and a little later as a natural consequence childish voices beg for coppers to be spent in drink. Alas! no uncommon sight is it to see little girls of ten years old reeling drunk along the streets. But, more than anything else, the thing that most caused Annie Macpherson to start her campaign of child saving was her introduction to what some called child slavery.
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One day Clara Lowe took her to meet some matchbox-makers. What Annie saw made such an impression on her that she wrote a booklet about it entitled The Little Matchbox-Makers, part of which reads: It was high up a winding stair, in an attic in a narrow lane, that the first group of palefaced little matchbox-makers were found. They were hired by the woman who rented the room; the children received just three farthings for making a gross of boxes; 288 pieces of wood in each gross had to be bent, sanded, and covered with paper. The wood and paper were furnished to the woman, and she received twopence-halfpenny per gross, but had to pay the children and provide paste and the firing to dry the work. Every possible spot, on the bed, under the bed, was strewn with the drying boxes. A loaf of bread and a knife stood on the table ready for these little ones to be supplied with a slice in exchange for their hard-earned farthings. This touching scene gave a lasting impression of childhood's sorrows; never a moment for school or play, but ceaseless toil from light till dark. Even the nursling, scarce out of its mother's arms, sits pasting the sandpapers on the boxes, for this early practice is considered necessary to produce quick fingering in days to come. Children from eight to ten years of age are generally the swiftest box-makers; the most expert worker known to me can earn 45. [shillings] 6d. [pence] weekly, but the amount even of her earnings is very irregular. Her mother and the younger ones help. In one house I saw, assisting her poor invalid mother with the work, a girl of fifteen, who had begun by earning a penny a week when four years old and had been incessantly occupied ever since. Time could not be spared for learning to read or write, but with fingers damp from pasting, and then torn with pressing down the sand-paper, she laboured on from year to year. I have seen a woman whose thumb was worn to the bone, caused by the friction of putting on the sand-papers, and tiny children who could not speak plainly, with fingers raw and blistered from the same cause. The other day I took upon my knees a little girl of four years old. Her mother said the child had earned her own living ever since she was three. The infant now makes several hundred boxes every day of her life, and her earnings suffice to pay the rent of the miserable room which the family inhabits. The poor little woman, as might be expected, is grave and sad beyond her years; she has none of the child's vivacity, she does not seem to know what play means. All her thoughts are centred in the eternal round
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of lucifer-box making, in which her whole life is passed. She has never been beyond the dingy street in which she was born. She has never so much as seen a tree, or a daisy, or a blade of grass. A poor, sickly little thing, and yet a sweet, obedient child; the deadly pallor of her face proclaiming unmistakably that she will soon be mercifully taken away to a better world, where at last the weary little fingers shall be at rest.69 The plight of the little matchbox-makers so moved Annie that she started night classes for them using a good meal as an inducement to get them to attend. However, it was not long before she realized a place was needed where these children could come to ply their craft and be taught Scriptures as well as reading and writing. They would still be fed a good meal and be paid for the time they spent learning. Annie's publication on the matchbox-makers moved the subscribers of the Evangelical publication The Revival. Homes, supported by funds donated by these readers, soon gained the nickname of Revival Homes. With these funds Annie was able to open a home for boys under ten years of age. This was soon followed by a second home, this one for girls. One little girl, who was taken into the home and given a place to sleep, exclaimed that she had never had a bed to herself. "I always slept with eight in a bed; four at the top and four at the bottom."70 Boys, 10 to 13 years of age, were taken into a third home and taught to read and write. George Holland, who owned George Yard, a property in the East End of London, and ran a Ragged School there, paid for tea-meetings for the boys. They were also given training in tailoring, shoemaking and some domestic duties. The boys were often placed in homes as pages. A fourth home was added, but Annie knew that larger facilities were required if she was ever to make a dent in the work at hand. Then, in February 1869, through Annie's hard work, the encouragement of George Holland, and the financial support of others, the Home of Industry was opened at 60 Commercial Road in the East End of London. During its use as a cholera hospital, the warehouse had been fitted with gas and water on every floor. In addition to the sleeping quarters, there was space for schoolrooms, workshops and kitchens. The home was to house 120 to 200 children. It did not take long to realize that there were more homeless children than anyone could possibly care for. Some way had to be found to place the children after their training thus allowing new children to take their place in the home. With emigration seeming to be the answer, Annie wrote: Boys came to us for shelter instead of going to empty barrels, railway arches, and stairways. We found they were grateful for all that was done for
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them. The simple gospel lesson was our lever to lift them into new thoughts and desires. The sharp dividing knife of the Word of God would discover the thief and liar, and rouse the conscience to confession more than anything beside. But our walls had limits, and our failures in finding employment for many away from their old haunts became a great difficulty, and the God-opened way of emigration to Canada was pressed upon us.71 Annie and Ellen Logan sent out circulars offering emigration assistance - "We who labour here are tired of relieving misery from hand to mouth, and also heart-sick of seeing hundreds of families pining away for want of work, when from the shores of Ontario the cry is heard, 'Come over and we will help you.' "72 Annie selected the people, clothed them and made all the travel arrangements. April of 1869 saw 50 families (about 500 persons) heading to Canada under her auspices. In May of the following year, Miss Macpherson herself was heading to Canada on board the Peruvian with 106 children from her home in London. She was accompanied by Ellen Bilbrough and Leslie Thorn, a teacher in the Revival Home in London. The group left from St. Pancras Station at 8:30 p.m. and arrived in Liverpool about 4:00 a.m. to board the Peruvian bound for Quebec City. ...Now they stood in ranks ready to depart, dressed in rough blue jackets, corduroy suits and strong boots, all made within the Refuge, the work of their own hands. All alike had scarlet comforters and Glengarry caps; a canvas bag across their shoulders contained a change of linen for the voyage, towels, tin can, bowl, and mug, knife, fork, and spoon; and one kind friend, the last day before starting, brought them a present of a strong pocketknife, a Bible, a "Pilgrim's Progress," and a little case of stationery....73 Upon arrival on May 24,1870, eleven of these children were housed in Quebec City; four were sent on to Richmond, Quebec; 23 were placed in Montreal; 20 in Ottawa, Ontario; eight in Belleville, Ontario, and the rest in Toronto and Hamilton. Macpherson described the arrival in Quebec City: A full day of business with the emigration agent, L. Stafford, Esq., Quebec, arranging passes for stoppages, telegraphic messages, luggage, letters for home, examination of boys to remain at Quebec, and those 4 to leave at Richmond in the night, caused us to be heavy with sleep in the commodious sleeping car. My friend tells me it was no easy work to get the eleven aroused from their boyish slumbers at the midnight hour, and with last
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messages and bags on their shoulder started for another route, where they were to be met by a gentleman and placed in homes awaiting them. Ere the railway car started the whole band had become aroused, and many and hearty were the hand-shakings, and "Farewell, old countryman," that resounded through the hour of night. As the day broke, we looked out with eager eyes upon the new land. Our way seemed studded with small hamlets, made up of diminutive huts, and a large church with a spire in the centre; rank grass, with here and there cultivated patches. These more cultivated portions increased as we neared Montreal, which we did about eight a.m.74 Louisa Birt, Annie's sister, who remained in London, wrote: "...The managers of the Girls' Home, Toronto, say that 'they have no doubt they could find suitable homes and places for girls from six to fourteen years of age,' and encourage us to bring younger ones for adoption."75 On July 21, in the company of Joseph Merry, 70 more youths were on their way to Canada on board the Nestorian. Louisa Birt accompanied her sister, Annie, back to Canada in August 1870, with the third group of children, this time onboard the Prussian.76 Upon arrival in Canada this group set out for their new home in Belleville, Ontario. From the first, Macpherson was concerned about what would happen to the children once they were in Canada. She felt that a home was required to receive and house them in case of illness. It would also give her staff a place from which they could keep an eye on the children: Montreal - A Scene at the Immigration Sheds, artist unknown. A newly arrived batch of Miss Macphersons boys at dinner. Taken from Canadian Illustrated News, May 17,1873.
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From the time that we became residents in Canada and had a Home from which to distribute them, we followed out our original idea of becoming parents to these rescued children rather than simple emigration agents to supply the labour market. It would be easy to set the little emigrant adrift and, as it were, let him 'paddle his own canoe' on the ocean of life, inquiring no further as to his welfare; but rather would we undertake a smaller work and carry out the healthful supervision of employers and employed. We would encourage those institutions which may have failed in emigration work, and who hear little of those they have sent out, to try again, securing adequate supervision in some form or other.77 Once the decision was made to establish a receiving home in Canada, a location had to be found. A letter from the Warden of the County of Hastings, in Ontario, invited Miss Macpherson to consider Belleville as a site for a distributing home: Miss Macpherson, On behalf of the Council of the county of Hastings, I am to convey to you officially the intimation that in the event of your permanently selecting this locality for your 'Distributing Home,' the County Council will pay the charges in connection with the rental of the premises, leaving the management entirely untrammelled by condition in your hands. I am, yours sincerely, A.F. Wood, Warden, Co. Hastings/8 Belleville did become the site of the first of her receiving homes, and was known as Marchmont. To be used as the main receiving centre, the home, located in a pleasant setting with a garden and pasture for a cow, was run by her good and faithful friend Ellen Agnes Bilbrough. Leslie Thorn, a former teacher at the Refuge in London, remained to assist Bilbrough. In January 1872, a fire destroyed Marchmont and one child lost his life. [Miss Ellen Bilbrough states the child's name as Robbie Gray. A child by the name of R. Gray was found in the database of home children at the National Archives of Canada. This child, age five years old, came on the Prussian, arriving at Quebec, August 7,1871.] But the people of Belleville rose to the occasion and soon a new Marchmont, located on the Kingston Road, was selected to house the children. However, the Honorable Billa Flint, a Senator from Belleville, intervened by finding a larger, 3.25 acre, property with a good house and outbuildings and helped them with the necessary fundraising. Hence, the Macpherson organization bought their new home,
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A sketch of the third Marchmont, Annie Macphersons receiving home in Belleville, J.W. Boyce, artist. Taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, September 23,1876. with the donated money, moved there and continued to call their home Marchmont. The voyages across the ocean continued and in May 1873, Macpherson wrote: "We are now about to land with our 1520 child, our twelfth voyage, without a storm, thousands of welcomes from warm hearts awaiting us."79 Upon arrival of the new group at Marchmont, a special invitation was sent out to the children in the area to come to visit. Between 70 and 80 children and their employers arrived to pay their respects and join in a repast of milk, sandwiches and buns. ° Marchmont was followed later in 1872 by two more distributing homes, one in Knowlton, Quebec, in the Eastern Townships, about 70 miles south of Montreal, and one just to the northwest of Gait (now Cambridge), Ontario. Reverend Stobo, who escorted the first group of Quarrier children to Knowlton described it thus: "Knowlton is situated at the head of a pretty little lake, and at the mouth of a beautiful highland glen. It is a most lovely spot."81 Emma Gertrude Barber and Mrs. Samuel W. Foster, of Knowlton, were very interested in what they had read about Annie's work and invited her to come for a visit, where she was entertained by the Honorable Justice Christopher Dunkin, half-brother of Emma Barber, and former Minister of Agriculture in John A. Macdonald's government. In 1871, Emma Barber had journeyed to England to see Annie Macpherson's work first-hand. With the assistance of the people in the Knowlton area and Justice Dunkin, an old tavern was acquired. The Eastern Townships' Home at Knowlton, Quebec, was opened on May i, 1872, and placed under the supervision of Emma Barber.
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Mrs. Foster, wife of Judge Samuel W. Foster, volunteered much time to renovating the old tavern. The ballroom was converted into a dormitory for the children, and on November 18,1873, Annie wrote to her sister in London: My Very Dear Sister, - Could you but see me this morning, started on my peregrinations in these snowy regions, you would be amazed. The poor worn head perfectly well, after a whole week in the quiet, restful Home at Knowlton, where children are being trained, sewing-meetings and Biblereadings held, farmers conversed with, and my privilege has been to hold up the hands of my two companions, who went forth to address Sundayschools or to preach the gospel.... Snow fell all day, and to my idea it seemed improbable for many to gather for a meeting. The village street was enlivened all day by the constant passing of the sleighs, with merry jingle of bells. It was indeed a new scene to witness the gathering of a meeting to hear of the orphan and destitute children, whose cause we had come to plead, and contradict a report which had gone forth in their district, that it was a mass of jail-birds we had brought from England.82 In her report for the "Occasional Paper on Emigration & Balance Sheet" of 1875, Emma Barber reported that James West, 12 years of age, had died after taking a cold while on board ship. James died in hospital but was the first death recorded for the home. Scarlet fever had also reared its ugly head, and "left a much larger number of children in the home for the winter than usual."83 The Gait home, called Blair Athol, was to be very different from any of the other homes run by Macpherson. "We found to educate our Canadian family, and thoroughly fit them to be of value to the farmer, a few fields to work upon would be an advantage that they might see the effects of new soil and climate, in the growth of vegetables, shrubs, and farm produce."84 The first group of 50 children arrived there on June 1872. Originally the group consisted of 150 children, but Annie divided her charges equally among her three homes, a custom she would follow for several years. Blair Athol, a farm of 100 acres, was used to train children in Canadian farming practices. Miss Macpherson wrote to her workers in England: Many will wish to know how this Home at Gait shapes itself, and would be amused at the varied occupations of the past week. A Canadian springtime is very brief, so we have had to buy a span of horses and a plough, and, with the aid of other neighbours' ploughs, the
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Miss Macphersons Gait farm home, Blair Athol, €.1875. Courtesy of the National Library of Canada 18274.
corn and clover seed will soon be sown. The ladies of several churches have met in the council-chambers, and worked at all household gear, others superintending the house arrangements and purchasing necessary things. My part has been that of a faithful recipient, giving praise from hour to hour to Him who hath laid my every burden here on His own children's hearts. The past little season has been to me a precious rest-time, seeing others work. We expect to be all in order by the arrival of our next party. The threshing-floor we have transformed into a dining-room; one of the barns is fitted up as a dormitory. The Chaff-house makes a lavatory; and, from the interest around, we do not expect to keep our little men very long out of the homes waiting for them.85 Annie Macpherson also acted as an agent for other organizations conducting similar operations including: Thomas Barnardo; Leonard Shaw of Manchester; Mrs. Smyly of Dublin, Ireland; Mrs. Blaikie of the Girls' Home, Lauriston Lane, Edinburgh; and Dr. Thomas Guthrie also of Edinburgh. She paid a visit to her homeland, Scotland, and met William Quarrier who was actively engaged in rescue work in Glasgow. A report from one of Quarrier's agents, Reverend Edward Stobo, about the trip to Gait, reads: The third receiving and distributing centre was at Gait, said to be named after the Ayrshire novelist, and thoroughly Scotch in all its ways. The population was at this time over 4,000. Here our friends were met at the railway station by Mr. Merry with his van and farm team. The girls and the luggage were driven off, while the boys fell into line and marched through the town to "Blair Athole" [sic], as the Home was named. It was a handsome
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ten-roomed house, and a farm of ninety-nine acres; for, as the Home was in the heart of an agricultural district, it was rightly judged advisable that the children, while waiting for situations, should have some training given them in domestic and farm work. When the new comers had enjoyed a hearty supper, they had another token of the interest taken in their welfare, a number of the Gait ladies assembling in the evening to make the acquaintance of the children and to hear them sing. Miss S.M. Reavell, who had accompanied Annie Macpherson to Canada and had worked as the scribe in the House of Industry in London, was placed in charge of the Gait home. Andrew Doyle, in his report of 1875, praised Reavell saying that she had, "...a degree of zeal, intelligence, and good sense that appear to fully justify the great confidence placed in her by Miss Macpherson."87 In the "Occasional Paper on Emigration, & Balance Sheet," published in March 1875, Annie stated that 223 children had come from London, 67 from Glasgow, 31 from Edinburgh, four from Leith and 11 from Dublin. Annie's sister, Rachel Merry, reported from the home on Commercial Street, London, England: Our friends the policemen, who know so much of the misery and sorrow of the waifs and strays of our city, and who have shown their interest in our work by bringing some of these little ones to the Home, were invited to a tea: after which one of our lady helpers, who has recently returned from Canada, encouraged them still to help by telling them of the changed condition of some they had known, whom now they would be unable to recognize except by name. Miss Reavell reported that four parties of children arrived in 1874 and there were presently 600 being supervised "in the West." She remained for three years at the Gait home and then replaced by Joseph and Rachel Merry who were also long-time workers in the House of Industry in London, England, as well as on the farm at Hampton, Middlesex County, England. Rachel continued to assist her sister until her death in 1892. The work was to remain in the family, with Rachel's son, William, taking over as superintendent of the home. From the beginning, Annie Macpherson and her workers in Canada knew they had their hands full. Ellen Bilbrough wrote: Three important principles we found essential if our work was to be a success:
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ist - Efficient training in a Home in the old land; as much love and kindly influence as possible brought to bear on the children, forming such a contrast to the previous life that it could not fail to make a permanent impression, including not only careful attention to education, habits, and manners, but an education in which the salvation of their souls should be the highest aim. 2n - That this training must be continued in the Home on this side while they remained with us, and the door ever kept open to receive them again if necessary. 3r - That after the children are placed in homes our influence and care must not cease; as far as practicable they should be visited annually, complaints attended to, arrangements as to wages, clothing, schooling faithfully carried out; advice and loving counsel given, and the old friendly feeling kept up.89 Work was continuing in England and the Training Home for boys was opened at Hampton, in the country near London, where the children might be trained for outdoor life. It was superintended by the Merrys with the assistance of George Thorn. Nearby was the Girls' Home run by Miss S.R. Geldard. A new home in London Fields, Hackney, was opened in 1874, and was comprised of "two large old-fashioned houses thrown into one."90 The Hampton home was then sold because of the distance from the city that the workers had to travel, in 1887, and the Home of Industry was moved to 29 Bethnal Green Road, London. The Bible Flower Mission was started whereby flowers were sent to the sick in the area and sailors' homes were opened, as well as prison missions for women. Classes for Jewish women were held under Annie Macpherson's roof. But comments such as, "...that sight just broke my heart, so starved they looked even the baby in Lizzie's arms - all just like little skeletons!"91 drove Annie on to do more. Marchmont suffered another devastating fire in 1875, but was rebuilt, of bricks this time, on the same site and ready to receive children by the spring of the following year. All the work was done by local residents. Later, Leslie Thorn, who left Marchmont to attend Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, for the purpose of entering the ministry, was replaced by George Roberts. When the Doyle Report was released in 1875, Annie made efforts to improve her work. However, she stopped bringing Poor Law children to Canada for several years but continued her work with the destitute children. Andrew Doyle deeply regretted Annie's decision as he felt her work was worth continuing. Annie submitted a report of her activities for the period from 1870 to 1875 to the
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Government of Canada Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization, giving a great deal of insight into her work. The file is dated Knowlton, June 30,1876. STATISTICS OF CHILDREN EMIGRATED TO CANADA UNDER THE CARE OF MISS MACPHERSON, FROM l8/O TO l8/5 92 Belleville
Gait
76
35
22
133
313
125
30
468
Number Brought out to friends in Canada.
8
4
-
12
Number Returned to England.*
46
15
14
75
Number Married.
21
4
2
27
Number Sent to the Reformatory.
9
i
-
10
Number Died.
12
3
4
19
Number Canadian children received into
-
-
5
5
997
513
254
1764
Number of children whose parents came out
Knowlton
Totals
with them, or who have since followed, & who have their children under their own care. Number of Those who are no longer under the control of the Homes and who are of an age to guide their own movements.
the Home. Number In situations, and under the supervision of the Home. TOTAL
2513
* A number of these only went over for a visit & have returned again. Another Macpherson party sailed for Canada in May 1876, making its way through thick ice fields. Annie was thankful that they had never lost a child on a voyage or experienced a storm. After arrival at the new Marchmont on May 10, the party rested for a few days. On Friday, May 12, she and her wards left Belleville for Gait. She wrote home: Left Belleville for Gait soon after 6 A.M., taking with us thirty-eight children, and travelling by rail along the shores of Lake Ontario. The morning hours passed quickly en route, and as we neared Toronto, towns and villages became more frequent and more attractive. At Berlin [today Kitchener] an unexpected kindness was shown us. Orders had been given to send us on by special train, so that no delay was experienced in travelling the remaining fourteen miles of our journey. Those who have travelled 3000 miles with a number of children can understand how this was
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appreciated by us, when every nerve was strained, and nature was yearning for a long sleep free from the shaking of the railway. At 5 P.M., on the seventeenth day after leaving London, we reached the end of our journey, and found our farmer-nephew, with his team, awaiting our arrival. Soon we were on the hill, looking at the little Home beyond. As we approached the gates the shout of welcome from more than a score of young voices greeted us, and on the verandah we were received by our loved niece, and the dear friends who have been assisting her in the absence of her parents. The strain of travel now being over, we were able to enjoy a few hours' rest, our hearts full of gratitude for the many mercies which had encompassed us all our journey through.93 Macpherson continued the practice of dividing her children among her three homes until 1877 when she decided that the Gait home could hold all of the children she was bringing to Canada. She offered the Knowlton Home to her sister, Louisa, who by this time was bringing children directly from the Liverpool Sheltering Home into Nova Scotia without pausing at a distributing home. Marchmont was turned over to Ellen Bilbrough to be used by the many agencies from Scotland, such as Quarriers, and also by Leonard Shaw's children from Manchester. In May 1878, Annie once again arrived at Blair Athol with her wards. Friends had been concerned for her health and were a little apprehensive about her leaving England. The trip was very eventful - an explosion occurred as their vessel, the Sardinian, entered the harbour at Derry, Ireland, killing a few passengers and injuring several others. However, ever optimistic, Annie wrote from Gait: My Dear Fellow-Helpers, On arriving at this sweet spot our journeyings ended for the present. You can well imagine the complete enjoyment of repose as with my family I wander round the Cottage Home when school hours are over. During a week in which I had been separated from them, they had made the acquaintance of horses, cows, ducks, hens, sheep, &c. - all so new to our poor London children. They never tire of inviting me to come and see our this and that, or some new-found pleasure. How quickly this country life develops character, touching chords which are left unawakened in many a nature! It is such a contrast to the artificial tastes and habits of city life, which arouse passions not easily kept in subjection. Mrs. Merry will be glad to know that I am delighted with all in and around the Home. The new wing, with its lavatory and simple arrangements for
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the health and comfort of the children, would, we believe, be highly approved of by the relatives of our departed friends, Miss Wilson and Mr. Marshall, who so kindly left us the means to make this addition. One of our former boys works on the farm; his life was consecrated nearly two years ago for China...All your desires that I should rest are being fulfilled. If you could but see me sitting on a bank with three or four little heads leaning on my lap, the others buzzing round, bringing flowers and weaving wreaths for our hats! Then a hand opens to show csuch a dear' young frog! Another brings an endless variety of caterpillars, &c. Then there come shrieks of delight from a group of boys who have almost caught a squirrel. A rowing boat glides down the river, and the children strike up an impromptu strain - cRow, brothers, row!'94 Despite her health, the visits to Canada continued and, in August 1879, while Annie was at the Gait home, she received a special invitation. Reverend Jacques, who was the pastor of the Chippewa Indians near Port Elgin, asked her to visit. She was introduced to Chief John and Chief Henry and joined in hymn singing, and then spoke to those gathered about her work. The Natives honored her by giving her the Indian name 4Kezha-wah-de-ze-qua' (Benevolence). This encounter with the Native Peoples was soon followed by another on the grounds of the Gait home. So that Miss Macpherson could meet with many of her local friends and supporters, word was spread by local ministers and through the local paper that a picnic was to be held. "A picnic is a much more frequent entertainment in this country than in England, for the lovely bright days of a Canadian summer are so much more suitable than our damp and variable weather,"95 wrote one of the workers at the Gait home who went on to describe the event: Last Thursday was all that could be desired. Cool breezes tempered the hot sunbeams, and a brilliant blue sky was reflected in the still, flowing river. Such a lovely spot, too, is the 'Home' Bush! A partially cleared space near the river was chosen for the tables and seats; near by a log-fire was kindled, on which huge kettles of water were boiled. One thing only marred our hopes for the day. Miss Macpherson herself was almost prostrate through a sharp attack of rheumatism, and our hearts sank as we feared she would be unable to be among us. However, in the 'prayer of faith' we laid her deep need before the Lord, and He graciously gave her the faith to trust Him, and the courage to attempt, even in great pain, to rise from bed, and walk down to the Bush. The needed strength was marvellously given, and she
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was able to remain with us until sunset. Truly the Lord doeth wondrous things! At four o'clock our guests began to arrive. One visitor was the centre of attraction - a chief of the Six Nation Indians, from the reserve near Brantford, who arrived earlier in the day with Mr. B. Needham, the missionary. Chief Jonathan now a Christian, was dressed in the native costume, now worn only on high days and holidays. Most picturesque it was to see him seated on the green slope near the river, leaning against a tall maple tree. His coat and trousers of yellow buckskin were fringed at the edges. An embroidered scarlet sash was loosely tied around his waist. Then his head-gear was most striking. Long thin black hair hung over his shoulders, - not his own, but from the scalp of some poor Indian slain in warfare! This was surmounted by a turban cap of scarlet, and white beads, a row of feathers all round it, and in front three or four very long bright feathers standing erect. He was able to talk with us in English, and told us how his grandfathers owned all the land along the 'Grand River'. It is very pitiful to think how the poor Indians have been pushed further and further into little corners of their once proud territory, to make way for the white man, who, alas! brought to them the terrible £fire-water' which has gone so far to prove their ruin and increase their desolation. Thank God that now they have earnest men of God, whom His own love and zeal for souls has so filled as to enable them to give up all for His glory, and go and live among these dark, despised ones, and take to them the glad tidings of a free salvation. During our tea-hour great interest was taken by all our friends in the group of little ones enjoying their cake and tea, and Miss Macpherson told how good the Lord had been to the mission, in opening up homes for nearly all the sixty rescued children we brought out three weeks ago. After tea, our forty younger ones seated themselves in a ring upon the green grass, under the shade of the maple and hickory trees. They sang sweet hymns of Jesus, and repeated many precious tests for Mr. Needham to take as their messages of love to the Indian children in his Sunday-school. Little Bobbie gave as his text, 'God requireth that which is past.' Joey then stood up and repeated, 'Suffer little children to come unto Me.' Johnnie and Georgie gave, 'The eyes of the Lord are in every place,' and 'When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.'96 Annie Macpherson was always on the move while in Canada, visiting many area towns when she was at Gait, talking to church groups about her work and visiting with
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The original Macpherson Home in Stratford. Taken from the Children's HomeFinder.97
some of her wards. She writes of visits to Sheffield, Stratford, Douglas (now Belwood), St. Catharines and Fonthill, where many of her charges were settled. Mr. Atkins, a Quaker friend, helped to watch over many of the children who were placed in the area around Fonthill. She also took many boys to Woodstock, Embro, Arkona and Owen Sound. The farm in Gait was sold in 1882 and a house, today located at 51 Avon Street, Stratford, Ontario, was purchased. At the time the property was on the edge of town with many acres of land surrounding it. All operations were moved there under the management of the Merry family. In 1887, some 2,000 acres of land in Barnsby, Manitoba, was donated to Miss Macpherson, and one of the Merry sons, James, was sent to take charge of the land. Annie wanted to subdivide the holding into 80-acre parcels, each with a home on the land. She hoped to rent the small farms to some of her boys who had proven themselves. After two years the lads, it was hoped, would be able to obtain free land grants and start homesteads of their own. Due to poor economic conditions, however, this plan did not develop as expected. The land was sold but not before some of the boys had a chance at farming on the prairies.98 Annie Macpherson became very ill in 1902, suffering from double pneumonia. She never became well enough to resume her work and died on November 27,1904. Her niece, Lilian Birt, described her aunt in this way: Annie was the one to whom the gift of vision and the pioneer spirit was given, the one who could grasp principles and plan large schemes, who could devise work for others and inspire them with courage to attempt it. She was of medium height, with a good figure and silky light brown hair. Her voice was light and clear, with a thrill in it that at once touched the heart and drew forth sympathy. Wherever she pleaded the cause of the
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The former Macpherson Home, now a private residence, at 51 Avon Street in Stratford. Courtesy of Frank Kohli.
children she enlisted hosts of friends. She knew the potency of facts, and had such a striking way of telling them that her appeals were irresistible. Few could listen to her stories of the rescued without tears, while countless numbers in all ranks of life are indebted to Annie Macpherson for the words that spoke to their souls and stirred them to noble living. She was a woman of an intense mother-nature, who longed passionately to save the oppressed and cruelly used children of the poor, and whose delight it was to live amongst them and spend herself for their benefit." The Stratford home, under the management of William Merry, continued to receive children until the First World War stopped the emigration process. In 1915, the operations of the Macpherson homes were merged with those of the Liverpool Sheltering Home. Knowlton was closed and the Stratford home was used by both agencies. Then, in 1920 as the work resumed, the Stratford home was closed and the work moved back to its roots at the Marchmont home in Belleville, Ontario. William Merry became the superintendent of Marchmont. The work in England fell to Annie's other nephews, James Macpherson Merry and Dr. Edward Merry and to her niece, Lilian Birt. In 1924, the Merry family turned over its records and operations to their cousin, Lilian Birt, of the Liverpool Sheltering Home. She, in turn, handed the records to the Barnardo Homes in England in 1925. These records are all now part of the Barnardo files. At least two of Annie's homes - Marchmont and the Stratford home - are still standing today, but have been put to new uses. On the lawn of the Stratford home, 51 Avon Street, stands a Government of Canada plaque, erected August 19,2001, commemorating the part "home children" have played in the history of Canada.
CHAPTER 5
The Work Grows: Major Agencies
WITH THE PIONEERING WORK OF MARIA RYE and Annie Macpherson firmly established, other organizations began to follow in their footsteps. What was first a trickle would soon become a flood as over two thousand children entered Canada each year. (The 1905 immigration report for Canada stated that 2,814 children entered Canada that year.) Maria Rye, and also Louisa Birt, sent some of their children into Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Rye, however, ran her operations from Ontario, while Birt moved her work in 1877 from Nova Scotia to Quebec. For a time, no agency had a home in either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, but a few children were still placed there by various agencies. Edwin Clay, immigration agent at Halifax reported in 1883: There has never been so great a demand for orphan children for adoption since Miss Rye and Mrs. Birt brought over the first lot of young people, as there has been in the past two years in this province. And there is no doubt but if any of the societies now at work could establish a Home in this Province they could locate quite a large multitude of young people in good Christian homes.1 From time to time, items would appear in the press praising the movement but occasionally these items were not so complimentary. The Cheshire Observer of March 19,1887, carried such an item and it in turn was picked up by several other papers. The following communication says Truth, is from a lady who has had ample opportunity of seeing how the children who are sent to Canada are I0
5
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treated. I confess that I never had very great confidence in the advantages of the Canadian adoption system. Some of the children may be well treated, but I suspect that the lot of the greater number is that portrayed by my correspondent: - I regret to learn that another batch of little waifs collected from our big cities is about to be sent to Canada. These poor little folk, whose lot here is, indeed, hard enough, have at least in the land of their birth the sympathy and companionship of their kind. Transported to the backwoods of Canada, amid dreary and strange surroundings, they are there doomed to pass their unhappy childhood and youth chopping wood; in fact doing the meanest work, clad in the coarsest raiment, and subsisting on the roughest fare, not always plentiful. The average Canadian rivals the Yankee in his eagerness for the dollar, and he spares neither himself nor others, painstaking, scraping, nor protracted toil. Although Canadian couples are usually blessed with large families, there orphan waifs are readily "adopted," under Dominion law, into the poorer households. Anyone who has visited the country districts of Canada cannot but have observed the daily drudgery to which these "adopted" ones are subjected. Their lives are indeed sunless, and the bread given them that of charity. The so-called benevolent scheme for bettering their lives, in the majority of cases, seems to me a cruel sham. Let me briefly describe a scene of which I was an eye-witness, and which occurred a few years ago. A lady arrived in Woodville, North Ontario, with a number of little English children for "adoption." On the same day she gave a very touching and eloquent description of the way the children had been collected and shipped to Canada. The following morning the little boys and girls were placed "on view" in the village schoolroom, ranged in a row, as slaves used to be down South, for inspection. The news had been passed about, and the farmers and tradespeople had gathered to make choice. Among the group of little ones were two little twin brothers, who did not seem to realise what was taking place. A farmer "adopted" one of them, another farmer took the second, the homesteads of the two men being nearly a hundred miles apart. The hour had now come for them to be parted, perhaps for ever, and at any rate their very names to be changed and their identity lost. No one save an eye-witness can imagine the look of sorrowful amazement depicted on the little fellows' faces when they realised, in their babyish fashion, what it all meant. A mother, I think, would rather see her children taking the chances of the London streets than doomed to the soul-starving existence of a Canadian homestead.-M.B.
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But the pressure was still on to "deal with our surplus population" and the Central Emigration Society pushed for child emigration. This it claimed was the "most efficacious, the cheapest, and the most satisfactory in results of all the methods of emigration."3 Far better to emigrate these children than to fill the jails and workhouses, it said. So, the work continued to grow. The Newcastle Chronicle of April 2,1889, reported: ...it is hopeless to look for assistance from public funds, and that the only way in which this good work of reclaiming poor and neglected children from a life of wretchedness, and probably crime, and furnishing them with hopeful prospects, is to appeal to the charitable....The number is great in this district of children who seem to have come into the world by mistake, and whose days are one long and hard penance for the crime of having been born. Adversity has inured them to hardships, and privation has sharpened their wits. They are just of the very sort who, transferred at an early age to primitive and wholesome surroundings such as the young settlements in Canada offer, and with the cheery prospect before them of a bright future, would work faithfully and willingly, and develop into excellent types of English colonists.4 Each spring the children arrived and would continue to arrive into the early fall. All through the winter, applications for children were received by the Canadian homes. These applications always far exceeded the number of children available, so much so, that the numbers were often used by the homes, and by Mr. Smart, to show that this movement was indeed beneficial to Canada. Although many of these organizations had what were called "receiving homes" in Canada, the homes rarely received the full party of new immigrants. However, the Canadian government insisted upon these homes being available as a place to which a child could return if necessary, in cases of illness or between placements. It was not, however, unusual for a child to never see the Canadian receiving home or to see it for only a day or two before being sent off to a placement. Some organizations took the new arrivals to their Canadian home for a few days to allow them to recover from the voyage. Others, however, dropped children off at stations along the way to positions previously arranged. Boys were placed on farms or with tradespeople and girls as domestics or mother's "helps" caring for younger children. Most agencies tried to avoid placement of the children in the city or in factories, fearing the evils most cities harboured. They believed that the countryside was a healthier and more wholesome place for their young wards.
io8
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Knowlton Home, Knowlton, Que. 18 .
M $
_ of . per month or $
P.O. Takes At per annum for the __„ year. To attend
church and Sunday school regularly. Also day school months in the year. Should it be necessary in any case for the child to be returned to the Home, notice of this must be sent a fortnight beforehand. The clothes must also be sent back in good condition, and the same number. Employers are requested to see that the children write occasionally to their friends, also that they communicate with us in the event of sickness, and in no case to allow the child to go into another family without our permission. We reserve to ourselves the right of removing any child if we see fit, or on these conditions not being fulfilled. Signed Signed
For Annie Macpherson.
Forms were signed stating the conditions of placement and these forms varied by organization. In 1874, Annie Macpherson used this type of form.5 Generally, the young children were placed for room and board, or as Maria Rye put it, "clothing & schooling." Maria Rye's forms were a little different from the ones used by Macpherson and far more legalistic. (See Appendix A.) By the time children were about 10 years old they were often placed out for a small amount of wages besides their clothing and schooling. By their teen years, they were usually working for wages and room and board. Many homes had the wages paid directly to them and the money was placed in a trust account for the child. This was done by some homes to prevent a situation where an employer refused to pay the child - a situation which did occur sometimes. Treatment of the children varied wildly. Some did indeed become part of the family while others were treated as virtual outcasts. One woman, when asked about her treatment, stated that she was not treated any worse than the farmer's own children, but left you with the feeling that the treatment of his children was not very good either. Many of the children worked long and hard, some never given the opportunity of going to school while others were encouraged to obtain an education. There were children who lived with the family and others who lived in the barn. Some eventually took over the farm while others travelled as far west as they could go to forget their years on the farm. To encourage the children, usually only the boys, to remain where they were placed,
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some organizations awarded children "medals" after completing a specified term in the same situation. But, this did not always work, as is shown by these 1908 comments of G. Bogue Smart: It happens inevitably that each year some children are temporarily lost track of by the agencies. They are usually boys of about 16 years of age and able to take care of themselves. However, every effort is made to locate them and they are eventually found. Since the inauguration of this branch of the service a successful supervision has been maintained, as may be inferred from the fact that out of the large number of children inspected there have been only twenty-nine absconders, i.e., those who have left their situations and whose whereabouts have not been discovered. Schooling was something that some children, especially in the early days, never received, even though it was stated in most of the contracts that the child was to attend school. Over the years, however, Canada did enact laws whereby children under 14 were required to attend school for a period of time each year. As many country people will tell you, however, school was more often attended in the winter months, when the land could not be worked. Some of the children used these months to educate themselves. Smart noted, "many boys take advantage of the opportunity of attending business college returning to the farm in the spring, and farmers have not infrequently referred to the benefit their boys derived from attending these institutions as they acquired a general knowledge of business methods which enabled them to readily compute market values of farm stock and produce."7 The agencies which brought the children to Canada were varied. Some were church organizations, some evangelical groups, while others acted for motives known only to themselves. Organizations came and went but some, such as Barnardo Homes, Quarrier Homes, Fegan Homes, National Children's Home and the Fairbridge Society still exist today. There were others, such as the Salvation Army, the Big Brothers Movement, the Boy Scouts, and the Girls' Friendly Society participated for a short time, usually helping their own. Some used the emigration facilities of the more established organizations while others set up new homes and facilities in Canada. Children who came to Canada as immigrants were derived from very different sources. They came from orphanages, rescue homes, workhouses, industrial schools, reformatories and some were "rescued" from the streets. Some were orphans, some deserted by parent(s), and others were placed in the homes by destitute parents, family or friends, unable or unwilling to care for them. They were then shipped off to Canada, sometimes without their families being aware of the fact. Middlemore Homes only took
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in children for emigration purposes so there was no doubt about the destination of those children. Annie Macpherson, Louisa Birt and William Quarrier would, as a rule, only emigrate with parental consent. Barnardo, however, required the "Canada clause" to be signed when a child was placed in the home and was pleased, states Gillian Wagner in her book Children of the Empire, "to call it philanthropic abduction."8 Barnardo even pursued some cases through the courts, mostly against the Roman Catholic Church, fighting to keep children that were neglected and beaten by their parents. For example, in 1889, a. child named Harry Gossage was the object of such a case. Barnardo wrote an open letter to his "friends" about the case which is on file at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. The reason for this item being in the file is because a Mark Whitwell of the Bristol Emigration Society, was in a similar situation and sent the document to the Canadian government to back up his stand. Whitwell's case, too, was with the Roman Catholic church and he stated that he hoped the church would leave the child, William Anson, "undisturbed in his present happy home."9 As a result of these cases, Britain passed legislation in 1891 protecting the children who were neglected and placed the burden of proof of suitability on the parent(s) in order to have the child returned to them. Although records may show that a child came to Canada with Macpherson, Rye, Barnardo, or another agency, that does not mean the child was from that organization's homes in England. The children may have come from a smaller institution or from a Union that merely used the emigration facilities of these larger, more established organizations; hundreds of these small agencies made use of the system. This is especially so of the children sent to Marchmont in Belleville. It is interesting to note that sometimes brothers, sisters or parents of the child came along with the parties of children organized by these agencies. Arrangements were made by former wards to have members of their family brought to Canada to join them. The fare was usually paid by the former ward out of the money that individual had set aside. In 1900, Alfred Owen, superintendent at Barnardo's home in Toronto, reported the arrival of the yearly party and that four adults were in the party, "the latter being the parents of boys already in the country, and whose emigration expenses were defrayed from the boys' savings."10 Owen continued: Each of our recent parties has included people who are brought to this country by the same means, and at the present time there is a goodly number of our boys and girls who are saving their earnings with the object of bringing out mothers, sisters or brothers, whom they are anxious shall join them in Canada, and who will come as soon as their emigration expenses are provided. We regard these cases as a most pleasing and encouraging outgrowth of the work, and it is a movement that, whenever
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the people whom it is proposed to bring out, are industrious and deserving, we are always pleased to encourage.11 Other groups were also taking up emigration as a means of assisting the "working classes." Newspapers in England reported on the work of Reverend A. Styleman Herring of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK), the East End Family Emigration Society, the Church Emigration Society (Church of England), the Self-Help Emigration Society, and Mrs. Ellen Joyce's United British Women's Emigration Society. Many of these societies involved in the emigration of families and women would, on occasion, take children in their parties, asking adults in the party to look after them and to turn them over to a representative of the agency when they arrived in Canada. The major agencies produced small publications, such as Ups and Downs (Barnardo Homes), Erin's Hope (Smyly Homes), and Our Paper (Fegan Homes). This was done to help the children keep in touch, but it was also done to encourage them to contribute to the agency which had brought them to this country. On occasion, reference in the records is made to "adoption" but in fact, adoption had no legal standing in Canada at the time. In his book, Social Welfare In Ontario: 17911893, Richard Splane states: The agents occasionally referred to the "adoption" of the children, but the contemporary use of the term is not clear. A writer in the Canadian Monthly referred to adoption as the condition in which the child was "treated in all respects as one of the master's and mistresses own children," but he threw some doubt on the application of his definition when he indicated that a girl could be said to be adopted when she took her meals with the family and otherwise joined in its activities.12 In 1891, responsibility for immigration into Canada was passed from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior. Some changes were made and medical certificates for the children were required. A number of children reported that the inspection as they left England was almost laughable. "As the children approach the gangway in single file they are individually examined by the medical officer of the board of trade and subsequently by the ship's physician."13 A similar procedure took place in Canada. It was not, however, until December 1899, that the Canadian government finally established the position of Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes with George Bogue Smart appointed January i, 1900. Part of Smart's job was to visit the institutions in Britain as well. On one of these visits in 1911, he was introduced to a new term. The children were still being taught "blind alley occupations," he was
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told. These were skills which would not be of any use to the child once adulthood was reached. Some of the institutions were trying to change this practice but others carried on as before. Smart's job was not an easy one. Names and ages of children were not always accurate and sometimes mistakes were made. In a 1923 letter, the Salvation Army tried to help the government inspector sort out one of these problems. The letter states, "May Cocks, should have been listed as Marjory." There were other errors as well, like "Dena Goldstein, should have been Dora....John McCullough, should have been Joan" and, "Ivy McDougall, the name should have been Zena."14 At times it was variants of a name, for example, Kathleen was sometimes called Katherine and Lizzy or Eliza was Elizabeth. Another letter to the Salvation Army shows ways other errors crept into the system. "Georgina Cowie. Your list gives her age as 9 while the Ship's manifest set it down as 19." The replies often solved the problems but sometimes the response was that the "age of Fred Gross we are unable to confirm, other than by the list shown."15 Although many people think that these organizations only brought children to Canada from Ireland, Scotland and England, there were children of other ethnic origins in some of the parties. This was noted in a newspaper article of 1889 in which the Barnardo organization was stated to have Russian and German children in one of its parties. However, in the 19208, letters begin to appear in the files regarding the emigration of boys from Armenia. A letter dated April 26,1923, addressed to Mr. Smart from the Department of Immigration and Colonization in London quotes the content of a cable, sent on March 7, stating: FEGAN'S HOMES WISH EMIGRATE EIGHT BETTER CLASS ARMENIAN BOYS TRAINED AND EDUCATED PROTESTANT ORPHANAGE CORFU ISLAND ENGLISH SPEAKING CABLE APPROVAL.1 The letter is in the file for the Salvation Army because this organization was also requesting permission to emigrate boys from Miss Newnham's orphanage on the Isle of Corfu. Many of the Armenian boys were sent to a home in Georgetown, Ontario, later run by the United Church of Canada.
Ellen Agnes Bilbrough and Robert Wallace Ellen Agnes Bilbrough was born in Leeds, England, on November 21,1841. As a young woman she taught boys in a night school run by George Holland, in George Yard, Whitechapel. She said that the "language, habits, manners, and clothing (or want of it) of the children convinced me that to benefit them effectually something much more
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thorough must be attempted."17 It was here that Ellen Bilbrough became acquainted with Miss Macpherson and began to assist her in the Home of Industry, Spitalfields. Ellen worked for a time in the Home of Industry but, in 1869, Annie Macpherson began to talk of sending some of her children to Canada and made an appeal for funds. "This appeal was nobly responded to by our English sisters, and the first detachment of a hundred well-clothed, well-trained, fine-looking lads sailed in the S.S. "Prussian," [sic] 12th May, 1870, accompanied by Miss M'Pherson, Mr. L.W. Thorn, and myself,"18 wrote Miss Bilbrough. In that same year, 1870, Miss Macpherson, through generous donations from the people of Belleville, opened her first distributing home called Marchmont. Ellen Bilbrough took charge of the home and would remain there until her death. The original Marchmont burned down January 28,1872, and its replacement burned on April 7,1875. The third Marchmont, however, was built with iron doors between the school room and dining room and was heated with a hot air furnace. It was a big brick home, not wood as the previous two had been. Located on a good-sized lot, on what was then the edge of Belleville, the home boasted a playground for the children with swing and parallel bars. There was also a barn, coach house, stable, woodshed, ice house, wash house and a summer schoolroom and dormitory. A chapel was nearby and a large garden and orchard were maintained to supplement the home with some of its food requirements. This third home, at 193 Moira Street, is still standing and has been converted into apartments. It has been given a new civic address on Yeoman Street as the front lots facing Moira Street were sold off and now have newer homes on them. Ellen Bilbrough went on to describe the home's business records: First of all, you would enter the light, cheerful sitting-room, (table covered over with correspondence) where all business is transacted, visitors seen, etc. In a strongly built safe are kept six large volumes of "children's histories." Each page containing name and age of child, previous history, and yearly reports, with English and Canadian addresses of friends. Beside them stand two large albums containing from four to six hundred photographs of the children in different stages; sometimes when first admitted, with care-worn look and uncut hair, forming such a contrast to the welldressed happy-looking children taken the following year to Canada. Next in Canadian clothes; then when grown up, when married; and soon "baby's picture" gives an additional interest to the group.19 Bilbrough soon found she was taking on a new role. As the years passed and some of the first group of children married, they began to ask for children from the home to
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assist with raising their own children or helping with chores. But, the ultimate pleasure, said Bilbrough, was when these new offspring were brought in for an introduction to "Grandmamma." "Of course, having stood in the character of mother to the parents, how can I be otherwise than grandmother to their children?"20 After the Doyle Report of 1875, Annie Macpherson decided that she did not want to take the responsibility of caring for children from the homes in Scotland and the Leonard Shaw's homes in Manchester. In 1877, she told Ellen Bilbrough that her home at Gait, could handle all of the children she [Annie] could bring to Canada. She turned Marchmont House over to Miss Bilbrough, allowing her instead to use the home to aid children from homes located mostly in Scotland, such as Quarrier's, and children from the Manchester Homes. William Quarrier, who used Marchmont for many years, wrote to Bilbrough in 1872, saying: I longed to help them more effectually, and to bring more of the home and family influence to bear upon their life; who was to do it, and how it was to be done, I did not at this time know. Miss M'Pherson's efforts for finding homes in Canada for children were brought under my notice, and I thought such a work should be commenced in Glasgow. After committing the work to God in prayer for means, and waiting three months, He sent the answer, and I was encouraged to go forward notwithstanding my own unfitness.21 Ellen Bilbrough had visited Scotland in 1874 when she went home to England to visit family. She met with Messrs. Moody and Sankey, evangelicals of the time, and with William Quarrier of Glasgow, who now was sending about 60 children a year to Canada through her auspices. She also met with Mrs. Blaikie of Edinburgh, and Mr. Muir of Yardheads, Leith, both of whom were "labouring with much success in their different spheres."22 So, in 1878, when Marchmont was turned over to her care, Ellen again crossed the ocean. William Quarrier, she found, had added another home on James Morrison Street in Glasgow. She also looked again into the work of Mrs. Blaikie and admired the woman for her efforts. Mrs. Blaikie, who ran the Emigration Home in Edinburgh, had been sending children to Marchmont since 1872. In 1882, Bilbrough brought some 79 children over to Canada in April and another 70 in June. Miss Rogers brought 60 children to Marchmont in April of i882.23 Mr. R. MacPherson, the immigration agent at Kingston, reported, "Miss Bilbrough, of Marchmont House, Belleville, is at present in Great Britain, and intends returning in
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*5
early spring with a large number of children. She brought out 153 last season [1882], principally from Mr. Quarrier's Home, in Glasgow. A fine intelligent, healthy lot of children they were, and will prove advantageous to the country."24 Robert Wallace was born in 1855 near Edinburgh, Scotland. Educated at Spurgeon's College, he became a preacher of the Evangelical Society in London. After spending some time in New Zealand, he came to Canada in 1882 and joined in the work at Marchmont. In her book, British Children in Canadian Homes, Ellen Bilbrough talks about an "active Christian who came on a passing visit, remained helping us for over a year, he returned to study at C.H. Spurgeon's College, London, and is now a devoted preacher of the Gospel."25 Could this have been Robert Wallace? Reverend Wallace and Ellen Bilbrough married in 1887, and together they ran Marchmont House. Her signature on government papers of that time became "Ellen Bilbrough Wallace," an unusual double surname for that time. Of all the workers in this field, she was the one spoken of with the greatest respect. Mrs. Bilbrough Wallace reported in 1888 that children from "Miss Wemyss' pleasant cottage home in Painswick, a little country village on the Cotswold hills, Gloucestershire,"
Ellen Bilbrough Wallace and Robert Wallace^ c. 1887. This picture was sent to Ellen Jane Frost (Hayden), one of the girls who had been at Marchmont and who had come to Canada in 1885 on the Circassian. Courtesy of Tami Clark, great-granddaughter of Ellen Jane Frost.
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were using Marchmont. (They appear for the first time in the immigration report in 1887, sending 12 children.) "These are always particularly nice children, beautifully trained and outfitted with loving thoughtfulness," continued Mrs. Wallace. One child in the party was called "the knitter," because of "her precocious cleverness with knitting needles."2 Harriett Wemyss, of Washwell House, and her sister, Alice, sent children to Marchmont from their emigration home for several years. Fourteen children are specifically mentioned as coming from there in the 1890 immigration report. Leonard K. Shaw's home in Manchester sent children in 1888 who came in the care of Mr. Beattie and Mr. and Mrs. Kirlew. Miss Gemlo accompanied a party of mostly girls from Mrs. Blaikie's Home in Edinburgh. Others came from Quarrier's in Glasgow; the girls with Mrs. Opie. That year, Marchmont was a hive of activity! Many agencies sent their children to Belleville. Among these was the Children's Home located at 3 Aberdeen Road, Clifton, Bristol. The Bristol Emigration Society, and even Miss Rye on occasion, used the facilities at Belleville. Marchmont, more than any of the other Canadian receiving homes, took children from many smaller agencies in England and Scotland. On the death of Ellen Bilbrough Wallace, on September 23,1900, Smart recorded in his 1901 report: Through the death of Mrs. Wallace, wife of the Rev. Robert Wallace, of Marchmont Home, this philanthropic work has sustained a severe loss. Mrs. Wallace was amongst the first to take up the work of juvenile emigration from Great Britain to Canada. In the year 1869, Mrs. Wallace, then Miss Agnes Bilbrough, directed her attention to the needs of orphan and neglected children of East London, and in the following year her first party of boys and girls were emigrated to Canada [this was Annie Macpherson's first group]. She at once realized the necessity of establishing a receiving and distributing home in Canada, and Belleville was finally selected as a convenient locality. After the destruction, by fire, of two houses, the present Marchmont Home was erected. Nearly seven thousand children have passed under her care, and of this large number not more than two per cent are said to have been failures. I am glad to be able to state that the Rev. Mr. Wallace proposes continuing the work on the same lines under which it was inaugurated some thirty years ago....27 Mention was also made of Reverend Wallace placing children in Indian Head, NorthWest Territories (now in the province of Saskatchewan). Other reports show that children from the Manchester homes were sent west to Grenfell, in present-day Saskatchewan.
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In 1902, Robert Wallace married for a second time, to Alice Broomhall. He was very active in the Baptist church in Belleville and was also involved in the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). Wallace took part in conferences on child welfare and spoke to labour unions who opposed the emigration of children. Work also continued at Marchmont House with children arriving from "Manchester, Worcester and Bath, England, and Saltcoats, Scotland."28 However, in 1912, Smart noted that Wallace was contemplating retirement in a few months "when this Home will be taken over and conducted as a branch of the Manchester and Salford Homes of Manchester, England, from which splendidly organized training Homes children have originally come to Belleville for many years."29 He also reported that the records of the home were kept in a "commendable manner" with photographs of each child. When Reverend Wallace retired from Marchmont in 1913 and Smart commented on this event in his annual report: Rev. Robert Wallace, after a long experience dating back practically to the earliest years of the juvenile immigration movement, has retired from the superintendency of this old established Home. The work will, however, be continued along the same lines as formerly by the Manchester and Salford homes, and Mr. H.O. Knight, of Birmingham, has been placed in charge. There is room for considerable expansion in the immigration of juveniles as the demand for their services in the central counties of Ontario continues to exceed the number of children available. From a perusal of the visitor's reports, and my personal inspection of a large number of their wards in the county of Hastings, the children were found to be acquitting themselves worthily and becoming useful farm helps. The home throughout is well appointed, and the children's quarters confortable[sic] .3° Upon his visit to Marchmont in 1912, Walter Cranfield (who wrote under the pen name of Denis Crane, and who was an avid proponent of children migration), commented: Everything about this Home is clean, prosperous-looking, and up-to-date. Mr. and Mrs. H.O. Knight, who are in charge, are keen on their work and keep records that do them the utmost credit. Every child's photograph is filed, together with his personal history and an account of the influences that have shaped his destiny. The administration of the establishment is
n8
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assisted by Miss Ramsay, a genial soul of ripe experience, who has been identified with the Home for more than thirty years.31 Smart commented in his 1914-1915 report that the Manchester Homes had decided to cease emigration until after the war. But, on October 19,1920, as emigration of children resumed, a letter from Lilian M. Birt, who succeeded her mother Louisa Birt, appeared in the Belleville paper The Daily Intelligencer. It explained that the Committee of the Liverpool Sheltering Homes for Orphan and Fatherless Children, in conjunction with the Annie Macpherson homes of London had taken over Marchmont. William H. Merry, a nephew of both Annie Macpherson and Louisa Birt, and superintendent of Annie's home at Stratford, Ontario, became the new superintendent of Marchmont. The Macpherson home in Stratford was closed as the work of the two homes was amalgamated. right: Four girls with their chaperone destined for Marchmont, 1922. Courtesy of NAC/PA- 034838. below: Boys on their way to the Marchmont Home pose for a photograph, 1922. Courtesy ofNAC/PAAPJV7282 C4C3.
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During its time, Marchmont housed and distributed thousands of boys and girls from various homes in England and Scotland. It received children from Macpherson, Barnardo, Birt and Quarrier homes. Leonard K. Shaw, of the Strangeways Institution of Manchester also used Marchmont along with several other smaller organizations such as Mrs. Blaikie of Edinburgh, Mr. Muir at Yardheads, Leith, and Miss Wemyss, of Washwell House in Gloucestershire. The Bristol Emigration Society, although it sent many of its children into New Brunswick, sometimes used Marchmont House. The last party of children arrived at Marchmont in July 1925. In that same month it was announced that Barnardo Homes had taken over the work of the Liverpool Sheltering Homes. Marchmont was closed in August of the same year.32 It is estimated that close to 10,000 children came through this home between 1870 and 1925.
Louisa Birt and the Liverpool Sheltering Home Louisa Caroline Stirling Macpherson was born in Scotland in 1840. Only 11 when her father, James, died, she was the youngest of seven children and a sister to Annie Macpherson. Annie, being the eldest in the family, helped raise her little sister and the two became very close. In 1858, Louisa married Charles Henry Birt, a merchant of London. The couple set up a household at Woodford Lodge in Essex. Charles, however, was injured in a railway accident which left him an invalid. Caring for him and a family of four eventually wore her out and, in 1869, Louisa suffered a breakdown. While recovering from her illness, she needed something to occupy her time. Her sister, Annie, who had already embarked upon her mission in the East End of London, was able to persuade Louisa to come and sing to the sewing class for widows offered at the Bethnal Green Refuge. In time, Louisa became more involved in her sister's work and accompanied Annie to Liverpool where the first group of children was to depart for Canada in 1870. It was then that the sisters realized conditions in Liverpool were as bad as, if not worse than, those in London. They hoped that someone would take on the responsibility of establishing a refuge for the children of that city. Between 1848 and 1849, the potato famine in Ireland added about 300,000 starving Irish to the population of England.33 Of this number, approximately 80,000 Irish remained in Liverpool where they tried to find work on the very busy docks. This increased population led to a shortage of homes and jobs and created unsanitary living conditions in the city. Reports show some 17,000 paupers were on the vestry relief list.34 In 1866, Liverpool saw 41.7 people in a thousand die as a result of epidemics. Typhus, smallpox, cholera and other diseases were brought into the city through her port and
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given little resistance in the unsanitary conditions in which the people lived. The Times referred to Liverpool as the "black spot on the Mersey."35 As in most seaports, there were many widows and orphans of sailors living in Liverpool. A group of prominent men, founders of the Seamen's Orphanage, after hearing Annie Macpherson speak, invited her to come to Liverpool and start a home for the destitute children of their city. A public meeting was held in Liverpool in November 1872, and intended to rally support and sympathy for the work. Louisa Birt attended in her sister's place and explained the methods and objects of Annie's work carried out in London. Fourteen men set out to establish the Liverpool Sheltering Home to "cope with the particular problems of women and children in that port city"36 and they invited Mrs. Birt to head the institution. May i, 1873, saw the opening of a home on Byrom Street, between Gerrard and Circus Streets, which, some said, was the worst area of Liverpool. It was donated free of rent by John Houghton. Of the over 600 children who applied within the first year of the home's existence, only 360 could be received. Mrs. Birt described the children: They came with the old story of widows' children left to their own devices, while the poor mother goes forth to toil over the wash-tub or the needle for their daily bread; poor step-children, who are felt to be burdens, and are knocked about and ill-used accordingly, as though to make them run away; drunkards' children going through the education which will fit them for the reformatory, prison, or penitentiary, as the case may be; illegitimate children, on whom the sins of their parents are weighing with crushing power; - all these were in the ranks of those whom we have learned to call 'little arabs,' 'waifs and strays' - names lightly and smilingly spoken, yet overlying thoughts too deep for tears.37 In 1883, Byrom Street was deemed to no longer suitable for the work of training children and a new site was sought. Number i, Sugnall Street, was rented as a home for girls and, in 1888, when the funds became available, it was purchased along with the adjoining property on Myrtle Street. On November 16,1889, the Sheltering Home on Myrtle was officially opened. A few years later the remainder of the block was given to the home for use as a playground. Louisa Birt is described as having a warm, sympathetic personality, and she loved telling stories to the children. She bathed the children and sang to them, visited homes in the area and ran sewing classes for widows. Teas were held at the home for the poor women of the area. Within a short time, the Sheltering Home was filled to overflowing, and thoughts turned to emigration and the work Annie Macpherson was carrying out in Canada.
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The intention was to train the children for six months there before sending them to Canada. Whether this happened in all cases is doubtful. The Children were instructed in Holy Scriptures and given some elementary schooling, along with classes in cooking, sewing and laundry. Girls between 12 and 14 years of age were taught how to care for and how to entertain little ones. Lads received instructions in carpentry and stable work, and were taught to swim. Emigration became a standard practice for the Liverpool Sheltering Home. With the first group of children nearing their time of departure, Colonel James Wimburn Laurie offered to place the children Birt brought to Canada. Laurie, who was born in England, had been sent to Nova Scotia as inspector of the militia. He lived at Oakfield, an estate of 300 acres on Grand Lake, 15 miles from Halifax. Laurie said he would pay all of the expenses, from the time the children arrived in Halifax until they were placed in a home. He also made arrangements with the provincial government who agreed to contribute to the passage of the children. Quarterly reports were sent to Liverpool, commenting on the progress and well-being of each child. Colonel Laurie also kept a ledger which is now in the Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia. He wrote to the editor of the Halifax Citizen and the Acadian Recorder picked up the item, and published it on August 7,1873. The English Children - Who They Are, And When They May Be Expected. To the Editor of the "Citizen," Sir, - You were kind enough to publish a letter from me some little time since, in which I announced the expected arrival of a number of young children to be distributed throughout the Province. A few days since I received a cable despatch from Mrs. Burt [sic] stating that she would leave Liverpool on the 12 August [sailing on the Hibernian] and was bringing out 70 children, aged from 4 to 14. She may therefore be expected about the 22.1 have received a great number of applications for these children, and have great hopes that with such a promising beginning, the kindhearted Liverpool committee may be encouraged to still further efforts, and that we may next year receive and allot twice as many as are now coming out. Many people are, however, under a misconception with regard to these children, and in consequence I am inundated with correspondence containing questions that are already answered in my previous letter to you. These children are homeless and destitute - not criminal, but in many cases neglected or deserted; they are rescued from temptation and a probable life of crime, by the efforts of Mrs. Burt and her friends. Ontario is
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ready and waiting to take them all, and the despatch of this party to Nova Scotia is simply an experiment at my request. They are not sent out here trained and educated, fit to take their places in domestic service, or in the workshops. On the contrary, they require the discipline and the moral influence of home life to be brought to bear on them, as well as the education to be obtained at school and in the work of every day life! I mention this, as I have any number of applicants for boys and girls of 15; to all such I would say, that good boys and girls of 15 are as much sought after in England as here, that those of that age who are thus brought here will probably have a good deal to unlearn and that I would strongly recommend all who are taking an interest in it, and not merely to get all the work they can out of it, to take a younger child, who will be more readily domesticated, and will become as much attached to its adopted parents and home as if it had been born in it. The committee desire therefore specially to offer these children to those who are not already blessed with them, or who from death or other causes have lost their own. I should mention that I have assured Mrs. Burt that she shall not be put to one penny of expense on her children after her arrival here, and I am now making arrangements for their lodging &c., on arrival. The cost of conveyance, maintenance and incidental expenses connected with seventy children will not be trifling, and if any person wishes to offer assistance towards meeting this outlay I shall be happy to receive their contributions. I Remain Your's obediently, J. Wimburn Laurie. Oakfield,Aug.5.38 Although Laurie helped distribute the children, it was Mr. Arnold, an Episcopalian Missionary, who looked after the children at Oakfield. The local Government paid some of the costs and Colonel Laurie paid all other expenses. After the arrival of the first party of children, Laurie again wrote to a Halifax newspaper on October 29,1873, this time describing the method he had used for the placement of the children: Mrs. Birt arrived with 76 children on the 24th August, and through the extreme kindness of the Committees of the Boys' Industrial School and St. Paul's Girls' Home, the whole of the children were at once housed in these
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two institutions on the understanding that the actual cost of their living should be reimbursed by me. I need hardly say that this liberal arrangement on the part of both committees saved me much anxiety and trouble, and I was thus more free to attend to the allotment of the bairns. I had previously to their arrival received over 100 applications for the children, which I had duly tabulated, and on the 25th August Mrs. Birt and I proceeded with the allotment, and that same night notices were posted to the 76 parties to whom children were allotted. Where applications were made for a boy and a girl, brother and sister, if of a suitable age, were first allotted; next in order came the applicants who wished to adopt, and lastly came, according to date of application, those who wished to train for service.... On the 27th the allotment of the children began. Owing to short notice many applicants did not attend on the first day or two; and the desire to make both applicant and child thoroughly understand future mutual relations naturally took up much time, so that the business of allotment was rather a long affair. Some little delay was caused by the misconception of applicants, who directed that the children allotted to them were to be sent like packages of luggage addressed. This I steadily refused to accede to, insisting in all cases that some responsible person should receive the child and take charge of it from Mrs. Birt.39 Edwin Clay, the Halifax immigration agent, reported: Messrs. Birt [assume this refers to Louisa and her daughter Lilian] brought over from Liverpool 76 young people and children, six women, 26 girls from two to fourteen years of age, and 44 boys, from seven to seventeen. They were all taken in charge by Colonel Laurie, and placed in good situations; many of them having been adopted into some of our most respectable families.40 The following April 1874, Louisa Birt sailed for Canada with her charges dressed in red hoods. The Allan Line steamer Nova Scotian carried them to a new life. Mrs. Birt would continue this routine until 1876. During this time, Colonel Laurie placed about 550 children in Nova Scotia but was forced to withdraw his services, in 1876 he said, due to ill health.41 This caused Birt to turn her attention to Knowlton, Quebec. Her sister, Annie Macpherson had found that the home in Gait could easily care for all of the children she brought to Canada, leaving her home at Knowlton unused. Louisa gladly
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Elizabeth Meiklejohn, superintendent oftheKnowlton Home, with some of her charges. Courtesy of Maria A. Darrgh.
accepted her sister's offer and, in 1877, began what was to become a routine which lasted for over 25 years. She would bring two parties of children a year to Knowlton and place them in the care of Elizabeth Meiklejohn. Miss Meiklejohn, the daughter of a Quebec banker, was familiar with the work of Mrs. Birt and wrote to her in early 1877. Later that year she met Louisa Birt and was asked to assume the position of superintendent of the Knowlton Home, a position she held for 26 years.42 The seventh party of children, and the first to go to Knowlton, sailed from Liverpool on April 19,1877, on board the Allan Liner Sardinian, with a new destination, Quebec City. Louisa Birt wrote: Picture the grey, rolling North Atlantic; the crowded steerage and decks of the steamer laden with emigrants. Under a lifeboat, screened from the wind and spray by a stretch of canvas, sit the group of children in their warm coats and caps or hoods. Singing, stories, recitations, friendly talks, interspersed with drills or skipping and races, occupy the time. This voyage of eight or ten days is of incalculable benefit to the city-bred children,
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bracing and strengthening them after a winter's training, and giving them a healthful relaxation of play and rest before they start out on their new careers. We arrived at the Distributing Home on the ist of May. At Knowlton we received a most cheering and hearty reception, and every one who visited the Home seemed delighted with the children. We had over a hundred applications for them. Occasionally during the first days of our distribution work there would be a hue and cry from the children, 'A farmer's coming!' 'Oh, let him have me, Mrs. Birt!' 'No, let him have me. I want to be a farmer and earn my own living.' On bringing in about half a dozen and letting the farmer speak to them, it was very funny to see these dear children stretch themselves up to their greatest height; and, if I relaxed and permitted any freedom, the scene would become trying with beseeching voices saying, 'Take me, sir, I'll be such a good boy.' I have seen both men and women weep, and reply, £My dears, my heart is big enough to take you all, but my house ain't.' And when the choice was made it would take a little time for the rest to get over a feeling of intense disappointment at not being the distinguished chosen one, who in a little while would be ready for his journey to his new home with his new father. They invariably went off amidst English cheers. It is sorrowful work unbinding, as it were, the little twinings their sweet, obedient ways have already bound around us. Many were writing letters to friends in England, but many had not a love-link to earth. One little fellow said, CI ain't got nobody to write to but you.'43 The home claimed it was customary to try to place brothers and sisters together if possible. Failing this, they were placed close to each other. Where a sibling had gone before, efforts were made to place the new arrival nearby. This, however, was not always possible. Knowlton was a small, remote village in the Eastern Townships of the province of Quebec. The Home's conveniences were few, with water pumped from a well and lighting supplied with paraffin lamps. Heating was attained from "French-Canadian boxstoves"44 which consumed a great deal of wood. In 1885, electric lights were installed along with a furnace, laundry room and bathrooms, paid for through generous donations. The Home was added to from time to time, but the demands on the building were proving too much.
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The Knowlton Home in the Eastern Townships, c. 1913. Taken from The Children's HomeFinder by Lilian Birt, ipij.45 A party of 61 children arrived at Halifax on the Sardinian on March n, 1888. Of this number, 20 children remained in Nova Scotia for placement while the rest continued on to the Knowlton Home. Another party of 82 children arrived at Quebec on June 17. The Halifax agent reported that 18 children from this group were sent to Nova Scotia for placement. Mrs. Birt wrote to her "Dear Boys and Girls" in July 1892, requesting that they send her some summer news to take back to friends in England, "I should like your answers to this to give me an account of some of your summer occupations and pleasures, so that your people at home shall not think that there is nothing but winter and snow in Canada." She also told the children that they were to get some schooling, "and should let me know if you do not," and cautioned them to save their money in the bank and "not to be self-willed, or seek to have your own way in all things."46 Judging from a collection of envelopes saved by a stamp collector, she, Birt, had reason to talk to the children about their letters. Of the several hundred envelopes in this private collection, more than half were written in the months from December to March. This may have been when the children had time for letter writing as there was less to do on the farm. In 1892, Louisa Birt travelled west to investigate the possibilities of sending children there. She worked out an arrangement with the City of Winnipeg and the provincial government of Manitoba and land was set aside by the provincial government for her use. The Canadian government was even willing to contribute to the railway fare of the children. However, the Liverpool committee decided that expansion at that time was not possible. However, many of the children brought to the Knowlton Home did move
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west on their own after their apprenticeship was completed, some moving with the families who had taken them in or adopted them. The immigration report of 1897 contains a brief report from Mrs. Birt on the activities of that year: 132 children have been received into this Home during the months of March and July, 1897. Eight of these have been returned, and immediately replaced in new homes and situations. Nineteen of those emigrated in former years have also returned for one cause or another, these also have been replaced, in almost every case for higher wages. All seemed healthy and bright and desirous of earning what they could to help themselves and become independent. Over 600 applications have been received for children, since January ist, 1897, showing that Canadian families are desirous of securing the help that even little hands can give. (Signed) Louisa Birt, Agent.47 As well as the children from the Liverpool Sheltering Home, Birt brought children from the Christ-Church Homes, Claughton, Birkenhead, and many others used her facilities including a number of Unions. Members of the Sheltering Home committee agreed to contribute if the Roman Catholic Church would open a home in Liverpool for the children of their faith. They also worked with the Liverpool School Board which started sending some of its children to Canada in 1892. In addition, beginning in 1900, about 500 children from the industrial schools in the area were also sent to Canada through the Liverpool Sheltering Home. In 1900, children were reported to be between four and fourteen years of age and they were coming from a variety of philanthropic institutions. Four visitors were employed by the home to make the rounds and check on the welfare of the children. These reports were then returned to the home in Liverpool. Smart also reported that children usually "remain in the Liverpool home five or six months prior to being sent to Canada."48 He continued: Mrs. Birt's sixty-third immigration party arrived at Knowlton on March 15> [1903] and by special invitation I had the pleasure of visiting the home shortly after their arrival, and before any had been distributed. I spent two days at the home, and had an excellent opportunity to study their characters and examine many individually as to their training in the Liverpool homes. They were a very healthy lot; of good intelligence, and without exception a desirable type. Mrs. Birt's work is held in high esteem by the
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citizens of Knowlton, as was evidenced by the public reception given the children in the evening. The home is well maintained, but owing to the great demand for children, its accommodation is never taxed, except immediately following the arrival of their bands of immigrants. Rev. E.M. Taylor, Inspector of Schools, wrote to me recently with reference to Mrs. Birt's work, and I quote his letter in part: - C I have, since July, visited more than 150 orphan or homeless children brought to Canada by Mrs. Birt and placed in Canadian homes. The great majority of them are doing remarkably well. I am, in the course of my visitation, often entertained by those who years ago were brought out by Mrs. Birt. Some of the teachers, who for some time taught under my inspection, are persons who in early life were placed on farms by Mrs. Birt.'49 Elizabeth Meiklejohn retired in 1904 and Mr. A. Drummond, the head teacher in the Liverpool home, came to inspect the children brought over in previous years. Drummond had accompanied many parties of children to Canada and he would remain to superintend the home for a time. G. Bogue Smart also reported that "[m]any of their children, who have done well in Canada, encourage others of the family to come to this country. Twenty-one of the spring's band had friends already in Canada."50 Some children did make inquiries about their families and made arrangements to have brothers and sisters sent to Canada with the aid of the home. In some cases it was just a matter of finding out where in Canada a brother or sister had been placed so that they might visit one another. One former resident had arranged through the home to have all of her brothers and sisters sent to Canada. In 1911, for the first time, the much anticipated annual visit of Louisa Birt did not take place. Smart reported, "[o]wing to her advancing years and indifferent health, I regret to say, she was prevented from crossing the Atlantic during the past summer."51 Louisa Birt continued her efforts until 1910 when her daughter Lilian Birt took over. Lilian, described her mother: Louisa's (Mrs. Birt) entire freedom from thought of self made her able to set everyone at ease; her friendly manner interested people at once in her work. Though no one had heavier trials and sorrow to face than she had in her course through life, yet she kept a cheerful outlook through all. Her children and friends can record that never did they hear a grumble from her lips either at the weather, or the food at table, or of weariness in the work. She had a magic way of gaining the children's obedience. As a boy said when questioned by the Canadian farmer, "Now tell us, what sort of a
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A group of young children brought to Canada by Louisa Birt. Taken from the Report of G. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1903. Courtesy of NAG, PAAPJV 7282 €403.
woman is Mrs. Birt?" he replied, "Well, she's a very nice lady, but she's the kind of woman that when she says 'beans' you daren't say 'peas.'" She had a very practical eye for all the details of the management of two large establishments in Liverpool and in Canada. She loved to see everything as pretty and well arranged as possible; no uniform for her proteges; every child must have its individual appearance studied. About all her work there was the personal touch; she was never too busy to give individual attention to any sick or sorrowful or naughty child. Her bright smile and sweet voice inspired poor widows and famishing children in thousands with courage to trust themselves to her care and guidance in leaving their native shores for an unknown land.52 In 1912, the Liverpool Sheltering Home realized that something had to be done to either update Knowlton or move to a new centre. But on February 17,1913, before any decision could be made, Knowlton was damaged by fire, causing the early parties of that year to use a home in Montreal. The damage must not have been of much consequence as Smart reported that the Knowlton Home was in good condition in 1914 and that Mr. J.S. Rough was in charge. With the outbreak of war and the ceasing of emigration of the children, it was decided, in September 1915, to close the home and combine the work with the Macpherson Home in Stratford, Ontario. Smart reported that an "arrangement has been entered into by Mr. Merry that children from Mrs. Birt's Home, Liverpool, will in future be sent to Stratford for distribution."53
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William Merry, Mrs. Birt's nephew, had run the Stratford home for his aunt, Annie Macpherson, for many years. On Louisa Birt's death, Smart noted: By the death of Mrs. Louisa Birt on 7th May, 1915, following a prolonged illness - a pioneer in the cause of child immigration - the work has suffered a great loss. Mrs. Birt was particularly well known in the province of Quebec and eastern portions of Ontario where for well-nigh forty years she had annually placed her young proteges [sic] in foster homes and under apprenticeship with farmers. In co-operation with the late Miss Macpherson, her sister, who, by the way, was the originator of the juvenile immigration movement to the Dominion, the first band of children was brought to this country by these ladies in 1870. [Mr. Smart is incorrect in this statement in that Maria Rye's party arrived in November, 1869, a year before Annie Macpherson's.] For forty-six years, therefore, without interruption, parties of young people have annually arrived in Canada and been given a start in life by these philanthropic ladies. Miss Birt, who was her mother's assistant for many years, has succeeded to the general management of the Homes.54 Lilian Birt was now in charge of the Liverpool Sheltering Home. She, like her mother before her, took a great interest in the children. During the war many of the young men who had gone to Canada with the agency enlisted and some ended up back in England for a time. Private Robert Burnett wrote to her from France on March 17, 1918, stating, "I quite enjoyed myself in liverpool [sic] and felt more at home than in london [sic]." He continued, "y°u sent me a fine Parcel [sic] and the candle was a dandy. I never seen such a big one also the oranges you gave me kept me from being sick."55 Robert had stated in his March letter that he did not think the war would last long and on December 5,1918, he wrote again to Miss Birt thanking her for another parcel. "Miss Birt the war is just about over," he stated, and thanked God for keeping him safe as he had seen many fall. A pass was due, he said, "and I will get a chance to see liverpool [sic] again and will call and see you if its not to Much [sic] trouble for you."56 From 1916 to 1919 no children came to Canada due to the First World War. The home, however, continued to arrange for visits to its wards and, if necessary, find new positions. Then, in 1920, the work of the Liverpool Sheltering Home and Annie Macpherson's homes in England were joined under the supervision of Lilian Birt. The Macpherson Home in Stratford, was closed and its work moved to Marchmont, in
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Belleville. With operations now back to where it all started, the home was placed under the supervision of William Merry. A few years later, in July 1925, all of the records and the Marchmont Home were passed to Barnardo Homes and the Merry and Birt families ceased to be involved. Records from the Knowlton Home, dating 1912, show that some 4,858 children were placed from that home up to that date. Of that number, over 1,000 were children under nine years of age who were said to have been adopted. The home recorded 678 marriages of its past residents and 142 deaths. Some 69 children were returned to England "on account of character" and seven were imprisoned, "none of these were for more serious offences than theft."57
John T. Middlemore John Throgmorton Middlemore was born in 1844, the son of William Middlemore, a wealthy businessman of Birmingham, England, and Mary Groom. As a young man, he was sent to Boston, Massachusetts, to stay with his uncle, Tomas Groom. While in the United States, Middlemore attended the University of Brunswick in Maine to study medicine. After travelling about the United States and Canada, he went back to Birmingham in i868.58 Upon his return, he took up the cause of the homeless children in his city and, in 1872, founded the Children's Emigration Homes for boys, located at 105 St. Luke's Road. The purpose of this home was to train children for placement in Canada, children, who were "beyond the reach of our existing Government institutions."59 In 1873, a home for girls was opened at 36 Spring Street, to be followed by a third home at 94 Summer Street. With limited space, Middlemore could only help about 35 children. An outlet was necessary, and was found in Canada. Middlemore brought his first contingent of children to Canada that same year on board the Sarmatian. He sailed on May i and arrived at Quebec City on May 12, without any plan as to how, or where, he would place the children. He said: I left for Canada with my twenty-nine children on the first of May 1873. [Although Middlemore claims 29 children, the Ontario immigration agent at Toronto records 40, consisting of two males; 2 females; and 36 children. However, the Quebec agent lists only 30 in the party.] The journey was entirely one of discovery and speculation. I had not a single friend in Canada and did not know what to do with the children when I arrived there. In the course of my enquiries I heard of the Hon. George Allen and Professor D. Wilson of Toronto and sent them telegrams soliciting help. Both these gentlemen interfered most generously and most cordially on my behalf.
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They procured temporary lodging for my children and treated me with much personal kindness. My arrival was made known by articles in the Toronto newspapers and by personal correspondence and in the course of three or four weeks I had found good homes for all my children. ° This first group of children was taken to Toronto, Ontario, with six of the party continuing on to London, Ontario. In Toronto, Professor Wilson and the Honorable G.W. Allen helped Middlemore place the children, while in London, Messrs. Heath and Finnemore assisted him with the placement. After this first venture, Middlemore returned home to reflect on his process. He decided that some changes were needed and proposed to open a new home. He wrote: It is also proposed to establish a Lodging House near to Thomas Street, Dale End, for waifs and outcasts of all ages and both sexes. In this neighbourhood there are many infamous lodging houses, but no respectable ones....The purpose of this new lodging house is to counteract the bad influences of those in the neighbourhood. A further object is to collect the waifs and strays from the vicinity, to afford them temporary shelter, to provide them situations, and to put them in the way of earning an honest livelihood. It will serve, too, as a free registry office for those in the neighbourhood desiring situations. It will be a nursery for the other Homes, and, it is hoped a power for good in the neighbourhood. Connected with it there will be a Mission Room, with Day and Sunday schools. 1 However, the work at the St. Luke's Road home proved to be more than he could handle and this new idea was put on hold. But, the following year, Middlemore was again on his way to Canada, this time on board the Prussian, arriving at Quebec on May 11. The immigration agent listed the party as "Dr. Middlemore, Gutter Children's Home, Birmingham" 2 and recorded 50 children in the party. In Canada, a receiving home was established in London, Ontario. The London Advertiser of May 14,1875, reported: We learn that Aid. Cowan, Williams and Murray paid a visit yesterday to the city property in Westminster and notified Mr. Ross to vacate the house on the Ross farm at once, the place being immediately required for the accommodation of a lot of English boys and girls under the charge of Mr. Middlemore. That gentleman arrived in this country a day or two ago and is now en route to this city with some twenty-nine boys and twenty girls.
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An Orphans' Home is an institution very much needed in London, and we are pleased to learn that it is Mr. Middlemore's intention to establish a first-class house without material local expense. The City Council have accorded him the use of the house on the Ross farm for the purpose, with sufficient land to give the inmates necessary useful employment. It is probable those now under Mr. Middlemore's care will be accommodated at the Boys' Home in Toronto till their new place of residence is fitted up for their reception.63 The home was called Guthrie House and, in 1877, Middlemore arrived on his annual visit with a party of children and described it thus: ...On June 14 we breakfasted at the Guthrie House (the Reception House, London, Ontario) at half-past four o'clock. After breakfast we prayed for a blessing on our journey, and at a little past five Miss Blackball, myself, and twelve or fourteen children were on our way to the London railway station. We were in time for the early train to Lucknow and reached that village in the course of the afternoon. A large omnibus, which we found at the station, carried us to the principal inn. The girls and the little boys were of course inside the omnibus, but the older boys exulted on the roof. Child after child was settled round Lucknow.64 Middlemore stated in a letter to the Minister of Agriculture, dated 1878, that the lease on the current home in London, Ontario, was to expire on May 31,1879. He continued, "& there will be no probability of its being renewed, therefore we shall be compelled to build, and any consideration which your Honourable Department may think proper to make for our Charity will be doubly acceptable this year."65 It appears that Middlemore then purchased the former Swartz's Tavern property. In the London Free Press of November 27,1943, an item about the history of the tavern states: At this time the Swartz's Tavern property was sold to an English syndicate who called it the Guthrie Home and brought out homeless English children for placement in Canada. It is said that about 2,200 boys and girls in all were brought to the home at various times and that while it cleared the consciences of British cities, it added materially to the problems of a new country. [The address of the building in 1971 was 871 Commissioners Road, East.]
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A group of Middlemore boys taking a break during harvest. Courtesy of NAC/C-86484.
When the children were placed out, the following agreement was signed: I promise to take and adopt (name of child) and to treat him in all respects as if he were my own child; to attend to and supply, as far as I can, all his needs, to send him to school and to church or chapel: and finally to teach him or cause him to be taught, some trade or calling, by attention to which he may make himself an honourable and independent position.67 In addition to the children in his own homes, Middlemore also brought children to Canada from local workhouses and reformatories. Stoke Farm Reformatory School near Bromsgrove and the Guildford Union, among others, sent children to Canada with him. About 1885, he began to leave some of his children in New Brunswick, but the majority of his party were still going to Guthrie House in London. By 1891, children were going to Ontario with the Macpherson parties while the others were placed in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and a few in Prince Edward Island. An article in the Illustrated London News stated that Guthrie home was closed by 1900. "This has been abandoned, and such work is no longer encouraged."68 The nineteenth annual report of the Children's Emigration Homes states that "1,963 children have been taken to Canada." The report also talks about a party of Middlemore children taken to Canada by Reverend Clement Price in June, 1891. Price describes the start of the trip: "On Thursday, June 4 , at 9 a.m., our annual party left New Street Station. The usual scene of excited children bidding farewell to still more excited friends-the usual crowd, turmoil, and hurrahing-occurred as we waited for the departure
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of our train."69 This party was divided into two upon arrival at Quebec City, some going to Toronto, Ontario, and some to Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 1893, John Middlemore turned his efforts to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Emma Stirling helped to place his children from her home at Aylesford, Nova Scotia, during the period of 1893 to 1895. Middlemore also continued to send a few children into Ontario through Macpherson's organization, however, the Canadian government was pressing him to set up his own receiving home as required by law. The Canadian government told Middlemore in 1895 that he was either to reopen Guthrie House in London, Ontario, or start a new home of his own in Nova Scotia. That year he bought some land just outside Halifax, in Fairview, and the address became P.O. Box 409, Halifax, Nova Scotia. John S. Rough was made superintendent of the new home while John Naylor was in charge of Canadian operations. The home also had four visitors to check on the welfare of the children. The home later became the Wanlyn Inn, but it is no longer operating. By 1901, Smart reported that Middlemore had placed the following children: "New Brunswick, 250; Nova Scotia, 150, and Prince Edward Island, 86." He went on to say that cases of "harsh treatment by employers have been remarkably few, in fact, only one such case had been brought to his [the superintendent's] notice; the result being that the child was promptly removed and replaced with advantage."70 The children brought to Canada were between five and 15 years of age, with, on average about 100 per year. Included in the numbers were children from various philanthropic institutions in the Birmingham area and some children from the Unions. By 1911, Frank A. Gerow reported that children were also being placed into the State of Maine. Smart in his 1912-1913 annual report stated: On November 27 last I paid a visit of inspection to this home. During the past twelve months 103 boys and 51 girls were received from England and sent to homes and situations in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Four hundred and sixty of their wards were visited by the home's visitors during the year. There are 1,050 children under the care and supervision of this agency. The average daily number of children in the home, three, some of whom spent several weeks here prior to being replaced. It was considered advisable to return three to England and two deaths occurred. The health of the children has been good. One hundred and thirty-three children changed their situations for various reasons and were resettled of whom forty-two were from poor law schools and ninety-one came from Mr. Middlemore's own homes at Birmingham.
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Mr. [J. Sterling] and Mrs. King are zealous workers and during their short experience in the work have taken a good hold of their duties and responsibilities and devote as much of their time as possible to visiting amongst the children. The home was found in good order and the children provided with comfortable quarters. There were nine girls in residence at this date/1 As war broke out in Europe changes were being made in Canada. In 1914, William Shaw Ray and his wife Ellen Ann Pringle, were made superintendent and matron of the Fairview Home, located just outside Halifax. Mr. Ray was a former Middlemore child who came to Canada in July 1890. Some 600 Middlemore boys, it is estimated, joined the Canadian forces during the First World War, with Fairview Home itself also suffering from the conflict. The home reported receiving some damage from the shockwave of the explosion in Halifax Harbour in 1917 when a munitions ship, the MontblanCy collided with the Imo and blew up, causing catastrophic damage and a great loss of life in Halifax. The war caused a lull in the emigration of children but, in May 1919, a party of 90 Middlemore children was on its way to Canada, the first group to arrive after the war. These parties of children were often accompanied by Mr. Jackson or Robert Plenderleith. By now Dr. Middlemore was in his seventies and had appointed others to assist him in his work. Elmley Lovett, Middlemore's daughter, remembered helping her father. She wrote: I remember one year after I was married, when he was an old man about 70, he asked me to travel to Liverpool with the Emigration Homes children and see them off for Canada. He himself came to say goodbye at Birmingham Station. There was a big crowd on the platform, all sorts of people who had come to see the little emigrants start off. A great yelling and hubbub arose in one of the big saloon compartments where a crowd of the younger children were, and when I went to quell the disorder there was my father in among the children playing an imaginary fiddle like mad, using his smart, tightly-rolled city umbrella as a bow and dancing about to his own soundless tune while the children skipped and danced with him and shrieked with joy and everybody from the matron to the station officials was roaring with laughter. He was such fun and his fun was infectious.72 Some of the children brought to Canada by Middlemore were sent to Manitoba, however, the majority were sent into Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince
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Edward Island. Dr. John T. Middlemore died in 1924. It is estimated that between 1873 and 1932 some 5,000 children came to Canada through his homes.
Dr. Thomas Bowman Stephenson and the National Children's Home Dr. Thomas Bowman Stephenson, a Wesleyan minister, spent six years in the districts of Manchester and Bolton before coming to London in 1868. He was minister at Waterloo Road Chapel in the Lambeth slums, in the neighbourhood of the notorious New Cut district, and was touched by what he saw. "I soon saw little children in a condition that made my heart bleed. There they were, ragged, shoeless, filthy; their faces pinched with hunger, and premature wretchedness staring out of their too bright eyes; and I began to feel that now my time was come."73 Joining forces with Francis Horner and Alfred Mager, Stephenson rented No. 8 Church Street in Lambeth, which would house about 20 boys. Converting the stable into a dining room, and the loft into a dormitory, the facilities were ready to receive the first occupants. There were a few trials to contend with, however, as "the only playground was a patch some four yards square, with a gateway, meant for the passage of a single cart. And this was workshop too!"74 But on July 9,1869, the first boys were taken into residence and the Children's Home was born. "They needed a friend and a home - someone to tell them of God and to teach them a trade,"75 was the way Dr. Stephenson put it. He believed first and foremost that religious values were needed. However, he also understood that without some form of training these children would be ill-equipped to face the world and provide for themselves. Before a year had passed, the neighbouring house was also purchased and allowed space for a total of 37 children. In 1871, Stephenson was appointed to Victoria Park Church in South Hackney, and new premises were found so that industrial training could be taught with better facilities. Now printing, carpentry, shoemaking, laundry work and sewing could be taught to better advantage. James Barlow, that same year, gave Stephenson 76 acres and a house on the moorland at Edgworth near Bolton, in Lancashire, for use in his work. An additional 30 acres were added to the property. The boys built their homes and turned the land into a farm which soon became a self-contained village for several hundred children. The Children's Home was later renamed the Wesleyan National Children's Home and Orphanage of London. Over the years this organization opened additional homes including: Gordon Hall Mission, Globe Road E.; Children's Mission, Hartley Street E.; Girls' Aid Department, Bonner Road N.E.; Our Own Hospital, Waterloo Road N.E.; Cripples' Church and Priory, Bonner Street E.; Lancashire Branch, Moorland Farm, Edgworth near Bolton; Milton Branch, Farnborough, Hants; Milton Branch,
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Gravesend, Kent; Manx Branch, Ramsey, and Sea Side Branch, Ramsay, Isle of Man; Princess Alice Orphanage, New Oscott, Birmingham, Warwickshire; and the Infants and Convalescent Branch, Alverstoke near Gosport, Hampshire. Thomas Stephenson was also ahead of his time in other ways. He established a system of visitors who would visit the homes of the poor and ill to give aid and comfort. He set up places where factory workers and others could come to get an inexpensive meal or meet with friends or read a book. The Reverend William Morley Punshon, In 1872, he opened a home in Barton President of the Wesley an Methodist township, near Hamilton, in response to the Conference, 1871, Taken from the Canadian urging of Reverend William Morley Punshon. Illustrated News, February 7,1871. Later, as the city grew, the address became 1080 Main Street East/6 Stephenson was aided by local Methodists and a group from Toronto who raised $1,500 towards the purchase of the land and buildings. Another $7,500 was raised by Canadians to help pay for the home. Senator W.E. Sanford, owner of the W.E. Sanford Manufacturing Company of Hamilton, was a director of the home. The property comprised a number of acres on which fruit trees were grown. There was a house, cottage and a large wooden building "which can be used as a reception house when the parties of young emigrants arrive."77 R. Riley was the Governor at the home. Smart declared the location to be "in every way suitable."78 Although a party of children was brought to Canada by Francis Horner in 1873, this group does not appear in the immigration report for that year as credited to Stephenson. A group from the London Children's Home is listed, arriving on the Polynesian on May 25.1873, but with no reference to either Stephenson or Horner. The first recorded party in Dr. Stephenson's name (consisting of 48 children), arrived on the Texas, September 29.1874. The following year, 43 children arrived on May 13, on board the Vicksburg. Although some sources claim that Thomas Stephenson began to emigrate children to Canada in 1872, the first occurrence of his organization in Canadian government records is not until 1873. Francis Horner said: I think of going to Ottawa at the invitation of some of the Government officials. Our work has already got a first-class name, and we are likely to
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Juvenile immigration from the "Children's Home"a hasty meal en route, G. Gascardy artist. Taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, October 17,1874.
secure many advantages not conceded to others. An emigration agent told a prominent Government official in my presence that our children were the finest he had ever seen come out, and that we were doing a work altogether superior in character.79 He goes on to describe the children being sent to Canada with: ...[boys] two suits, two caps, two overalls, two vests, four shirts, overcoat, two pairs boots, slippers, four pairs socks, handkerchiefs, scarf, tie, collars, [shirt] fronts, braces, gloves, brushes, and combs, a linen-bag, an outfit of buttons, laces, etc., and a stout trunk to enclose the whole. When it sent out girls, this institution supplied: jacket, three frocks, four petticoats, stays, two drawers, two pairs combinations [undergarments], bloomers, three bodices, two nightdresses, four pairs stockings, boots, shoes, slippers, ten aprons, six caps, cuffs and collars, felt hat, tam-o'-shanter, two pairs gloves, umbrella, scarf, bags, brushes, combs, handkerchiefs, two yards calico, supply of needles, thread, etc., and a travelling trunk. ° In 1875, the Reverend John Burgess was sent to Canada with a delegation from the Stephenson Homes to approach the Minister for Immigration, Letellier de St. Just, and ask for financial assistance. The Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, sent them to see Lord Dufferin, the Governor General. The committee told Lord Dufferin they required the money to pay for training of the children before they were sent to Canada. The
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The National Children s Home, located at 1080 Main Street in Hamilton, was a Stephenson receiving home. This photograph was part of Inspector G. Bogue Smart's report for the year ending June 30,1903. Courtesy ofNAC/PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. Governor General supported the scheme wholeheartedly and the Canadian government agreed to pay a subsidy of $2 per child. The children were trained carefully "for a period which averages nearly three years, before they come, they are better able to appreciate the advantages of their position in this thriving community, and to reward the patience and care and kindliness which may be shown towards them by their employers. At the same time, they are young enough to form local attachments, and to become thoroughly identified with the country of their adoption." * By 1877, there were 275 children from the homes in England working on farms in Canada. In 1882, Thomas Barnardo's first party of children to Canada made their way to Hamilton. Reverend John S. Evans, superintendent of the Stephenson home, served as an agent of Barnardo Homes for the placement of these children. It is not known if this relationship continued beyond this one year. Mrs. Evans is listed as accompanying a party of 47 to Hamilton on July 8,1888. The immigration agent reported: The Children's Home situated in Hamilton is connected with the Home of the Rev. Mr. Stevenson [sic] in England; the Home here has been managed by a Board of Directors of whom the Hon. W.E. Sanford is the president, Mrs. Evans the matron, being well adapted for the important position. She has visited every child sent out from the Home during the year, and is well pleased with the homes of the adopted ones with few exceptions, and in these cases she has found it necessary to remove them. 2
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The Saint John, New Brunswick, immigration agent, John Smith, reported that in 1890 several agencies used his port. "The societies engaged in juvenile immigration, whose homes are located in the Hamilton district, and referred to in statement H, shows a decrease of 100 as compared with the previous year."83 The National Children's Home numbers did drop off that year. Stephenson children were usually placed in the Hamilton, Niagara and Toronto areas. At first both boys and girls were taken to Hamilton, but by the end of the 18908 only boys were being sent to Canada. The 1890 immigration report states that: A number of these children are depositors in the savings banks, some of them connected with the Stevenson's Home [sic] having taken up homesteads in Manitoba and the North West Territories [present day Saskatchewan and Alberta]. At the present time the children connected with this institution have one hundred and fifty-five individual savings bank accounts, the Hon. W.E. Sanford being the president, to whom a great deal of the success is due, assisted by the superintendent Mr. Sanford Evans.84 In 1900, a questionnaire was sent out to the homes and Stephenson's was asked how many children it brought, on average, to Canada in a year. The reply was 65. However, it was noted that since the passing of the Ontario legislation in 1897, the Act to Regulate the Immigration into Ontario of Certain Classes of Children, that number had dropped to 30. G. Bogue Smart reported that upon his 1901 visit there were two little boys, brothers aged five and eight, in the home. "Owing to their age, and the fact of their being brothers, the governor considered it inadvisable to separate them at present, and they will be kept at the home. The number of children in the home at any time other than immediately following the arrival of a party from England, seldom, if ever, exceeds six, and their stay at the home is usually very brief."85 Stephenson boys were always being complimented about their ability to save. Several of the immigration agents commented on this and Smart stated that "thousands of dollars are placed in the savings bank every year, a splendid tribute to the thrift and industry of boys who arrived in Canada without a cent to their name."86 Frank Hills, superintendent of the home, was proud of the young men, saying that many of them were setting up homesteads in Saskatchewan and Alberta. In 1907, Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, paid a visit to the Hamilton home and let it be known that he was very much impressed. Originally, the Children's Home was surrounded by farms, located in the Township of Barton, but by 1912 it was fast being encroached upon by residential properties.
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The estate comprises a large and attractive residence, quarters for the large parties of immigrants that arrive, stables, workshops, barn, and the like and about eight acres of orchard and garden. Out in the open, not under glass, as in England, black grapes and white grow in large quantities, the "graperies" running wild, as it seems, by the hedgeside or wherever they will. Other fruits, especially apples and peaches, also abound, as do all the common species of "garden truck."87 Dr. Stephenson's position as head of the National Children's Home was taken over by Reverend Arthur E. Gregory. When Reverend Gregory died in 1912, Reverend W. Hudson Smith took over the role. Alfred Mager, a founding member of the Homes, visited Canada in 1914, proud of the work they had accomplished. In 1914, Smart paid a visit to England and reported on the new home at Harpenden, Hertfordshire. Although the home was not yet completed, he stated that it would house 212 boys and girls. The boys received training in farming and gardening while still having the opportunity to learn a trade such as printing, carpentry, tailoring and other skills. Reverend W. Hudson Smith was principal of the home, with Reverend S. Carroll Myers and Charles N. Barns his assistants. Smart also commented on the fact that nearly 3,000 children had been sent to Canada by this institution.
A party of National Children s Home boys destined for Hamilton, 1912. The photograph was from the front piece ofG. Bogue Smart's Report for the year ending March 31,1914, published in Ottawa in 1915. Courtesy of NAC/PAAPJV 7282 C4C3.
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Farnborough Certified Industrial School for boys was also visited by Inspector Smart as it was a branch of the National Children's Home. The boys were taught a trade and, if musically inclined, were allowed to join the band. Smart noted that this will "account for the number of our former juvenile immigrants who may be found in Canadian military bands." Between 1886 and 1888, Reverend John S. Evans was the "Governor" of the Hamilton home. Mary J. Evans was matron in 1888 but she died in 1889 and was succeeded by her son, Sanford Evans. In 1891-92, Miss L.V. Evans assumed the role as matron of the home. W. Sanford Evans was the manager of the home for one year from 1893 to 1894 and then replaced by Frank Hills. Hills, who had worked in the homes in England before coming to Canada, remained as superintendent until 1928. The following year Ben Johnson was listed as superintendent and, in 1931, Harry T. Gooding became the last superintendent. The city directories list the home as being vacant in 1934. The National Children's Home estimated that 85% of the children they sent to Canada remained. About 15% of the children either returned to England or went to the United States. The National Archives of Canada records contain a list of about 486 men, who came to Canada as boys with Dr. Stephenson, and who enlisted in the military by 1917.89 In all, about 3,000 children came to Canada with the National Children's Home.90
Thomas John Barnardo and the Barnardo Home On July 4,1845, in Dublin, Ireland, Thomas John Barnardo was born. He received his religious zeal from his mother and it carried him through his life until his death on September 19,1905. During those 60 years this small, meticulously-dressed man, full of energy and ideas, helped change British law and the face of Canada. Barnardo arrived in London, England, in 1866 to train for missionary work in China. When it was realized that he had more to offer, the suggestion was made that he attend the London Hospital in Whitechapel to train as a doctor. This was to profoundly change Barnardo's life. Living in the East End of London, he took to heart the plight of the poor of that city. There he met Annie Macpherson through the Ragged School, initiated to teach the children about God, to read them Bible stories and provide some instruction in reading and writing. Barnardo's work in the East End led to the opening of a home at Stepney Causeway in 1870. His medical studies, however, were to suffer and he finally gave them up and turned his full attention to helping children. Barnardo's first efforts to help children were in setting up the City Messenger Brigade, whereby he had boys delivering messages around London. Initially he put his efforts into the rescue of boys and opened a boys' home, but following his marriage to Syrie Louise Elmslie in 1875, the Girls' Village Homes were opened at Ilford, Essex. Just a
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few years later, in 1879, Teighmore House on the Island of Jersey was donated to Barnardo for use as a boys' home. There would follow the Babies Castle, Hawkhurst, and many others. The "Ever Open Door" policy and "No Destitute Child Ever Refused Admission" mottoes became famous. Annie Macpherson was already involved in the emigration of her children by the time Barnardo established his first home. He took advantage of her organization and sent a few of his children to Canada with her. She wrote, "[y]ou will be glad to hear that all your boys seem to have got comfortable places."91 She placed many of Barnardo's children from her Belleville, Knowlton and Gait homes. Some reports say that the first children to come to Canada, actually under Barnardo's direct care, arrived in Quebec City in August 1875. Others claim that a few children were sent prior to this date. Since they accompanied Macpherson's parties, government records do not differentiate them. Barnardo, a man of detail, studied the emigration process and decided to throw himself wholeheartedly into this work. Influenced by the support and donation of Samuel Smith, MP, who was involved in the Liverpool Sheltering Home, Barnardo turned his full attention to emigration. On August 10,1882, the first party, in the company of Frederick Fielder, sailed on the Parisian and upon arrival went to Hamilton, for placement through the Stephenson home. Barnardo toured the country, making notes of how things should be carried out, then opened a home in Toronto, at Front and Windsor streets. The parties increased in size with 173 arriving in 1883, and 266 the following year. Miss Emily Morecroft accompanied the first party of girls to Canada in 1883. A Mr. Owell (possibly this was Mr. Owen with the name being spelled incorrectly), is listed in the 1884 immigration report as the chaperone of the two parties with the children going to both Toronto and Peterboro' (as it was spelled at the time). Barnardo sent the first party of children early in the year, thus landing at Halifax, and not Quebec, on April 5. The agent lists the party as arriving at "12.00 Noon" and states that the immigrants continued the trip on the "Immigrant special [referring to the train], 9.00 P.M."92 The Peterborough home, Hazel Brae, which was a large brick mansion dating from about 1840, was opened after extensive renovations on May 15,1884, with Mr. and Mrs. Edward Duff as superintendent. The use of this building was offered by George Cox, president of the Midland Railway, and later mayor of Peterborough and a Canadian Senator. As Hazel Brae was intended to be the main receiving home, the first Toronto site was closed. However, a later decision was made to move the boys to a location in Toronto and, in 1886, a home was once again opened there, listed in government records as being at 204 Farley Avenue. Alfred deBrissac Owen, son of a Methodist minister, was superintendent of the home which later is recorded as being at 214 Farley Avenue. Thomas Barnardo who had decided that Canada, the closest British colony, would be his destination, had strict guidelines for selecting his children for emigration. To
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make the "Canada List" one had to be of good character, healthy of body and mind, have some education and industrial training. Once placed, each child was to be visited on a regular basis. The home at Stepney Causeway became the UK collection point prior to emigration. One governor of the home referred to it as the "wholesale warehouse" and the "export emporium."93 The now famous Barnardo trunk, developed at the industrial home, was "made of hardwood and covered with imitation alligator skin. It contained a Bible, with the date of emigration, a Sankey Hymn Book, Pilgram's [sic] Progress and the Traveller's Guide."94 Each child was also provided with stationery and told to write to the home on a regular basis. For clothing the girls were given two sets of winter underwear, dresses, aprons, boots, stockings, comb and brush. The boys were supplied with trousers, boots and coats. One young immigrant claimed the clothing was so tough that he had few items to replace because of their durability. Four parties are listed for 1887 and the destination is given as Toronto and Peterborough, with Alfred Owen accompanying two of them. A document in the collection of the National Archives of Canada lists two children, James and Jessie Letten arriving on the Circassian at Quebec on May 25,1887, alone.95 The other parties arrived on the Parisian, March 18 and August 20 respectively, and the third party on the Sardinian on the tenth of September. A large farm near Russell, Manitoba, was acquired partly by grant and partly by purchase. On December 27, 1881, the North-East quarter of Section 36 in Township 20, Range 28 was purchased.96 The farm eventually consisted of over 8,000 acres and the laneway was lined with stately fir trees, like sentinels guarding the gates, reported one local resident. The building was wooden and three stories high. There were three barns on the property, a dairy, large vegetable garden and various livestock. Anyone who has lived on the prairies will understand the bleakness of the winter and the golden glow of wheat in the summer. One observer commented: It was pleasant to stand at the upper windows and try to imagine what the view would be when the trees and all the valley should be green with the spring of the year; when, instead of unbroken snow, the eye could range over miles of golden wheat, and then turn for rest from this splendour to the natural prairie carpeted with its multitude of wild flowers, and wonder what these boys from black courts and squalid alleys would think of their new home in the New World.97 In 1888, lads were making their way to the Russell Farm and would continue this process until 1908, when financial problems prompted the closing of the farm. Edmund
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A. Struthers, served as superintendent of the farm and, in 1893, at the World's Fair in Chicago, a model of the farm was on display. Struthers kept a journal and some of the youths who arrived at the farm are listed in it. This journal is part of his collection of papers currently housed in the Archives of Manitoba. Alfred Owen reported that "Captain Annesley, the superintendent of our Home for Girls at Peterboro [Hazel Brae]" had forwarded a letter to him at the home at Stepney Causeway, London, England.98 The Captain had received a letter from the Canadian authorities requesting a list of children from the Unions brought by them to Canada. Attached were the names of 17 boys, 16 of whom had come aboard the Polynesian on April 8,1888, and one, William Henry Smith, who had arrived on the Circassian on July 30, of that year. The 1889 list of workhouse children recorded the following Unions (a collection of workhouses in a given geographical/political area): Isle of Thanet; Thetford, Eastbourne; Tamworth, Kidderminster; Hambledon and Farnham." Captain W.G. Annesley wrote on Hazel Brae letterhead on October 2, 1889, when he was replying to Mr. Small, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, giving the name of two Union girls from Kentish Town Union, London, (sisters Louisa [13 years] and Edith [12 years] Oslade). The letterhead lists Geo. A. Cox as the Canadian Treasurer; Mrs. W.G. Annesley as Matron; Miss Camilla Sanderson, as Secretary; and Miss Joyce, as Visitor.100 Also of special note is a copy of an agreement form for "Dr. Barnardo's Homes for Destitute Children."101 This form, however, was an agreement between "John Swanton Evans, Governor of the Children's Home, East Hamilton," that is, Stephenson's home in Hamilton, as Barnardo's agent. Co-operation between homes was not uncommon, some assisting by taking children from other homes in their parties. The form was probably only used, in 1882, for the first arrivals. Many newspapers of the time reported on Barnardo's activities, for he was indeed a master of propaganda. The Newcastle Chronicle of April 2,1889, reported: As announced, there have just sailed from London 226 boys and lads; all inmates of the Barnardo Homes at Stepney, and destined to swell the list of emigrants to Canada. Dr. Barnardo has developed in connexion [sic] with his Homes an industrial farm of some 9000 acres out in Manitoba; and it is to this settlement that many of the boys who are now on their way to Canada will proceed. For others, however, suitable situations have been provided; and there is apparently no difficulty in regard to disposing of healthy and willing lads among the settlers. To show, in fact, how successful may be this form of emigration, it is only necessary to repeat that Dr. Barnardo has himself been the means of sending out something like four
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thousand boys and girls who have all prospered so well that the failures among them do not exceed one half per cent. The Times also reported on this same Barnardo party, revealing that more than the children from Ireland, England and Scotland were in his parties: The large gymnasium of Dr. Barnardo's Homes at Stepney was the scene of an interesting meeting yesterday afternoon, when 226 trained boys and lads, selected from 3,000 inmates of the homes, made their last public appearance prior to sailing for Canada to-morrow. The chairman, Mr. James Rankin, M.P., spoke from personal knowledge of the successful future certainly awaiting any boy of upright and honest character and industrious habits in the Dominion. Dr. Barnardo supplied some interesting details of the composition of the party, the first of this year, from which it appeared that not fewer than 130 of the boys had been rescued originally from a street life, and that among the party there were representatives of Guernsey, Russia, Germany, and India, as well as of 36 counties of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The older members are destined for the industrial farm of 9,000 acres now being developed in connexion [sic] with the homes in Manitoba, and upon which 200 young settlers will ultimately be placed. The younger boys will, immediately on landing, be placed out in situations already secured. The emigrants presented an admirably healthy appearance. Four thousand boys and girls have now been emigrated by the homes to Canada and other British colonies, and the failures among these have not exceeded .5 per cent.102 By 1890 there were 330 children in the two Barnardo parties with Alfred Owen still in charge of the Toronto and Peterborough parties and Mr. Welsh in charge of the single party of boys heading to the farm in Russell, Manitoba. The Halifax immigration agent, Edwin Clay, reported that in 1890 the new immigration sheds were in use and were much improved over the old ones. He also reported a very unusual incident: I have to report that on arrival of the SS Parisian 6th April, Frederick Agustus Devereux, age 12 years and one of Dr. Barnardo's party for Russell, Man., was stolen from the steamer by parties unknown. I placed the matter in the hands of the police and in a day or two the boy was left at my office by a man who said the boy had been left at his house during the night. The lawyer I took advice from did not think the Immigration Acts of
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1869 and 1872 fully covered such cases, and that some special provision should be made providing a very heavy penalty.103 Boarding out was started by the Barnardo Canadian homes in 1891. This was a practice peculiar to them. Any child under 12 years of age was to be boarded out with a foster family. The family was paid for its efforts. The Muskoka District became the "nurseryground" for Barnardo Homes. When a child reached 12 years of age they were then placed out on an indenture. Owen stated that few boys actually went out under 14 years of age. The emigration of girls did not take place between 1890 and 1891, but, by 1893 there were 828 boys and girls divided among the Barnardo Homes. In 1894, Mr. Owen wrote to John Hoolahan, Dominion immigration agent at Montreal, giving some particulars of the operation. He stated that they were "in the work of placing out in this country young people who have been trained in his [Barnardo's] English institutions."104 Owen said that there were 55 branches of the institution located in various parts of England, and that 716 children had been immigrated that year. He continued: ...The 716 immigrated during the past year makes a total of 5,862 boys and girls sent to the Dominion and placed out under Dr. Barnardo's auspices since he first engaged actively in immigration work in the year 1882. The young people have come over in four detachments. The first, consisting of 235 boys, left Liverpool by the "Sarnia," of the Dominion line, and landed at Portland on the nth of April. These were followed by 227 boys, who crossed on the "Sardinian" in June; 109 boys sailing from Liverpool in the "Laurentian" on the 3Oth of August; and finally a party of 87 girls and 58 boys, who landed in Halifax from the "Laurentian" on the 26th November. On landing, the young immigrants have proceeded to one or other of the three distributing agencies established by Dr. Barnardo in the Dominion. Of these the one for girls is at Peterboro', Ontario; for boys in Toronto; and for older lads and young men at Russell, Manitoba, where there is a large farm on which the new arrivals are employed until they have acquired some practical knowledge of Canadian farm life and work.105 The demand for children remained high, according to Alfred Owen, even though the country was suffering from a depression. Wages, however, were affected by this, but boys who had been in Canada a year or two could earn from $10 to $15 a month, some making as much as $17 or $18 per month. The following year he reported that a new venture had been started "in the shape of a monthly magazine of ten pages."106 The magazine, called Ups and Downs, was only
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circulated to those brought to Canada under Dr. Barnardo's auspices. Owen continued on other matters: ...The "boarding out" system has of late years been very largely and successfully adopted by Dr. Barnardo, and a considerable number of the children sent out during the present year had been provided for in this manner. They had been brought up in English country households, had attended village schools, and had become thoroughly familiar with country life, with the result that they are the more ready to adapt themselves to the conditions of their life in Canada, and are, to that extent, more useful and valuable to their employers.107 Another home was opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1896. The city directory of that year lists the home as the Richard H. Pell boarding house, and appears for the first time as Barnardo's in the 1897 city directory. Children were taken to the 115 Pacific Avenue location by David White who, along with his wife, served as superintendent and matron of the home. The Winnipeg home, was declared a success, "beyond our most sanguine expectations,"10 by Mr. Owen. Children made their way there in 1897 in the company of Mr. Struthers who would eventually take over as superintendent. ...Over 400 boys have passed through the institution during the year, and have been placed with farmers in Manitoba and the North-West Territories, and to judge from present indications, the demand for boys from 12 to 14 years of age seems practically unlimited. The majority of those who have been placed out from the Winnipeg Home during the past year, are boys who were sent from the English Homes when quite small, and have since their arrival been boarded out in farm households, generally in Northern Ontario, where they have been maintained at the expense of the institutions, while being trained in Canadian farm life and receiving their education at Canadian country schools. This "boarding out" department of our immigration work has proved one of its most useful and, in the results accomplished, one of its most valuable features. The children in preference to receiving their early training in English institutions, are brought up under the influences of family life and home training. They commence life in Canada at an age when they have scarcely begun to form habits or permanent attachments, and can readily adapt themselves to altered circumstances, and they become acclimatized and reconciled to the conditions of country life with a facility that would be impossible in children
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of more advanced years. The boys who have formed the various detachments that we have sent up to Winnipeg during the past year have chiefly been boarded out in Ontario, and we fancy it would be difficult to obtain better material for successful settlers on the western prairies than the little lads who have gone up there after serving their apprenticeship in Ontario farm homes.109 Owen reported a "slight falling off" in the number of young immigrants, 656 arriving in 1897 as compared to 678 in the year previous. The children were divided among four parties. Sailing on the ships of the Dominion Line, two of the parties arrived on the Labrador. "The inland transportation arrangements have been equally satisfactory, and our young charges have travelled both by sea and land without accident or mishap."110 Alfred Owen commented on the wonderful health of the children, saying: In appearance, health and general physical condition we venture to affirm that the young people sent out by Dr. Barnardo during the past year would compare favourably with the same number of immigrants of any class or age, who have ever landed in the Dominion. Every boy and girl has had to pass the strictest and most careful medical examinations, and not one has been included in the parties that had not been pronounced to come up to a high standard of physical fitness. The children have, without exception, been under training in the English Homes in most cases for periods of many years, sometimes from early infancy. We have, in short, acted upon the conviction so often expressed in Dr. Barnardo's public utterances, that the flower of the flock only should be emigrated, and that it is nothing else than an act of criminal folly to attempt to unburden upon this country a child or an immigrant of any age who, either from physical disability, mental weakness or moral failure is unfitted or unlikely to become a useful selfsupporting member of the community. The demand has been well sustained during the year, and we close the season without a boy unplaced, and with a number of applications to carry forward for next year's first arrivals.111 Inspections of the children were continuing, Owen reported, and the visitors were now paying surprise visits on the children, besides encouraging the children to write letters to the home. When visiting the children, these visitors took special pains to note the way the children were dressed, the condition of their health, the way they were treated in the home and other aspects of their surroundings. In 1900, Owen talked of staff changes for the home and of the hiring of more visitors
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who travelled far and wide to see the children in their placements and also those placed in foster homes. "Our system of registers, under which a full and complete record is kept of every child placed out, becomes an increasingly heavy task," he stated, "but it enables us to present a detailed history of the progress and welfare of each immigrant who has passed through our hands from the earliest commencement of Dr. Barnardo's operations in Canada."112 Barnardo homes did indeed have remarkable records. The admission history of each child contained a physical description, medical evaluation, occupation and whereabouts of all known relatives, photo and account of circumstance which led to child's entry to the home, correspondence between parents and home, and between child and parent. He continued with a description of the Russell Farm in Manitoba: The large farm in Manitoba which has been for the past thirteen years an important adjunct to the immigration work of the institutions, and which is carried on under the management of Mr. E.A. Struthers, continues to show excellent results. The farm home is a training institution for youths over seventeen years of age who are sent out from England after a period of testing in a London Institution known as the Youths' Labour House. The inmates are young fellows who have been reduced by scarcity of employment, or other causes, to a position of destitution and are taken in at the Youths' Labour House and kept there for a sufficient length of time to determine if they are at least honest, industrious and decent, and if during the period of residence, extending for a few months, they comply with these qualifications, they are considered eligible for emigration, and are drafted to Manitoba to remain for a period of twelve months under the care and training of Mr. Struthers. The farm itself is a fine property, comprising nearly ten thousand acres, situated in or adjoining the valley of the Assiniboine and within three miles of Russell station on the Manitoba and North-wester [sic] Division of the Canadian Pacific.113 Alfred Owen stated that the average age of the children sent out was "considerably younger" than in previous years, with most children under 13 years of age.114 Usually the boys were sent to the home in Toronto while the girls were sent to Hazel Brae in Peterborough, a home which was provided rent-free by George A. Cox (later renamed the Margaret Cox Home in honour of his wife). It was not, however, unusual for boys, especially young ones, to go to Hazel Brae. The 1901 Smart report states that Barnardo Homes, now numbering more than 96 in England, placed children in the following counties of Ontario: Brant, Bruce,
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Hazel Brae, a Barnardo receiving home in Peterborough, Ontario. Courtesy of the Peterborough Centennial Museum & Archives.
Carleton, Dufferin, Durham, Elgin, Grey, Halton, Huron, Lambton, Lanark, Lincoln, Middlesex, Muskoka, Oxford, Peel, Peterborough, Russell, Simcoe and Wellington, with some placements in the City of Toronto. In the West it was Austin, Glenella and Stony Beach, with boys only being placed there. Smart stated that Hazel Brae home for girls was: ...very pleasantly located at the outskirts of the town of Peterborough. The home is surrounded by a large garden and lawn, the latter affording ample play ground for the smaller children. The house appears to be very well adapted for its present purpose, the rooms being large and airy. I made a careful inspection of the building throughout and found it complete in all its appointments. It is well supplied with water, and the sanitary arrangements appeared to me to be very satisfactory. Fire escapes and a good supply of hose are provided throughout the house, and every precaution appears to have been taken for safety in case of an emergency. The dormitories, dining room, kitchen, play room, school room, &c., are all conveniently arranged. The infirmary is capable of accommodating, I should judge, six cots....A private school has been provided for the benefit of such of the children as remain at the home for any length of time. Classes are held daily and a competent teacher is employed, and the children are also taught to do various kinds of domestic work....115 By this time G. Bogue Smart was reporting that there were now four Barnardo Homes in Canada, two in Ontario and two in Manitoba. The home in Toronto was still
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53
located at 214 Farley Avenue, and the girls' home was still in Peterborough. In Manitoba there was the farm at Russell, and a home in Winnipeg. "The name 'Barnardo' has become a familiar one in the agricultural communities of Ontario and the North-west Territories," he reported.116 Indeed, by this time Barnardo had sent more than 13,000 children to Canada and the term "Barnardo boy" was one used loosely by Canadians in describing all young immigrants. The fact that one thousand, one hundred and eighty-eight children came from Barnardo Homes, was a statistic in his 1904 report. "I am advised that approximately 400 silver medals have been distributed amongst the boys for length of service and good conduct. The distribution of medals is an annual event."117 Medals of both silver and bronze were given to the children for staying in one position for a period of time. The following year Smart reported that the children "remain a very short time in the homes before they are sent out to situations, which are generally selected before the children reach Canada."11 Younger boys and girls, he stated, were boarded out in Muskoka and other northern counties with "a very liberal payment" made for their upkeep. He ended his 1905 annual report with a memoriam to Barnardo who had died on September 19,1905. Smart quoted from The Times: He may be justly ranked among the greatest public benefactors whom England has in recent times numbered among her citizens. With no adventitious aid from fortune or from connections, with no aim but to relieve misery and to prevent sin and suffering, he has raised up a noble monument of philanthropy and of public usefulness. Notwithstanding the inroads of disease, he remained bravely at his post, and his premature death was no doubt largely due to his devotion.119 The Illustrated London News (ILN) carried a picture of the casket draped with flowers Barnardo medals, such as this one, were given annually as rewards to children. Courtesy of Gord Nichol.
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and an honour guard of children round it. The lying-in-state took place at the chapel of the Edinburgh Castle, the former Gin Palace in London, converted by Barnardo. The ILN reported that while "the body lay in state there, it was visited by a long procession of poor children whom the late philanthropist had benefited."120 The paper continued: "London is the poorer by the death of Dr. Thomas J. Barnardo" and that, while the headquarters were still at Stepney, "the National Waifs Association has branches in all directions."121 There were nearly 16,000 children who had no chance in England, it said, thriving in the Colonies because of Barnardo. Charles Booth, of the Salvation Army, declared that the Barnardo homes were the most charitable institutions in England. Mrs. Syrie Louise Barnardo carried on the work of her husband. The Canadian homes suffered another set back two years later. Jane Loveday, who had worked for many years with Barnardo Homes, died tragically in 1907. Mr. Smart wrote: ...The Barnardo Homes have sustained an irreparable loss by the death of Miss Loveday, who perished in the fire which destroyed the Gilmour hotel in Ottawa last September. Miss Loveday had come to the Capital in the prosecution of her work, and was a guest at the ill-fated hotel. For fourteen years she had been connected with Dr. Barnardo's Girl's Home, at Peterborough, Ontario. She was a lady of shrewd common sense, devoted to her duties and held in the highest regard by those with whom she came in contact.122 The health inspection of the children did undergo a few changes over the years and, in his 1911 report, Smart witnessed the inspection of a newly-arrived Barnardo party: The children were separated from the adult immigrants on reaching the immigration hall, and for clearer observation passed singly through a narrow passage, at the end of which the medical officers of the department were stationed. Each child was stopped and submitted to a searching examination - first as to the condition of its eyes, scalp, skin and general physique. General questions were put to each child with a view to testing its intelligence before it was allowed to pass on and receive the stamp of eligibility. In the case of three lads, the medical officers deferred their judgment until the others had been passed and after a consultation by the doctors they were also permitted to proceed.123 Smart also noted that children were placed that year into Saskatchewan. They were visited, he said, "at least once annually under the efficient direction of Mr. E.A. Struthers," who was now manager of the Winnipeg home.124 About 3,000 children had,
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by this time, gone west. The following year, Smart stated that the work of the girls' home was restricted to the province of Ontario and that 67 of the girls had recently been married. Many of these happy occasions were reported in Ups and Downs. Staff at the Barnardo Homes in Ontario were kept busy not only trying to place the children but also in acquiring foster homes for the younger children. As the fostered out children came of age, they too were placed out. The usual placement period was for three years and, if the child wanted to receive his medal, he served for the full time. By 1912, the Toronto home was located at 50-52 Peter Street and the Peterborough home was renamed the Margaret Cox Home, in honour of the late George Cox's wife. At this time, ownership of the home in Peterborough was turned over to Barnardo Homes, listed as a registered charity, having been registered as such in the UK in 1899. Although the Winnipeg home was still open, it would close in 1918. Mr. Smart made a visit to England before war was declared and, on July 4,1914, Founder's Day for the Barnardo Homes, visited the home at Ilford. He was impressed by the "self-contained village" and the training the girls received to go into domestic service. Mr. W.W. Hind-Smith, of Barnardo Homes, also took him to the Boys' Garden City in Woodford Bridge, Essex, which was not complete at the time. "There were some four
Postcard of the Margaret Cox Home (formerly Hazel Brae) in Peterborough. The back reads: "A party of Happy Girl Emigrants - The Emigration work of Dr. Barnardo's Homes has been carried on sound and practical lines since 1882. Over 23,000 boys and girls have been trained and placed out. The vast majority have done well. Mr. Alfred B. Owen is the General Superintendent. Head Office, Peter Street, Toronto. Donations for emigration always gratefully received. Courtesy of Bruce Elliott.
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hundred lads here, many of whom informed me that they were coming to Canada and showed considerable enthusiasm at the prospect of becoming farmers."125 With the outbreak of war in August 1914, some agencies ceased their emigration. However, Barnardo Homes sent 293 children in 1915. Many of the "old boys," some 1,114 of them, enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force that year. Farm help was a great scarcity as those of military age left for Europe, thereby placing a greater demand on the services of the remaining children. For almost four years no Barnardo children came to Canada. At the end WWI, government intervention would cause the work to change. In 1919, the British government set up the Oversea Settlement Committee. The responsibility of this committee was to assist the emigration of veterans or of their widows and children. Many of the child agencies, including Barnardo's, were called upon to help with this work. With the exceptional need for farm labourers, in 1920, a total of 581 children, both boys and girls, were again sent to Canada. But, a new area of opportunity with Oversea Settlement funds now available to send children to any of the colonies was also opened under the Oversea Settlement Committee and Australia was looked upon with far more interest. In Ontario the passing of the 1921 Adolescent Act, raising school leaving age to 16 years, made it necessary to modify the work. In 1922, the Toronto home was moved again, this time to 536 Jarvis Street. At this time Alfred Owen retired and Mr. and Mrs. John W. Hobday took over as superintendent and matron of the home. The number of young immigrants was starting to decline as more opportunities were open to the children, both in the UK and in other parts of the British Empire. In July 1925, the Liverpool Sheltering Home turned all of its records, including those it had acquired from the Annie Macpherson homes, over to Barnardo Homes. Marchmont, the only home still used, was also given to Barnardo Homes, but it was closed in August of that same year. The combination of economic conditions and social reforms greatly restricted child migration to Canada, causing the number of young immigrants to drop substantially in the 19308. On July 8,1939, the last party of Barnardo children arrived in Canada. That same year the Margaret Cox Home [Hazel Brae] in Peterborough was demolished. The Toronto home was closed and an after-care facility was set up by the Barnardo Homes at 466 Briar Hill Avenue, run by George Black. It would remain open until 1963.
Church of England Waifs and Strays Society / Church of England Children's Society / Church Emigration Society The Church of England Waifs and Strays Society was founded in 1881 by Edward de Montjoie Rudolf and his brother Robert. The organization grew out of the Sunday
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School movement which the brothers had worked in at St. Ann's Parish in South Lambeth. They found that for a child to gain access to one of the existing orphanages sponsorship or payment made keep was required. Realizing that the Church was doing little to help its destitute members, the brothers campaigned for a Church home for children. With the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a home was opened at No. 8 Stamford Villas, Friern Road, East Dulwich on December 16,1881, more than ten years after Annie Macpherson and Thomas Barnardo opened their homes.126 Maria Rye acted as an advisor to help the society get on its feet. She strongly urged the Church to consider girls first as, in her opinion, girls were not receiving as much attention as boys. "People will tell you the girls cannot be helped, or cannot be found, but this is all nonsense and they need the help a thousandfold more than the boys."127 CHURCH OF ENGLAND RULES FOR ADMISSION TO ITS HOME128
1. Any child who shall have lost both parents, and also shall have no relatives or friends able to maintain it. 2. Any child whose parent, or surviving parent, shall be physically incapable of supporting the child. 3. Any child whose mother shall be a widow having other young children, and who shall be doing her best to support them upon insufficient means; the action of the Executive to be in co-operation with the Guardians when desirable. 4. Any illegitimate child whose mother shall be striving to retrieve her character, upon the understanding that a contribution be made by the parents towards its maintenance if possible. 5. Any child seriously neglected or ill-treated by its parents or guardians, or subject to immoral influences. 6. Any child whose parents, or surviving parent, shall be undergoing a term of imprisonment, provided it has no other available means of support. The utmost care to be used in order to avoid encouraging natural guardians in idleness, or evil courses, and every legal step to be taken to compel parents to discharge their responsibilities. The first girls were sent to Canada through Miss Rye and some of the boys were sent to Louisa Birt at Knowlton, Quebec. It was decided, however, that the Church should have a Canadian home of its own and a fundraising campaign was begun. Reverend John Bridger, of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK), came
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to Canada and bought a house at 117 Bowen Street in Sherbrooke, Quebec. It was named the Gibb's Home, in recognition of a major contributor to the fund. In 1885, Mrs. H.W. Osgood and Reverend Bridger accompanied a party of girls to the new home. Mrs. Osgood remained to serve as matron of the girls' home. Another home, at 136 Bowen Street in Sherbrooke, acquired for the use of boys, became known as the Benyon Home. Parties sent to the Benyon and Gibb's homes, in the Eastern Townships of the province of Quebec, were chaperoned by chaplains of the SPCK. Sometimes children were sent to Canada in parties of families sponsored by this society or by the Church Emigration Society, the adult emigration branch of the Church of England. In 1886, a report on Ada Holmes and William Shaw (who came from Hastings Union), appeared in the records of the Department of Agriculture of Canada.129 The address of the Church of England Central Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays is given as 32 Charing Cross, London, S.W., England. A statement on the letterhead, just below the name of the society, is of interest. "Means adopted:-(i) Boarding out in families; (2) Establishing small homes; (3) Emigration."130 There are many homes listed on the letterhead including boys' homes at: Frome; Standon Farm; Ashdon, Essex; and Kingsley near Frodsham. The girls' homes are even more numerous: Baroda House, Dulwich; Headstone Drive, Harrow; 123 Marylebone Road, Suffolk; Leamington; Fareham; Winchester (Connaught House); Meanwood Cottage Home; Ashurst, Tunbridge Wells; Hemel Hempstead; The Mumbles, Swansea; Cold Ash, Berks; Arnold, near Nottingham; Hillingdon Heath Cottage Home; Goulds' Green Cottage Home; The Beckett Home, Meanwood, Leeds; Gibb's Home, Sherbrooke, and Benyon Home, Sherbrooke, Canada (Both the Canadian homes are listed under Girls' Homes). Sometimes the children were sent on their own and turned over to the immigration agents in Canada. One such party arrived in May 1889, on the Nestorian. On the letterhead of Mr. Marquette, the provincial immigration agent in Montreal, Reverend Robert Acton (immigration chaplain) reported to the Canadian government, after having received the party. There were eight boys in that group (age in brackets): William Lark (14), William Peppiatt (12), John Pont (14), Arthur Parkes (13), James Tomkins (13), Frederick Spiller (14), Frederick Parkes (13) and George Sapwell (14). Acton stated the boys were from St. Pancras Union Industrial Schools and were to be placed in good Protestant homes. "They proved to be fine, smart, promising lads fairly educated with good outfit and £3 each for landing money to pay their way."131 Compared with the other large agencies, the Church of England sent few children to Canada. In 1887, forty children are listed in the immigration report, all going to Sherbrooke. By 1893, there were only seven children noted. Parties were small; the Society brought a little over 100 children to Canada in only a few years, but it was
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The GiWs Club pose in front of GiWs Home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, as they celebrate the Royal Visit 0/1939Courtesy of Sarge and Pauline Bampton. unusual in another way. The Waifs and Strays Society was closely tied to many other Church of England organizations. Andrews Home, located at 46 Belmont Park, Montreal, Quebec, was founded January 12,1895, and was used by many of the Church of England societies. Although many of these societies brought families to Canada, they sometimes had children in their parties. For example, the SPCK with the Reverend Osborn B. Allen, secretary, and the Society for Promoting Christian Learning with Reverend John Bridger, Organizing Chaplain in charge, both assisted by chaperoning parties of children to Canada. The SPCK shepherded the Church of England emigration operations and helped place its charges through Chaplains in Canada. For over 20 years ministers such as Reverend J. Bridger, Reverend Creep (from St. Nicholas in Liverpool), Reverend C.R. Baskett (of Birstwith), and Reverend R.O. Barron (from the Isle of Man), brought emigrants to Canada.132 The Church Emigration Society, Church House, Deans Yard, Westminster, S.W. London, used the services of Miss M.K. Grimes, a member of their board, to accompany parties to Canada. There was also Reverend R.F. Winter of the Liverpool Self-Help Emigration Society at 4 Tower Garden, Water Street in Liverpool, who is noted in government records as accompanying boys to Canada. The Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants, 18 Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., used the church emigration facilities and sent girls with Miss Poole and the Immigration Chaplain, Canon Renaud. In November 1896, Maria Rye retired and handed over her work and her home at
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Niagara-on-the-Lake to the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society. Thus, the Church began to send boys to the Gibb's Home in Sherbrooke and girls to Our Western Home in Niagara-on-the-Lake. About this same time, the Gibb's Home was relocated to 21 Lawford Street. Miss Gallaway accompanied a party of 10 girls to Niagara-on-the-Lake in August 1900. A Miss Bailey took 18 girls the following year, but the parties were much smaller than those previously arriving at there when the home was under Maria Rye's direction. The girls in the home were young - Smart reported that the average age, when he visited in June 1901, was 10 years old. Six older girls, Smart stated, were in the cottage awaiting new positions. The cottage was a separate building on the property. By 1900, Smart was reporting that the maximum age of the boys was 18 and the minimum age 12. However, he goes on to say that an eight-year-old boy was presently in the home and "owing to his tender years" had not been placed out. The children were placed mainly in the Eastern Townships of Quebec but, as of that date, no rules as to visiting were in place. Smart claimed that about 300 children to date had been placed out by the society. "The building is a frame structure, and has recently been enlarged by the addition of a wing at the rear, which will afford better accommodation. About sixteen children can be accommodated comfortably. The dormitory is large and bright, and the place was very neat, tidy and comfortable throughout."133 Records in the National Archives of Canada show that children were sent to various parts of Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. The 1901 report showed the following distribution of the children who arrived that year. DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN AS PLACED BY THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND WAIFS AND STRAYS SOCIETY 134
Ontario County o f Lincoln Kent Bruce Brant " Middlesex City o f S t . Catharines Quebec County of Stanstead " Sherbrooke " Richmond Magog
Boys -
Girls 2 i i 4 i -
i 9 2 -
Total 2 i i 4 i 2
-
1
2 i 9 2 1
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161
In his 1905-06 report, Smart stated that 144 children were sent by the society - the peak year for them. The Niagara-on-the-Lake home was under the direction of Miss Bayley (sometimes spelled Bailey) and Smart was well pleased with the premises and the training being afforded the girls. The Gibb's Home in Sherbrooke was visited annually by G. Bogue Smart and, in his 1913-1914 report, he had this to say: There were only three boys in residence at the date of my annual visit of inspection. These boys had been in situations and returned owing to ill health. There is a marked improvement in the terms under which their wards are indentured, and the same good system should be noted in regard to supervision of the children. Mr. Thomas Keeley, an officer of the society, visits Canada annually and supervises the placing of the boys. The present building has pretty well outlived its usefulness for its original purpose, and the society has plans under way for a large and more modern house which, it is expected, will be built during the coming year.135 However, while at the home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, he had a different story to tell: Twenty-nine girls were received at this pioneer Receiving Home during 1913. The older ones of the party were placed out shortly after their arrival; the younger remaining - as is the policy of the Society - under special training at the Home. The general record of their wards has been good, and there were only five girls in residence - in the interim of changing places. There are approximately one hundred girls under the care of the home in various sections of Ontario. At the time of my official visit, twenty-five children were being cared for and trained at the home - a notable decrease in number in comparison with those of former years. The lady superintendent spoke encouragingly of the general progress of their wards. Three girls were returned to England during the year; two owing to ill health, and one due to personal faults. Rev. Prebendary Rudolf, the Chief Executive of the Society in Great Britain, paid a visit to the Dominion for the purpose of supervising the work of the Home and visiting some of their wards. The Home was, as usual, found in good order throughout. The children's quarters were commodious and satisfactorily arranged. A visit was
i6i
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
The former GibVs Home in Sherbrooke, as the building looked in 1997. Courtesy of Sarge and Pauline Bampton.
paid to the school room where the younger members of their family were inspected. All were suitably dressed and bore a creditable appearance. I desire to mention that Miss Bayley, who for more than twenty-five years has ably filled the post of superintendent of this institution, is about to retire from active work of this Home. Miss Bayley has given very excellent service to the Home and the children during her tenure of office, and her retirement will be much regretted.136 Mr. Keeley, who had accompanied parties to Canada over the years, came to Canada in 1914, and remained to serve as superintendent of the Sherbrooke home until it closed in the 19308. He was joined by Miss Margaret B. Maclver (sometimes spelled Mclver) who served as matron from 1915. After the home closed, Keeley turned the home into the Gibb's Club to help the children keep in touch. Although the home was sold in the 19508, Keeley stayed on in Sherbrooke and kept in touch with the boys until his sudden death (he was hit by an automobile) in 1969. The home at Niagara-on-the-Lake was sold and used for military purposes during the First World War. Ultimately, in 1924, the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society purchased a new home in Toronto, called the Elizabeth Rye Home. Located at 661 Huron Street, the home, as described by Smart, was a substantial brick house situated in a desirable neighbourhood. Here, girls between the ages of 14 and 18 were trained for domestic service. Miss Prime was the matron, with Miss Conquest her assistant. However, conflict developed between the British management and the home's Canadian board of directors. Eventually, the board called for the resignation of the matron. During the few years the home was open, girls about 15 to 17 years of age were brought over from the UK and placed out as domestics in the Toronto area. On January 15,1932,
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the home was officially closed and the girls were linked up with the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Miss M. Graham was charged with looking after any loose ends, one of which was the savings accounts, in trust, for the girls. At this time the home was listed as the Rye Home, 28 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto. It is estimated that the Church of England sent only about 5% of its wards to Canada.137
The Church Army Wilson Carlile, curate at St. Paul's Church in Kensington in 1881, began work to form what was to become the Church Army. Carlile worked with the police and in the workhouses. He wished to reach the man in the street with the word of God and to this purpose he asked for permission to hold open air services. Carlile began to attract young men-servants who volunteered to go into the "Potteries," the slums of north Kensington, to hold evangelistic meetings. This group was known as the "Church Militant Mission," to the officials and "Carlile's Monkeys" to the man in the street.138 Carlile was joined in 1882 by other groups which had also formed within the Church of England, such as the "Church Gospel Army," the "Church Salvation Army," and the "Church Mission Army." They were merged and became "The Church Army."139 In 1890, when a training farm opened at Newdigate in Surrey, Wilson Carlile said: It is our hope that some of those who stand the test of their willingness to work hard, will be able to proceed to a country farm near London, where they can be still further tried as to their sincere desire to stand even a severer labour test. We trust that it may be possible later on to emigrate the most suitable as agricultural labourers to Canada and other Colonies, where there is unlimited scope. Godly farmers in the Dominion will gladly receive them, watching over their spiritual as well as their temporal welfare.140 The work with young men 18 years of age began when the Church Army received lads as first time offenders, or on probation from the courts. The first home for these boys was opened in 1892 on Walmer Road in Netting Hill. Another home, called the West London Boys' Home, taught the art of mattress making. Other homes taught carpentry and market gardening. In 1905, Hempstead Hall in Essex, an estate of 540 acres with an Elizabethan mansion, was given to the Church Army. Here agricultural labourers were trained, including some of the boys, destined for emigration. It was in this same year that the Church Army reached its peak in emigration, sending out some 3,000 persons, not all of whom
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were youths. In 1913, about 540 persons emigrated and, in 1925, another i,O4O.141 These emigrants were sent to Canada through the facilities which the Church of England already had in place. Unlike the Salvation Army, which took and tried to help all who came, the Church Army carefully selected those it wished to assist. The work of the Church Army continued until the 19208 when new colonial government regulations put a stop to emigration work.
James William Condell Fegan James William Condell Fegan was born in Southampton on April 27,1852, to James and Anne Fegan. His father was employed in the Ordinance Survey Office in Southampton at the time. Fegan's mother taught her four children at home and, at the age of 13, Fegan was sent to the City of London School. In 1870, Fegan began working for a group of brokers in London and, while there, was exposed to the terrible conditions of the poor in the city. He started a Ragged School but was so taken with the plight of children that he began to house a few in the attic of his school. It soon became necessary to find larger quarters and a home at 112/114 High Street, Deptford, was opened on May Day of 1872. Soon he gained the title "Fegan of Deptford" for his efforts with the youth of this notorious area of London. Raised a Plymouth Brethren, Fegan felt the need to educate destitute boys in the way of the Lord but also to train them for a future. Noted for "their asceticism and strict military discipline"142 the Fegan homes grew in number with the opening, in 1879, of The Little Wanderers' Home in Greenwich - a county home where the boys received industrial training. This was followed on July 31,1882, by the Southwark Home at 95 Southwark Street, Southwark S.E., a replacement for the first Deptford home. Then, in 1913, The Red Lamp at Westminster was acquired which, in turn, replaced the Southwark Home. Rotherfield, a few miles from Tunbridge Wells, was purchased later and used as a convalescent home for the ill and, at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, the old St. Paul's College which was closed in 1895 was added in 1900. Named the Orphanage and Training Home for Waifs and Strays, Stony Stratford housed up to 250 boys from six to twelve years of age (later increased to 14 years). The boys were educated and taught carpentry, printing and shoemaking. Later, some were sent to another home to learn farming. Fegan was very much involved in other activities in his time as well. In 1875, he opened Home Hall, at 188 High Street, Deptford, for mission work, as well as another mission on Holland Street. The Medical Mission, which supplied medical care for area families and the "invalid kitchen" where food was prepared and sent to the sick of the area, were also run by Fegan. In addition, he ran various social services, such as supplying
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clothing to the needy. He opened The Girls' Institute, which taught dressmaking and cooking; The Factory Girls' Restaurant, which served wholesome cheap food for female factory workers; the Working Youths' Institute, something like a clubroom where games could be played or books read, and furnished it with a coffee bar; and the Medical Mission available to hop-pickers, set up during hop picking season in Kent. Fegan pioneered "camping out" excursions for his boys. A farmer would be asked for the loan of his barn for a few days and the boys would bivouac there and explore the countryside. Later on, Fegan received funding to purchase real camping gear so that the boys could pitch tents and not have to sleep in the barns. It seemed that no matter how many lads Fegan took in there were always more who required his assistance. Lord Blantyre talked to Fegan about the possibilities of sending boys to Canada and even offered £500 to pay for 50 boys to be sent to this country. Fegan, like Barnardo, was also offered support and a donation for emigration work by Samuel Smith, MP, director of the Liverpool Sheltering Home. In May 1884, Fegan made his first trip to Canada, along with ten boys, with the idea of investigating the emigration of boys to this country. Finding no trouble in placing them, he returned home for 50 more. Fegan visited Ottawa and Toronto, and even made a trip west to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. A home was established in Brandon, Manitoba, and it is said that Fegan was the first to send children to western Canada. While in Toronto, Fegan met William Gooderham, a prominent local distiller who bought a Toronto home at 295 George Street for Fegan's headquarters (which was to be shared with the Salvation Army). The building was turned over to the home trustees in 1889. On his death, in 1889, Gooderham left $10,000 to Fegan Homes to continue its good works. Our Papery a publication of Fegan Homes, dated Toronto, March 5,1887, stated that many of "our readers will remember the fine company of boys filing into the Mission Hall on College Avenue, in June last, in charge of our friend Mr. A.H. Brace, nearly one hundred." The boys were doing well and had sent in $200 from their wages "to be placed in the Bank for them." According to the Paper, the home, originally called the Colonial Distributing Home, would soon receive 100 more boys brought by A. Austin A rendition of Fegan s Toronto home at - boys from England, Ireland and Scotland. 296 George Street Courtesy of Dick Fegan brought mostly older teenage boys Wright. to Canada. In the beginning he outfitted them
i66
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GOLDEN BRIDGE
with two cloth suits, two suits of underclothing, three hats or caps, two pair of boots, three pair of socks, three handkerchiefs, a jersey and an overcoat including a box to keep the goods in, for a total worth of about £25. OUTFITTING COSTS IN 1925 i Trunk
19.6*
i Comb
i Pair of Braces
2.0
i Weekday Cap
.9 1.6
1 Overcoat
1.16.0
i Earflap Cap
3-0
3 Collars
1.6
i Scarf
2.6
2 Suits at 367-
3.12.0
3 Shirts with collars
1.1.0
2 Ties
1.6
1 Tunic Shirt
5.0
1 pair Working Trousers
n.o
2 Suits underwear
10.0
4 Handkerchiefs
2.3
2 Nightshirts
1O.O
2 pairs Boots at 12/6
1.5.0
4 pairs Stockings & Socks
9.3
Garters, Laces, Studs and Links 1.10
Books:
i pair Slippers
6.3
Bible
4.0
i Suit Bluette Overalls
14.4
a marked New Testament
i Hair Brush
1.9
Grace and Truth
i Waterproof jacket
6.9
Traveller's Guide
i Clothes Brush i Jersey i Tooth Brush
2.5 7.6 .7
Pilgrim's Progress Hymn Book Stationery
•9 i.o .6 1.6
i Sunday Cap 3.6 f The amounts appear in columns in pounds.shillings.pence.
Total cost per boy
.3 2.O
£l4.8.11
Year after year they came, sometimes as many as 130 in a year but often just over 50 in the party. Spring, usually April, was the arrival time, and almost always into Halifax. Mr. Brace, Mr. Butland, Mr. Render and Fegan, and others accompanied the boys. But, Fegan's work hardly ever afforded a mention in the immigration reports. In 1901, Smart listed the following Fegan-run institutions in England: The Boys' Home, 95 Southwark Street, S.E.; Orphanage and Training Home, Stony Stratford; Ramsgate Orphanage, Ramsgate; Southwark Home Mission, Blackfriars, S.E.; The Medical Mission, Blackfriars, S.E.; Factory Girls' Institute, Blackfriars, S.E.; Working Youths' Institute, 91 Southwark Street, S.E.; The Canadian Distributing Home, George Street, Toronto, Ontario. He also stated that boys were placed for wages ranging from $24 to $54, based on their size and ability.144 Smart was impressed with the "large selection of wholesome reading matter and note paper" which was included in the boys' boxes.145
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The boys were encouraged to repay the costs of their passage and outfits to give others the same opportunity and make it possible to bring more boys to Canada. The Fegan "old boys," between 1883 and 1893, sent over £2,243 to the home in England to help pay the way for others. This amount increased substantially as the years went by. In 1907, Smart reported that the boys had over $11,000 in bank accounts.146 On January i, 1922, a cable was sent from Toronto, Ontario, to Mr. J.W.C. Fegan Homes. It read: "Your sons across the sea send forty-six hundred and fifty dollars as an expression of love and gratitude."147 In the homes at Stony Stratford and Goudhurst, copper plate plaques proclaim an honour roll of the boys who sent money back to the home in support of other boys making the same trip. It was after his visits to Canada that Fegan decided to start a training farm at Goudhurst, Kent. In 1911, he purchased about 346 acres of land to allow the boys a taste of farming, Canadian style. Here, he had a Canadian-style barn built and outfitted with Canadian farming machinery. The Fegan home in Toronto was managed by W.H. Brace, with George Greenway listed as superintendent in 1903. In 1912, Smart reported that after a brief absence Greenway had again assumed the superintendency. Later the home was moved to 247 Broadview Avenue, Toronto. Although Smart reported that the home was non-denominational, he also said that it was "definitely Protestant."148 He also described the system: A number of Mr. Fegan's boys came under my personal inspection during the past year, and I was most favourably impressed by their appearance, demeanour, and intelligence. Those of their number under departmental inspection and in situations on farms were found to be doing well and in good situations. This Home has a clientele of farmers in Western Ontario, who for many years have been constant employers of Mr. Fegan's protegees [sic]. Before being permitted to go to Canada each boy must undergo a definite training under Mr. Fegan's direction. These training schools are located at Ramsgate, Stony, Stratford, and Goudhurst. At the latter the boys are taught farming by Canadian methods. Much importance is paid to the after-care of the boys, and regular systematic visitation is maintained. The visitors' reports and other records are carefully kept. During the past few years, on the occasion of my official visits to the Home, it is a noteworthy fact that there have been no boys in residence. From the superintendent it was learned that the lads were well settled, and few changes of situations amongst their number had been made during the year. The Home is under good management and the welfare of the boys well looked after.149
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Visits were made by Smart to many of the homes in England in 1914, with the farm at Goudhurst, Kent, being among these. He described it as "A Bit of Canada in England:"150 Situated only forty-three miles from London, it is within convenient reach, and in all respects an ideal school for London boys. It covers an area of some eighty-four acres, and as the stables, farming implements and general equipment are of Canadian model and manufacture respectively, one would imagine it to be an up-to-date Ontario stock-farm.151 Although Fegan Homes usually brought boys from its own institutions, in the 19205, it, like some other organizations, assisted boys from Armenia to come to Canada. These boys were few in number and were sent to one of the homes in England for a time before making their way to Canada. On December 9, 1925, J.W.C. Fegan died on the farm at Goudhurst in Kent, the favourite of his homes. His wife, the former Mary Pope, whom he had married August 23,1889, continued the work started by her husband until she was killed by a bomb in an air raid in October 1943, at the same farm. Immigration to Canada continued until 1939. By this time some 3,000 boys had come to this country through Fegan Homes. The homes in England have continued until the present but, as with many of these organizations, the focus has changed.
William Quarrier William Quarrier was born September 29,1829, in Greenock, Scotland. He was the son of a ship's carpenter who died in Quebec in the 1832 cholera epidemic. A few years after his father's death, he moved to Glasgow with his mother and two sisters. Life was hard for the family and Quarrier worked at various jobs to augment the family income. Eventually, at the age of eight, he obtained work in a boot shop and worked in several shops over the next eight years, finally coming to work for Mrs. Hunter. Her influence on Quarrier's life was extensive. She invited him to share her pew at church and later allowed him to marry her daughter. At the age of 23 Quarrier started his own small shoe shop. This was followed a few years later, in 1856, by his marriage to Isabella Hunter. The Quarriers soon had a son and three daughters and then took in the three orphan children of William's elder sister. Glasgow grew from a population of about 13,000 in the early i/oos to over 200,000 by the late i82os.152 Industrialization attracted many to the city, all seeking jobs. The incoming Irish, fleeing starvation, drove the population higher and made work even more scarce and accommodations hard to find. But drink was cheap and disease rampant in
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the overcrowded city. Slums abounded. It was this environment which gave rise to the many poor and homeless children which tugged at the Quarrier's heart. He wanted so much to help in some small way. In 1864, William Quarrier wrote a letter to the Glasgow Herald outlining his plans to form a Shoeblack Brigade. He received the support of other gentlemen and eventually about 200 boys, who gave half of their earnings to continue the work, were organized. The boys were to keep eight pence out of every shilling they received with the remainder of the money paying for their needs. They were also expected to attend a night school and Sunday school. This brigade was followed by a News Brigade and then a Parcel Brigade - all these endeavours done to assist the youth of Glasgow in earning a living. The first headquarters of the Brigade was located on Jamaica Street, then moved to Bath Street and next to 114 Trongate where there was room for a school and lodging for 20 to 30 boys. Eventually, the Brigades were amalgamated under the name The Industrial Brigade and shared headquarters at 114 Trongate. In August 1871, Annie Macpherson, another great evangelical worker among children, visited Glasgow and met William Quarrier. She encouraged him in his work and on November 18,1871, he established his first home in Glasgow at No. 10 Renfrew Lane. He wrote: The Home was commenced in a large room in Renfrew Lane, intended for a workshop, a kitchen partitioned off and the bare, brick walls brightened with Scripture texts etc. On the i8th. of November 1871, the first boy, jacketless and shoeless, came in."153 Annie Macpherson wrote to her sisters saying: Strike a note of praise for the answer to the many prayers of our Glasgow fellow-labourers. A friend in Scotland has been stirred up to give £2000 in order to build an Emigration Home in Glasgow, that homeless lads may be trained for Canada. Let us unite in asking that ere long similar homes may be opened in Edinburgh and Liverpool, where poor, oppressed orphans abound.154 The building at 10 Renfrew Lane was soon too small, so another was acquired and set aside for girls at nearby 93 Renfield Street. But this too proved inadequate and a mansion at Cessnock, Govan, was purchased for boys and two others homes or girls at Newstead and Elmpark in Govan Road. The Renfrew Lane and Renfield Street homes were eventually given up and all work moved to the Cessnock home. Here the children
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were prepared for emigration. It was vacated May 12,1885, and operations were moved to Bridge-of-Weir near Glasgow. Quarrier expressed his belief in using emigration to help his children. By the emigration feature of the work we are enabled to place these children in Christian homes in Canada, where they will be kindly cared for and watched over by Miss Macpherson and her helpers. By this means we hope to be enabled yearly to rescue a fresh set of boys and girls, whilst, without this providential outlet, we should be stocked up with the same set of children for four or five years, and unable to rescue more. And to those who object to emigration as withdrawing labour from this country, we would say, 'Come and see the children as we take them in, and you will perceive that not the labour market, but the crime market, is likely to be affected by our work of rescue.'155 On July 2,1872, destined for Annie Macpherson's homes, Reverend Edward J. Stobo and Miss Bryson took 60 of Quarrier's children on board the St. David and sailed for Canada.156 These were the first Quarrier children to arrive in Canada. At that time, the cost of outfitting and sending a child to Canada was about £10 each. Each child was sent off with a trunk stamped with the child's initials. The trunk for the boys contained three suits, four pairs of socks, four shirts, box of collars, writing material, boots, a Bible, Pilgrim's Progress and a pocket knife. Upon arrival in Canada, Reverend Stobo took five boys and seven girls by train to Knowlton, Quebec, where Miss Barber took charge of them. He then proceeded to Belleville, Ontario, where several of the younger children were left to be adopted. Finally, the group arrived in Gait, where they were met by Joseph Merry, brother-in-law of Annie Macpherson. Six of these children were sent on to Fonthill, Ontario, where they were placed by Mr. Atkins, a Quaker friend of Miss Macpherson. In this same year, Alexander Begg, Emigration Commissioner for Ontario, made a visit to Scotland. He reported: In Edinburgh I visited the "Home" provided for street waifs by the donations of benevolent persons, through the efforts of Mr. Quarrier of Glasgow; and on the 29* of June I visited a similar institution in Glasgow, under the same management. The occasion was very interesting, as it was a gathering of the friends and patrons of that institution to encourage and take farewell of a party of the juveniles, prior to their leaving Scotland for their Ontario home in Gait. The children were well provided and cared for
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in every respect. They felt happy and in great glee at the prospect before them. Mr. Quarrier deserves great credit for his exertions in this truly Christian work.157 Ellen Bilbrough made a visit to Scotland in 1874 and noted, "Mr. Quarrier's different labours of love, especially among the neglected children, were of great interest to me. Two Homes were now filled, and about 60 children sent annually to Canada."158 Many of these children were going to Annie Macpherson's home, Marchmont, in Belleville, where Miss Bilbrough was matron. There were 64 children sent to Canada in 1874. The contents of their trunks now included another pair of boots, another shirt, two neck-ties, a cravat, a Balmoral cap and a straw hat with long boots for winter and a topcoat for the older boys.159 In 1876, the City Orphan Home was opened and Nittingshill farm was purchased at Bridge-of-Weir, in Renfrewshire, with plans to build another home. The City Orphan Home "a large building of four storeys, with an under flat in which the dispensary, kitchen, storerooms, etc., are situated, was a gift of two ladies, the late Mrs. Alexander Allan and her mother, Mrs. Smith, both of whom were deeply interested in Mr. Quarrier's work among destitute children."1 ° It was located on James Morrison Street near the centre of the city and could house 100 working boys and 60 homeless children, with room for 40 girls, aged 14 to 25.11 July i, 1877, saw another 65 Quarrier children sail on the Manitoban. Reports of the voyages give a glimpse of life at sea and how it affected the children. This one, from the Canadian Distribution Home Report for 1886, shows the character of some of the children: Peter was a great source of amusement to all on board the Buenos Ayrean rather resembling Sir Roger Tichborne in his size. His great anxiety to sing came somewhat in conflict with his shortness of breath, so that the rendering of his childish piece, "Two Little Eyes", was generally received with hearty laughter, at which he complacently looked round in wonder. One afternoon a farmer and his wife called wanting a boy to assist them in light "chores." A number were brought into the parlour for selection - among them Master Peter; he scanned the couple carefully, and after singing was over, he climbed the man's knee, put his arms round his neck and whispered "Dada" - this was irresistible and quickly won their hearts: the older boys were dismissed and little Peter reigns alone in his new Canadian home.12 When Ellen Bilbrough made a return visit to Scotland in the spring of 1878, she noticed a great many changes in Quarrier's work. She noted:
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...The work in Glasgow had developed largely since my previous visit. Besides the two Homes at Cessnock and Newstead, a large mission centre had been built in James Morrison Street, where homeless working lads can find a home, and young women a shelter, till placed in respectable situations. On the ground floor is a capacious hall in which evangelistic services are held during the winter; many sad and needy souls assemble here, and listen to the words of life from such as Joshua Poole, Henry Holloway, George Williams, William Groves, and William Day. In this building gather daily the numerous applicants wanting help; as Mr. Quarrier writes - 'Monday, 22n , Afternoon, at City Home - A good many cases to-day took in two children - their mother had left a brutal husband in Cuba was sent home by Consul, had got lower and lower till she had to sleep out with her children. Temporary help given to some; lines for a convalescent home, etc., to other; took a boy in who had previously given us some trouble, has a very drunken mother. 3is - We have had a busy week as usual at the City Home. The distress around is very great, and numbers are coming, from various causes, wanting help. We have taken in a few more for Canada whom we have sent for training to the Orphan Homes of Scotland, Bridge of Weir - the other two Homes being full."163 Her voyage home, on the Phoenician, was made in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Quarrier, with the seventh party of Quarrier children. She wrote: Our party of eighty children, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Quarrier, left Glasgow, May 2n ; prayer was heard on our behalf, and a prosperous voyage granted. It was amusing to hear the different remarks of the new comers as we sailed up the river St. Lawrence. "What curious wooden houses!""There are no hedges!""What large hats the men wear!" The sidewalks of wood also attracted their attention, and the prolonged shriek of the railway engine was likened to the groan of a dying cow. The children attract great attention along the route, especially by the singing of their sweet hymns in their broad Scotch accent. I have seen the eyes of many careless on-lookers fill with tears as they looked at little orphan children coming so far to find a home among strangers; and yet not strangers long, for home is reached at last, a loving sister and faithful workers come forth to welcome us, and soon we are in the midst of a busy summer's work.164 By this time Quarrier had sent some 400 children to Canada either in the care of
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Annie Macpherson or Ellen Bilbrough.165 Macpherson took some of the children to her home, Blair Athol, in Gait, some to Knowlton and some remained at Marchmont in Belleville. However, after 1877, the Quarrier children were all taken to Marchmont. Quarrier began construction of a home at Bridge-of-Weir, Renfrewshire, in 1876. It followed the cottage system, influenced by George Miiller and used by Barnardo in England. Quarrier wanted to have a number of cottages, each housing about 20 to 30 children and a "mother and father." He believed that mass dormitories with institutional clothing was not the way to raise children. He said, "I have no faith in large institutions, where hundreds are ruled with a stringent uniformity which eats out the individuality of its members."1 Bridge-of-Weir, later called The Village, was opened September 17,1878, and soon became the primary Quarrier home. An Invalids Home was later added in addition to a laundry, workshops and a bakehouse. By 1888, a church and twenty cottages stood on the property. As with many of the homes at the time, Quarrier Homes also had owned a ship, the James Arthur which started to accept boys on March i, 1888, to train them for the sea. Thirty boys lived onboard and learned the ways of the sea. In 1888, William Quarrier purchased his own Canadian distributing home, called Fairknowe, in Brockville, Ontario, located on the corner of First Avenue, present-day Fairknowe Drive. Finished in about 1847, the home had previously been owned by George Crawford who was appointed a Canadian Senator in 1867. James and Agnes Burges became superintendents of Fairknowe; Agnes was Quarrier's daughter. Alexander Burges, James' brother, was the "visitor" for the home, travelling hundreds of miles to see each of his wards. He wrote: Last fall I drove as far west as Belleville, taking in Wolfe Island, Amherst Island, and Prince Edward County on my way west, and visiting the northern part of the counties on my return. As the roads were heavy, it was anything but agreeable work. After New year I went through all Western Ontario, getting back in time to meet the party of boys. During summer I got over a good deal of ground, although the weather was exceedingly warm, and we had a number of unusually severe storms....During the year we have visited over 2,000 of the children.167 By 1897, some 2,600 Quarrier children had come to Canada. At this time the Ontario Government passed the Act to Regulate the Immigration into Ontario of Certain Classes of Children. William Quarrier took exception to the legislation feeling that the children were being singled out. With the passing of the Act, he stopped sending children under 18 years of age to Canada. The Canadian immigration agents greatly regretted his
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withdrawal from the movement. When G. Bogue Smart took up his position in 1900, he stated in his first report: Mr. William Quarrier, the founder of the great Bridge-of-Weir Homes, Scotland, has discontinued his work in Canada, and this is much to be regretted. Mr. Quarrier is one of the leading philanthropists in Scotland. In narrating his early labours in connection with the Glasgow Orphans Homes, Mr. Quarrier says: 'Thirty-four years ago, when a boy about eight years of age, I stood in the High Street of Glasgow, barefooted, bareheaded, cold and hungry, having tasted no food for a day and a half, and as I gazed at each passer-by, wondering why they did not help such as I, a thought passed through my mind that I would not do as they, when I would get the means to help others.' It is to be hoped that in the near future circumstances may arise that will enable Mr. Quarrier to see his way clear to resume his excellent work in Canada, which he carried on for so many years, and which resulted in an average of two hundred and fifty Scotch boys and girls being annually settled in this country. 'Fairknowe,' Mr. Quarrier's Canadian headquarters, is located at Brockville, Ontario; it is surrounded by large grounds, and is a very beautiful and valuable property.1 NUMBER OF QUARRIER CHILDREN TO CANADA l8/2 - 19OQ169
Year o i
18705 -
i88os H7 156
18908 249 232
2
64
3 4
71 71 65 49 56
138 189
249 268
245 340 230 232 240 252
255 262
5 6 7 8 9
79 130
19005 4
254 235 3
Total - 4735 Few children came to Canada after 1897. Those who did were either older or on their way to join other family members. However, after the death of William Quarrier, on
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A Quarrier party on the steps ofFairknowe in Brockville, Ontario, taken from G. Bogue Smart's report for the year ending June 30,1904, and printed in Ottawa in 1905. Courtesy of NAC/PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. October 16,1903, his daughters, Agnes Quarrier Burges and Mary Quarrier decided to investigate the possibility of reopening the emigration. Once more Quarrier children boarded ships and set out for new homes in Canada. In his report of 1905, Smart stated that 55 Quarrier boys arrived in Canada in October 1904. They were followed in May, 1905, by 102 more boys and the arrival of a party of girls was expected to follow.170 By 1911, Smart was reporting a number of marriages. He also said that many of the older boys were moving west and that they were doing well out there. Reverend Robert Grierson, superintendent of the home, reported that "every day he not only receives good reports of their wards, but employers, in nearly every case, are writing to have their indentures renewed for another year."171 On a visit to Fairknowe in 1912, Walter Cranfield, wrote: The situation of the Fairknowe Home, at Brockville, is even more delightful, being separated by a roadway only and a grassy slope, studied [sic] with handsome residences, from the beautiful Saint Lawrence. This property also comprises an adapted private residence, of good size, though none too large for the purposes it has to serve, the usual outbuildings, and sixteen acres of land, of which a considerable area is timbered.
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A group ofQuarrier children, predominantly boys, €.1920. Courtesy of NAC/PA-04i4i8. Although clean and wholesome in every sense, these premises are somewhat in need of renovation, an effect emphasized by the extreme plainness of the furnishing and equipment. The general environment of the two hundred boys and girls who, in gradually diminishing numbers, stay here until they are all distributed, is homelike and beneficial in regard both to health and to discipline. The Rev. Robert Grierson, an ex-Chinese missionary, who, with his wife, has been in charge for the past five years or more, is a jealous guardian of the children's interests, especially in regard to education and the payment of wages.172 Reverend Grierson, Smart reported in March, 1915, had found it necessary to "relinquish his responsibilities as superintendent, owing to indifferent health, and Claude Winters, who for five years has assisted him in the work, has taken his place."173 Smart also reported that a large addition, containing the dining-room and kitchen, had just been added to the home. The renovations had also included a new heating system. Between 1915 and 1919, as with other organizations, emigration of children ceased. Many of the Quarrier young men enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. But, in 1920, over 100 children were again making their way to Canada.
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Robert A. Robertson, who came to Canada in 1930 with a Quarrier party, is seen as a member of the Stormonty Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders. Courtesy of his daughter, Melaine King.
After the death of William Quarrier, his wife Isabella carried on the work until she died on June 22,1904. Mary Quarrier and her sister Agnes Surges assumed operation of the home until their deaths in 1931 and 1934 respectively. Although Fairknowe was sold in 1934, a party of 28 Quarrier children came to Canada in 1938, the last to do so.174 Between 1872 and 1938, about 7,000 children were sent by Quarriers to make their homes in Canada. Today, Fairknowe is still standing but now converted into apartments.
CHAPTER 6
Latecomers and Smaller Organisations
SOME ORGANIZATIONS, TOO SMALL TO CONDUCT an emigration scheme of their own, relied on the larger, more established groups to take their children to Canada. A few eventually would start up homes of their own. Although some were latecomers to the emigration process, once established, they did a great deal to assist their parties of children to Canada, especially the Salvation Army. Emigration of young men to Canada was not whole heartedly approved by the Canadian government. Called "farm pupils," young men with little money, about 16 years of age and over, were enticed to come to Canada where they would be taught Canadian farming methods. They were led to believe that they needed this training so that they could take up a farm of their own. The immigration report of 1893 contained a commentary: The farm pupil business, so far as Canada is concerned, apparently continues to flourish, notwithstanding all my [Sir Charles Tupper] efforts to put a stop to it. The work is largely carried on by one association, with which the Rev. Dr. Amstrong [sic] and a Mr. James Aspdin are connected, and they manage to attract a good deal of attention in this country, by publishing in their papers that the association is the only one recognized by the Dominion Government. The statement is inaccurate, as I have it upon your authority, and it might be desirable to see whether some steps could not be taken to restrain the persons I have mentioned from making a statement of the kind, calculated, as it is, to mislead. Cases in which the system is abused frequently come to my notice, and so many instances 178
Latecomers and Smaller Organizations have occurred recently that the papers on this side have published warnings against it; and I believe the matter is now under the notice of the legal advisers of Her Majesty's Government. Those of us who are acquainted with Canada know that any young fellow of proper age and of physical capacity for hard work can procure a situation with a farmer without the payment of any premium, especially if he communicates in advance with the Government agents in this country and in Canada. Most of these young men go out with the idea of acquiring agricultural experience before taking up farms of their own, and the money spent by them in premiums would be most useful after they had acquired a knowledge of farm work. What I chiefly object to about the system is that the associations which take the premiums seem to show little or no care whether the young persons they send out are capable of doing the work expected of them, or are likely to make suitable settlers, and they apparently take little or no trouble to ascertain the antecedents of the proposed emigrants. Consequently, apart from the fact that the supervision, which is the great bait held out in the advertisements, is more nominal than real, many of the young men are from the first destined for failure, and get into trouble and difficulty, which frequently ends in Canada getting a bad name in the minds of their friends and relatives.1
A group of young boys "farming" on the Ellinor Close Home Farm in New Brunswick, November 1910. Courtesy of Grant Kelly, Vintage Photo & Frame Limited.
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A few years later, on January 5, 1898, W.R Boardman wrote a "Memorandum on Juvenile Immigration" which appeared in the Canadian annual immigration report. He stated: The question of juvenile immigration first came into distinct public notice by an announcement in the annual report of the Department of Agriculture for the year 1868, when the Quebec Immigration Agent particularly drew attention to the fact that the sum of $500 had been granted by the Dominion government to promote the enterprise of Miss Rye in bringing over young girls and that he had presented the same to her in due course. From this time forward the system of bringing out children who had been collected from refuges, retreats, homes and workhouses increased steadily and the whole scheme was looked upon very favourably by all those connected with it, as the results were undeniably good and from the point of view of economy to the Department it was undoubtedly the least expensive of all the methods of inducing immigration, the amount given by the Government being of merely nominal character and almost the whole of the expense of bringing them into the country, and of maintaining them until they were placed in suitable homes, being defrayed by grants from the boards of guardians in the case of children from workhouses and by private subscriptions and donations in respect to the children gathered together by philanthropic societies. ...During the last ten years, that is to say from 1887 to the present date, nearly 20,000 children have been brought into this country by the various philanthropic societies, and one of the strongest points in the favour of this class of immigration is the remarkable absence of crime amongst these young colonists, as may be realized by reading the following figures: The average of convictions of all kinds, from the year 1887 to the present date, has varied from .714 to .812 of the total general population, and as 25 per cent of the population is under 10 years of age, a period practically destitute of criminal convictions, whilst the immigrant children on their arrival average 12 years, it is evident that it would only be reasonable to expect that the number of convictions from amongst their ranks would be at least one per cent per annum of their total numbers. The result of this would be that merely in regard to the children brought to this country during the past ten years, making a due deduction for deaths occurring during that period, the past year should have shown a record of at least 18 criminal convictions. In the year 1892 the ratio of conviction amounted, generally speaking,
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to .714. The records kept by the Barnardo Homes show that there were in that year on the books the names of 5,294 children, and only six convictions were known to have occurred amongst them, giving a ratio of .112, but making allowance on account of age, which has been before mentioned, the criminals belonging to the class known as "Barnardo boys" were only one-ninth of what might have been reasonably expected. Inquiry into the working of the Quarrier Home at Brockville resulted in the statement being formulated that from and inclusive of the years 1887 to 1893, records of only 11 criminal convictions could be found, instead of 208, which might have been expected, or, in other words, the crime amongst the boys brought out by Mr. Quarrier only amounted to one-twentieth of that amongst the general population. The preceding historical facts form sufficient grounds for asserting that the bringing out of children by philanthropic societies, under judicious control, is a feature of immigration which should be carefully fostered by the Dominion.2 Praise was also bestowed on these organizations as a high percentage of their boys joined to fight in the Boer and the First World wars. Cast-offs from British society had come to the aid of their Mother Country. The files of the Canadian Department of the Interior abound with lists of boys who joined up. Some contain clippings of those who died or those who returned to grateful communities. Many are remembered with names on plaques in towns and cities across Canada that simply say that he died for his country, or he served his country. Forgotten is the fact that he was a "home boy." One clipping in the files of the National Archives of Canada, from an unnamed newspaper, illustrates this point: Copetown [Ontario] is proud of its soldier lads who are at the front. It is especially proud of one of its men who has placed it on the map as far as being the home of heroes. It gave evidence of this when on Saturday night seventy-five of the most prominent citizens gathered together and gave a dinner to Private Ernest H. Beazley, 20 Battalion who won the Distinguished Conduct Medal at St. Eloi last April for rescuing an officer under heavy fire. A magnificent gold watch was presented to the returned soldier as a mark of appreciation for his valour.3 [Ernest Beazley came to Canada on the SS Canada^ March 11,1910, with the National Children's Home.]
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"Home boys" as part of military service during World War I, taken from G. Bogue Smart's report for the year ending March 31,1916, and published in Ottawa in 1916. Courtesy of NAC/PAAPJV 7282 €403.
There were other heroes given special recognition and Smart drew attention to this item: During a strong enemy counter-attack a Lewis gun in a forward position in a communication trench leading to the enemy lines, was buried by a shell, and the crew, with the exception of one man, killed. Segt. Hobson, though not a gunner, grasping the great importance of the post, rushed from his trench, dug out the gun, and got it into action against the enemy, who were now advancing down the trench and across the open. A jamb caused the gun to stop firing. Though wounded, he left the gunner to correct the stoppage, rushed forward at the advancing enemy, and with bayonet and clubbed rifle, single-handed, kept them back until he himself was killed by a rifle shot. By this time, however, the Lewis gun was again in action and reinforcements shortly afterwards arriving, the enemy were beaten off.4
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In this case, Smart misspoke as Sergeant Hobson came to Canada as a young married man and not as a home child.5 However, always a great proponent of child migration, he believed the high participation rate of the young immigrants in the war effort was indeed reason enough to emigrate the children to the former British colonies. In his report for 1919, he stated: The testing time arrived sooner than the people of this country could have expected and we are now able to prove beyond contradiction the results of the early training of thousands of these children in their rushing to the colours in the time of their country's need. It is now known that practically every boy of military age and physical fitness, who had been brought to this country by the societies from their own training homes and the State schools voluntarily enlisted to serve in the great war. It is besides a satisfaction to the communities from which these children come to realize that their conditions of life in this country, together with their previous training, have brought about such commendable and permanent results, not only in their own lives but in that of the nation.6 Smart followed this with a report of military participation of the Poor Law children subject to "direct inspection of myself and assistants during the past year...."7 [refers to 1918]: Military Participation of the Poor Law Children Poor law boys, formerly under the supervision of this department, who have enlisted for overseas service 156
Killed in action. 56 Died of wounds 7 Wounded or missing 12 Died
3
Prisoner of war
1
Joined the navy 4 Promoted
7
Awarded honours 4 Returned to Canada 14
The treatment of the children remaining at home was also discussed:
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ABOVE: aLICE rOSS.
left: John Christopher Ross, Alice Knight Ross and Catherine Manson Ross Alice's Canadian family.
Alice Knight Ross was sent to school at the University of Toronto and became a nurse. She served during World War I with the Canadian Army Medical Corps, No. 4 Canadian Field Hospital in Salonica, Greece. All photos courtesy of John Ross Cosford.
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On the whole the foster parents, if they may be so termed, treat these children well. A large majority being childless parents, become closely attached to and have a most affectionate regard for them. Others, who are anxious to secure the child for help alone - and while the greater majority are naturally of this class, and perhaps less thoughtful than they might be, yet of this majority there are few who fail to realize some responsibility for the child's future and endeavour to treat him with fair consideration.8 After a suspension in child emigration between 1916 and 1919, parties of young immigrants again began to arrive. "Owing to continued lack of shipping facilities, there were no arrivals of children from the British isles [sic] during the calendar year 1919,"9 Smart recorded. "On the 27* March, 1920, however, the migration movement of children from the British isles [sic] to Canada was resumed with the arrival at the port of St. John of the ss. Sicilian [sic] bringing one hundred and one girls and fifty-four boys from Dr. Barnardo's training homes and schools in England."10 Emigration, reported Smart, was never "forced upon a child."11 A consent form was signed: I
residing at
do hereby declare
that I am the (parent, guardian, or nearest relative) of the said
and that as I am not able to provide for I hereby of my own free-wall con-
sent to being sent to Canada, to be provided with a suitable home. Signed in the presence of Date
In his report of 1921, G. Bogue Smart was still quoting the likes of this item from a publication called The Quiver: To take these children from homes which were no homes, from surroundings full of peril to bodily health and moral well-being, from a country which offers small prospects and place them in a country which was a veritable Land of Promise crying out for willing labourers, was to confer a benefit on both countries so vast as to be stamped with the mark of its divine origin.13 Smart then went on to describe the process of placing the children in Canada:
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After arrival in Canada children are first placed out on approval with the distinct understanding that if they are unsuited for the work which they were expected to do, they may be returned to the Receiving Home after reasonable notice to such effect has been furnished to the superintendent of the home. A form is sent to each applicant which is filled up and returned to the superintendent, in which the work required of the child is stated, together with such other information as the society may require. A certificate as to the character of the applicant and members of his family is furnished by a responsible person, usually a magistrate or clergyman. This information must be in the possession of the superintendent of the institution before the child is entrusted to their care. A child is often sent out on trial, and if, within a reasonable time, he proves satisfactory, an indenture is entered into in legal form over the signatures of the home superintendent and the employer. The terms of the agreement necessarily vary according to the age and capacity of the child. It provides for an engagement covering a definite period, during the whole or part of which term the child is to be boarded and clothed and made to attend church and Sunday school and also a public school during the school term. Wages for young children should for the first six or even twelve months of their service be considered of secondary consideration. As indicated in the preceding paragraph the children are under the legal guardianship of the society or agency under whose auspices they were sent to Canada, and the representatives of the agencies are accountable to the Imperial Government and the Government of Canada for their proper care and supervision.14 The children were mainly placed out as farm apprentices and domestic help with terms and wages varying. Smart stated: ...The terms upon which the children are apprenticed usually cover from one to three years, after which yearly terms of hire are negotiated by the home on their behalf. Many of the homes collect in trust for their wards their earnings, and thus retain control of their savings until the boy or girl is of age. This is allowable as the right of the legal guardian of the children emigrating under their auspices. Exception is sometimes made in the case of boys or girls who have given proof of possessing habits of thrift and good judgement.15
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Following the war, the British government established the Oversea Settlement Committee. The committee was to communicate with the colonial governments and to inform the public of emigration opportunities in the colonies. In 1919, a free passage scheme was put in place for ex-service personnel and their dependants. This scheme ran from 1919 until 1922. With money from the National Relief Fund (raised to assist those Boys from the National Children's Home, newly suffering hardships from the arrived in Canada, 0.1914, the frontispiece of the war), the program was extended G. Bogue Smart report of the year ending March 31, to include widows and children of 1914, and printed in Ottawa in 1915. Courtesy of service personnel. Some of the NAC/PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. emigration organizations already in existence were called upon to use their facilities to help these emigrants make the move to the colonies. Funds were also provided to some of the child agencies in the belief that many of the children in their care were in the homes because of hardships caused by the war. However, funds were only available for passage and no money allowed for other expenses, such as clothing, meals and accommodation before departure and upon arrival. But, in 1922, the Empire Settlement Act was passed in England which helped to correct this situation. In Canada, however, assistance was only given for farm workers, domestics, juveniles and specially selected families. Other organizations, mostly for adults, were also actively sending young men and women to Canada. For example, the British Harvesters, in August 1923, sent 4,965 men to the prairie provinces of Canada to assist with the crops.1 Women's groups were also assisting young women to Canada and improving the hostels they used. Many teenage boys and girls came with these groups. Smart reported that in 1920 many of the children who came to Canada (1,426 came in that year) were orphans of soldiers. He also stated that in "the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces there are very few agricultural districts where one would fail to find some of these boys at work, either as beginners or qualified farm hands."17 When the boys were finished their apprenticeship, many would head west, working as harvest hands or taking up homesteads.
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The following year the number of child migrants rose to 3,125 and Smart included in his report a description of the progress made by the children and of their responsibilities on the farm which Annie Macpherson referred to as "choring round." At the age of 10 to 12 years a boy begins his farm apprenticeship by making himself generally useful to the farmer's wife, doing little odd bits of work, such as carrying water and wood to the house and similar so-called "chores." He of course attends school during autumn and winter and early spring months. From the age of 12 to 13 his duties and responsibilities naturally increase, as he has now got his bearings and becomes familiar with his surroundings. He has also learned the technical names of farming implements and the daily progress of the farm, and has been "handed over" the work of feeding the calves, night and morning. From the age of 13 to 15 he takes care of the young cattle and pigs, and also cleans the stables, and between the ages of 15 to 17, in addition to the work just mentioned, he does his share of the milking or operating the milking machine, and helps to look after the horses, and has been taught to handle and drive a pair of "quiet working horses." With these horses he is given his first lesson in ploughing and is assigned a piece of stubble ground to practice on. He does some seeding. He also does his share in the cultivation of the potato and root crop. In harvest he drives the mower and hay-rake - work which usually falls to the lot of a boy. He drives the hay-loader or helps to build the loads of hay and operates the hay-fork, shucks grain and stores sheaves in the mow. In the late autumn he is picking and packing apples, harvesting and loading potatoes, turnips and other field root crops and helps with the fall ploughing when possible. From his seventeenth to twentieth year he should be found to be doing practically a man's work. If he is an ambitious boy, he should save during the years of his apprenticeship sufficient to enable him to take a short course at a dairy school or agricultural college during the winter months, as many old country boys have actually done with great credit to themselves.1 By 1924 immigrant children were scattered across Canada. Although the vast majority of the 3,327 children were placed in Ontario that year (2,525 of them), the other provinces were also receiving some of the young immigrants: for example, 35 to British Columbia; 32 to Alberta; 33 to Saskatchewan; 63 to Manitoba; 426 to Quebec; 100 to Nova Scotia; 112 to New Brunswick and one to Prince Edward Island. Smart also noted the visit of a British delegation to inspect the work.19
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Margaret Bondfield and her delegation arrived in Canada to investigate the conditions under which the children were placed. One member of the delegation, before he made the trip to Canada had paid visits to children placed on farms in Wales. He commented on the similarities he found: We found the children [in Canada] in the main well and happy, though naturally many of them were in small out-of-the-way farms like some of those I had seen in South Wales. I remember one case where a boy of ten had been placed with a man and a wife who had a son of about the same age who was mentally defective. The farm was small, the house rough and untidy. The whole atmosphere was unsatisfactory. But such experiences were rare. In the majority of cases the children were in good homes and were well cared for; they spoke of the farm as 'our farm,' were members of the village choir, were learning to play the piano, had a pony to ride, and so on. Some of the children were placed out with what one might call 'professional' foster-mothers, who had neat little cottages in country townships, with perhaps four or five children making up quite a family. These fostermothers seemed to be understanding people who knew their job and did it well. Of course they were paid for it, but they certainly made their cottage a real home, and the children attended the local school and grew up naturally with the other children of the township.20 The report filed by the delegation recommended that they restrict the age of the young emigrants to be school leaving age or above. Miss Bondfield said: "Let them go to Canada then by all means if they so wish. There are good openings for the right sort of boy and girl in Canada. But give them some choice in the matter at an age when they are better able to choose."21 It was agreed that for a three year period beginning April i, 1925, the Canadian authorities would not accept any children under 14 years of age as young immigrants. Smart, however, reported, that "[sjome Emigration Societies have manifested considerable disquietude as a result of the age limitation for the purpose of migration."22 Hard economic times, however, soon made the placement of the children difficult. In 1931, no girls were brought out because of the high unemployment of women in Ontario. Some of the homes closed soon after that. Then, in 1939, the Second World War put a stop to the emigration of children from the United Kingdom. The only exception was children from the Fairbridge Society.
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The Organizations Charlotte A. Alexander Charlotte A. Alexander ran the Girls' Training Home at The Red Cottage, Great Warley, Brentwood, England. Between 1885 and 1895, she brought girls to Canada and placed them as domestics, claiming Marchmont in Belleville, Ontario, as her distribution home. While in Canada, however, she stayed at 228 Cottingham Street, Toronto, Ontario and it was from here that she placed and corresponded with some of her charges and their employers. In 1887, Miss Alexander, of Sutton, Surrey, is listed as sending 18 girls to Toronto. The immigration agent lists a Mr. Sibberd as the escort and the arrival date as May 19. Another party of 10 arrived in 1890 and in 1891, Miss Dove accompanied a group of ten girls to Cottingham Street in Toronto. One party is listed as arriving at New York. Charlotte Alexander kept a notebook in which she listed the names of the girls and where they were placed. She encouraged them to write to her and many of these letters can be found in the National Archives of Canada.23 Some of the girls were adopted and some joined parents or relatives in Canada. There are also letters announcing marriages and some reporting a return to England.
Mrs. Blaikie Mrs. Blaikie, sometimes referred to as Mrs. Dr. Blaikie, opened the Girls' Home, often referred to as the Emigration Home at 9 Lauriston Lane, Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1872. Starting in that same year, girls were sent from here to Marchmont in Belleville, with Annie Macpherson. When Macpherson turned Marchmont over to the care of Ellen Bilbrough in 1877, the children continued to go there. Ellen Bilbrough wrote about Blaikie's home in 1879 stating: The Emigration Home in Edinburgh, though not conducted on so large a scale, is quietly and effectually rescuing annually a number of young children for whom no man cares. I do indeed feel thankful for such a disinterested persevering fellow-worker as Mrs. Blaikie; though surrounded by many family and social ties she yet finds time to superintend and provide for the wants of the Home in Lauriston Lane.24 Little else has been discovered about Mrs. Blaikie and her home.
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Boy Scouts' Involvement In Emigration The Scouting movement was begun in England by Lord Baden Powell in 1908. Walter Cranfield wrote: Another juvenile movement that has "caught on" in the Dominion is that of the Boy Scouts. It was put on a thoroughly organized basis in 1910, following a visit by General Baden-Powell. Earl Grey, then GovernorGeneral, took a deep personal interest in the movement and accepted the position of Chief Scout, holding it until his departure from Canada in 1911. His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught has since filled the position. Mr. Gerald H. Brown, Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour at Ottawa, is the general Dominion Secretary. A contingent was sent to the great Rally of Scouts at Windsor, a few days after the coronation of King George, and made a great impression by its smartness and promise of sturdy manhood. Many deeds of gallantry have been brought to the attention of the Council. The movement has a present strength of nearly 50,000 - a notable figure in a total population of only seven-and-a-quarter millions. On the same grounds as for children's recreations generally, Canada offers an ideal field for an organization whose cardinal principles are honour, endurance, resourcefulness, and mutual aid.25 The Scouts did help some of its own to emigrate and used the organization in Canada to receive and help place the boys. The idea was that the Scouts in Canada would assist and support the young immigrant, however, emigration through this organization was very limited.
Brighton Emigration Society The Brighton Emigration Society, with Henry Willett as Chairman, was formed to assist families to emigrate to Australia and Canada. An inquiry office was established at 47 Market Street, Brighton. It began bringing a few children from the industrial schools of Brighton and area to Canada in 1872. However, the society concentrated mostly on family emigration.
Bristol Emigration Society The Bristol Emigration Society was founded in 1882 by Mrs. Agnes Beddoe, an associate
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of Mary Carpenter, a great reformer of the time. Mrs. Beddoe was very active in the Feeding Industrial School and Mary Carpenter's Home for Working Girls, which she used as models for the establishment of a similar home in Bristol. When free passage was granted for those wishing to emigrate to Australia, she formed the society to assist families in making the long voyage. But Canada was closer and Mrs. Beddoe preferred it to Australia as "home ties do not seem so completely severed."26 Located at Barton Regis in Bristol, the Bristol Emigration Society was managed by a committee. They started to send children from local orphanages, industrial schools, workhouses and reformatories to Canada about 1886. The Society had no Canadian home but placed children through the immigration agent at Saint John, New Brunswick. Some were sent to Marchmont in Belleville, some to Montreal, (these were mostly girls in their teens) and a few went to Winnipeg. The Children's Home at 3 Aberdeen Road, Clifton, Bristol, sent some of its children with this agency. One group of boys, sent to Annapolis, Nova Scotia, in 1885 from the Bristol Industrial School, according to the immigration agent, had five wander off. Another group arrived in 1886 at Saint John, New Brunswick, from Barton Regis Union. On June 8,1886, Mark Whitwell arrived with a party of children, he would continue to bring children for this society for many years. Mr. Whitwell and Mrs. M.E. Foster [Forster] accompanied many of the children from the Bristol Emigration Society to Canada. They used the address, c/o S. Gardner, Dominion Immigration Agent, St. John, New Brunswick. Often the children were sent to Canada without a guardian but were assigned to various distributing homes. Samuel Gardiner, the immigration agent at Saint John, was responsible for finding the children situations. Correspondence between Gardiner and the immigration department can be found in the National Archives of Canada in regards to some complaints about placements or other matters dealing with the children he was to inspect. Children from various institutions, such as the Park Row Certified Industrial School, were sent to Canada with the Bristol Emigration Society. "Miss Clifford's boys" were listed on the immigration report of 1889. That same year it was reported that the "[s]teamer "Oregon" arrived at Halifax 9* December. On board were four girls, sent out by Mrs. Foster, of Bristol, England, and consigned to Mrs. Corneil."27 Mrs. E. Corneil [Cornell] met the girls at Levis, Quebec, according to the agent, and the Women's Immigration Society (Women's Protective Immigration Society [WPIS]), took charge of them, finding work for them within hours of their arrival. Mrs. Foster also accompanied parties to Montreal, and to Belleville. The girls who remained in Montreal were left in the care of the WPIS for job placement. (WPIS is described in more detail in Chapter 10.) The children were placed out on verbal agreements, with board and clothing to be
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supplied for the child. Smart strongly recommended in his report of 1901 that this be changed to written agreements. He also stated that the children were usually between the ages of eight and sixteen and, at the age of 18, the agent considered his responsibility in overseeing the children's welfare at an end.
NEW BRUNSWICK: CHILDREN PLACED BY THE BRISTOL EMIGRATION SOCIETY.28 Boys County of King's " Westmoreland " Charlotte " Queens " York " St. John
5
Girls -
2
2
5 i
3 -
20
7
Total 20
5 4 8 i 7
Smart reported in 1903 that the Bristol Emigration Society was using the "Sailors' Home at St. John" [Saint John] in place of a receiving home.29 He also said that the society restricted its work to the province of New Brunswick, a statement which may have been true in that year but was not always so, as is shown by this comment in his 1906 report:
A postcard depicting The Sailor's Home. Courtesy of Jenny Colough and Michael Baldwin.
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Forty-one boys and thirty-one girls were emigrated to New Brunswick during the year. They came from Bristol and vicinity and were placed, with one or two exceptions, in the maritime provinces. This society has recently arranged for the establishment of a receiving home at Saint John, which has been long required.30 Before anything was done, however, the society ceased its work. A statement in the 1910 report by Mr. K. J. Henry, who was to inspect the children in the Maritime Provinces, shows that the withdrawal of the society caused some problems: In some cases, happily few in number, I found that the children had changed their places without notice to the department; they were from Bristol chiefly, owing, I presume, to the Bristol Emigration society having abandoned their operations in the maritime provinces. Under these circumstances it was most difficult to find some of them. Many considered themselves their own masters and quite free to leave their original situation at will, without even taking their employers into their confidence as to their future movements. This is not only detrimental to the children but to the country of their adoption. It does not speak well for the society that brought them to Canada and is now allowing them to wander around, to look after their own salvation.31 Between 1886 and 1910, some 320 children came to Canada with this society.32 Mrs. Ellinor Close In 1904, Ellinor Close proposed a farm-home setup for Canada, called the "scattered farm system." The proposal was to purchase farms from 200 to 300 acres in size and place about 15 to 20 children under the care of two ladies per farm. The children would be raised as a family with the boys helping with farm chores and the girls working in the garden, dairy and house. All of the children would attend elementary school. On leaving school, the children would be placed in employ in the district until they became of age. She wanted to bring 7,000 two-or-three-year-old children to Canada and then return them to England when they were of age. However, this plan did not appeal to the Canadian government and a modified scheme was put in place to bring older children to Canada. Although she looked for land in Manitoba, it was the New Brunswick government which agreed to work with her, consenting to grant 200 acres for each group of 20 children.
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The Ellinor Close Farm at Nauwigewauk, New Brunswick, in November 1910. Courtesy of Grant Kelly, Vintage Photo & Frame Limited. In addition, the province would grant free education to the children. However, the government reserved the right to inspect the homes. In 1906, on 185 acres of farm land located near Rothesay, New Brunswick, Mrs. Close started her first experiment. The Ellinor Close Farm Home at Nauwigewauk became the first home farm. G. Bogue Smart, in a letter to Edwin Davey, Esq, Clerk, Guardians of the Poor, Parish of St. Mary, Islington, wrote that the farm: ...is charmingly situated. Her scheme, however, is to keep the children on farms until they are sixteen years of age, and then allowing them the option of returning to England or remaining in Canada. This policy, however, is not popular in Canada, and I am hoping that Mrs. Close will yet adopt the same policy as the other Societies, i.e. to bring the children to Canada and place them out with farmers immediately on their arrival and under an indenture."33 Although there was a great deal of concern about the health of the children when they first arrived, the improvement over time became quite noticeable. The children became very efficient workers. Smart reported that he "found their progress very fair indeed." However, he was still not happy about the fact that "after reaching the age of 16 or 18 should situations be found for them in Great Britain they are expected to return."34 Only one party of children (10 boys and two girls) arrived by 1908.
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Boys sent to the Ellinor Close Home Farm, having arrived in Canada on August 5,1909, aboard the Empress of Britain. The boy, sixth from the left, is Thomas "Gordon" Brocklebank, age 10. He ultimately settled in Detroit, Michigan, and is the father of Gail Brocklebank Smith of Michigan. The photograph is dated November 1910. Courtesy of Grant Kelly, Vintage Photo & Frame Limited. The Children's Farm Home Association, as it was called, received most of its support from the public and ran a cottage system home in England with about 22,000 children in residence with about 11,000 more boarded out.35 The farm system in Canada was intended to replace part of the system in England at considerable savings. Mrs. Close intended her farm system as a reform to the current methods used by the Poor Law Commission. The Commission stated in the Majority Report: Our attention has been called to the Children's Farm Home Association farm, established by Mrs. Ellinor Close, situated fifteen miles from St. John, New Brunswick. The holding consists of 185 acres, of which 90 acres are highly cultivated, with a good house and out-buildings. Since April, 1903, thirteen boys and girls, from six to thirteen years of age, have been maintained under the care of two English ladies (one of whom is a trained nurse) and of a farmer and his wife, who work the farm and instruct the children; the children attend a local elementary school, taking their place in the ordinary school life of the district. Both children and farm are under the supervision of a local Committee. The Agent-General for New Brunswick, speaking on behalf of his Government, heartily approves of this institution, and if the supervision be adequate it is undoubtedly, to the
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children's advantage to be brought up amid the healthy surroundings of Canadian life.36 Although this project proved a great success on a small scale, the war in 1914 put an end to the experiment.
George Carter Cossar George Carter Cossar was born to a wealthy family in Glasgow, Scotland. After attending Cambridge University and graduating in civil and mining engineering, he spent some time in Peru. There he became interested in assisting the impoverished locals agriculturally by introducing Canadian wheat, corn and cattle to the country. Upon returning home, however, Cossar realized that many of his own countrymen were also in great need of assistance. About 1906-1907 he purchased 35 acres of land near Stirling, Scotland, on which he planned to train young men in market gardening. By then Cossar was operating a boys' home in Glasgow, and working with the Church of Scotland's Committee on Social Work. In August 1909, he communicated with the Canadian Minister of Agriculture regarding the possibility of bringing boys to Canada.37 In his letter, he stated that both Scottish and Irish boys would be brought to Canada through his program. The Irish Roman Catholics, he said, comprised the majority of the poor of Glasgow. Cossar wished to send boys, between 16 and 19 years of age, to a farm in New Brunswick and, in 1910, he bought the farm, near Lower Gagetown, New Brunswick. Located on the banks of the St. John River, the 600 acre farm, of which 300 were worked, became known as the Cossar Farm, Receiving Home and Distributing Centre for Scotch Lads, but was called "Girgenti" by Cossar. A large orchard of a few thousand trees, the produce of which won first prize at an agricultural competition, and livestock, consisting of cattle, sheep and horses, could be found on the farm. Later, Cossar bought two adjacent farms increasing his holdings to about 1,000 acres in total. Besides the Glasgow Lads' Home at 173 High Street, Cossar also took boys into a home, located at Anderson Quay in Glasgow. Boys he thought worthy of assistance were selected from these homes and sent to his farm in Scotland where they were employed for a year. Then, from among these young men, he would select a group to go to Canada. In the spring of 1911, a group of boys arrived at Saint John, on the SS Athenia. The next group arrived March 29,1912, on the SS Cassandra. In his report to the minister in 1912, Cossar stated that 60 boys had been brought to Canada in 1910,48 in 1911, and 52 in 1912. The movement continued until 1916 by which time some 300 boys had come to Canada.
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Smart, in his annual report dated March 1913, gave his views on the Cossar Farm: In 1910, Mr. G.C. Cossar, of Glasgow, established a training farm for Scotch boys and youths at Lower Gagetown, New Brunswick, and up to the present time he had sent one hundred and sixty young Scotchmen to Canada... Mr. Cossar finds that the younger boys do well as farm labourers, but some of the older ones do not as readily settle down to the land as their juniors. The work, as conducted by Mr. Cossar, is purely of a personal, charitable and philanthropic character, his sole object being to assist deserving lads of the class found labouring under social and industrial handicaps in Scotland by giving them a new start in life in this overseas Dominion.3 When war broke out in 1914, Cossar, determined to help in some way, entered medical school. After completing his medical degree, Dr. Cossar went to France where he was awarded the Military Cross for valour while under fire. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson managed the Cossar Farm in New Brunswick. John J. Jackson felt that all of the boys should first receive training at the farm in Scotland, before they were sent to Canada. However, the agents for the Canadian government did not see this as a necessity. The problem Jackson was trying to prevent was friction caused by the different origin and experience of the boys. Not all of the boys who came with Cossar had their way paid for them. Some of these young men were placed on farms in Scotland where they earned a salary. With this money they paid their own way to Canada. Some boys had their fares paid by parents or relatives. Also not all were placed in New Brunswick. Some were sent to the west for employment. Lads between 15 and 20 years of age were to remain on the farm in New Brunswick for a few months before they were placed. Although these young men came from all parts of Scotland, the majority came from the Glasgow area. The National Archives of Canada records for Cossar list the following number of immigrants (note that the numbers given here differ from those given in Cossar's report to Mr. Smart): NUMBER OF BOYS IMMIGRATED BY COSSAR39
1910 45
1911 64
1912 52
1913 42
1914 34
1915 16
1916 11
1917 5
Total 269
By 1920, records show about 400 boys had come to Canada with Cossar. Of this number 300 served in the First World War and 20 of those were killed in action.
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In 1922, Cossar bought another farm, called Craigielinn, near Paisley, Scotland. This farm was "for the purpose mainly of affording to city boys of the poorer classes some experience in farming and gardening with a view to testing their suitability for migration as farm workers to His Majesty's Oversea Dominions."40 On August 28,1922, the farm began operations under the Empire Settlement Act, taking about 100 boys per year, aged between 14 and 18, to examine their suitability for emigration to Canada or Australia. Cossar signed a new agreement with the government of New Brunswick on June 11, 1928, allowing the farm to become a provincial training centre to receive, train and place lads sent to Canada by the British government Oversea Settlement Committee. These boys were sought by agents of the Canadian government and the costs were shared by both governments and the Society. But, in 1929, Dr. Cossar found that new regulations regarding minimum height requirements were causing many of his boys to be rejected and thus he felt that he was not able to continue his emigration work.
Miss Croall Miss Croall, an evangelical philanthropist, helped to set up the Stirling Creche and Home for Neglected and Destitute Children in 1883. The home, located in Stirling, Scotland, was later renamed Whinwell Children's Home and housed about 50 children. She sent some of her children to Canada to Miss Stirling's home at Aylesford, Nova Scotia, with the first group of children arriving in May 1888.
Dakeyne Boys' Farm Nottingham, like many other cities in England, also had concerned citizens working to help the children. A group of prominent gentlemen banded together to start the Dakeyne Boys' Brigade, the name taken from the Dakeyne-Street Lad's Club in Sneinton, Nottingham. Included in this group of men was one Captain Oliver Hind (a solicitor and magistrate), and John Player. The club was intended to help boys by giving them work, training, shelter and food. But like many other agencies of this type, the club soon looked to the colonies as a place to give these young men a new start in life. It was said that: For some time he [Captain Hind] had been sending out to Winnipeg and the West some of the older lads whose laudable ambitions found in the locality insufficient scope and who pined for the untainted air and healthy life of the Canadian farm. More than forty in number, all but two are still on the land, and one has within five years acquired 320 acres of his own.41
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However, when younger boys wanted to follow in the footsteps of the older ones, Captain Hind decided that something more formal was required. In 1913, he purchased land about four miles from Windsor, Nova Scotia. This farm was located on the River Avon and consisted of about 70 acres of wooded land, 30 of meadow, a 30-acre orchard of apple and plum trees, and the remaining land in pasture. Livestock on the farm included horses, cows and pigs. A farmer and his wife were hired to oversee the property and accommodations for about 15 boys were installed. After serving one year with the Brigade, selected boys were eligible to go to the farm where they would learn about farming and fruit growing. A committee of three was to look after the affairs of the property and the placement of the boys. The first committee was comprised of Mr. H.W. Sangster, the Mayor of Windsor, Mr. H.B. Tremain, a local MP, and Archdeacon Martell, a minister from Kings College. The boys were to work on the farm for a period of one year. After this time, work was found for them on a local farm or in one of the other provinces; many headed west. On a visit in 1914, Walter Cranfield recounted his impressions: We drove three miles through beautiful undulating country. On every hand were plum and apple orchards, with the picking in progress. The land here and right down the Annapolis Valley is extremely fertile. It was farmed by the old Acadians, who built the dykes that still hold back the tidal waters of the Avon. At long intervals the farmers let the river overflow the lowlying borderlands, until a thick deposit of sea mud is laid. Then the water is turned off again, and after a year's sterility the land yields bumper crops. Dakeyne Farm comprises thirty acres of apple orchard, thirty of meadow land, seventy acres of wood, and the rest chiefly pasture. Things were as yet in the formative stage. The house was being enlarged and partly re-built; a gigantic well, or reservoir, on the hillside, was being sunk; there were acres to drain and break, and more trees to plant.42 The boys came from what Walter Cranfield described as "decent homes." Many of the boys had worked in shops and factories before coming to Canada. He thought them more ambitious than other immigrant lads. As each year's party arrived, the previous year's group of boys were placed out. In this way they would have one year of experience on the farm and could then demand higher wages. Each boy received a credit of $60 for his year of work on the Dakeyne Farm. However, from this was deducted the cost of passage, clothing, room and board. This usually left the lads owing Captain Hind money which they were expected to repay from their future wages.
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Between 1913 and 1923, about 55 boys arrived at the Nova Scotia farm; all found work in the Maritimes or some in Canada's west. Neighbours spoke well of this operation but, in 1926, the government of Nova Scotia rented the farm from Captain Hind for use by the British Oversea Settlement Committee. Captain Hind retained an option to take back the farm after five years if he so desired, but never did.43
Shaftesbury Homes I Children s Aid Society of London The National Refuges for Homeless and Destitute Children, later known as the Shaftesbury Homes, was an off-shoot of William Williams' Ragged School started in St. Giles about 1843. The school amalgamated with Neal's Yard Ragged School, Seven Dials, and on the upper floors, dormitories were established to house about 100 children. Located on George Street, the organization took over other space as the need arose and later moved to 164 Shaftesbury Avenue, London. As early as 1880, children were coming to Canada from Shaftesbury Homes. Many of the early parties were taken to Hamilton, where, in 1884, a home was opened to receive them. Thirty-five children were recorded as arriving in 1883, none in 1884,33 in 1885,34 in 1886 and 40 boys in i88/.44 The letterhead of the institution lists the Chichester and Arethusa as training ships used by the home and also lists the Farm Schools & Girls' Homes in London. In 1887, the home in Hamilton, was moved to Wingham, Ontario. In a letter dated July n, 1887, to L. Stafford, immigration agent at Quebec, Reverend Mr. R. Ward acknowledges this relocation and states that it is "not so fully developed as round Hamilton. The land is not so run down. It is only 27 years since Wingham was established."45 The following year the immigration agent reported that the "boys sent out to the Lord Shaftesbury's Home [and] received by the Rev. Mr. Ward, the superintendent, were a strong, robust lot and well educated for their age and position; within three days of their arrival here, they were sent to their adopted homes, and are annually visited by the superintendent."46 This party of 24 was brought to Canada on May 12,1888, by Mr. W. Cook. Another small party of nine children is listed in the company of Miss Johnson, arriving May 15, and going to Belleville, presumably to Marchmont. Later, the organization was renamed the Children's Aid Society (CAS) or the Children's Aid Society of London, England - Canadian Branch, Shaftesbury Home. When the CAS opened a home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the address was recorded in government records as, Children's Aid Society, c/o Committee Dominion Lands, Wpg. Smart reported that the agency carried out a limited emigration of children and placed them out for $4 per month plus board and lodging. Both Arthur L.S. Maddison and Reverend John Bridger brought parties of children to Canada for this Society. Reverend
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Samuel Fea was the superintendent of this Winnipeg receiving home. The agency was said to bring only boys to Canada but, in 1913, Smart reported that one girl had arrived. Since this organization brought few children, he did not often comment on them. Parties usually totalled under 30 individuals per year and, from the late 18908, the children were sent to Winnipeg. The 1911 immigration report highlights one of the drawbacks of sending children into the west - the great distances: On September 7, I paid my annual visit of inspection to this agency. I found the reception home in good order, and the accommodation provided for their wards quite sufficient as very few of their young immigrants return to Winnipeg after being placed out owing to the great distances, but are sent from one situation to another. For the first year their boys are paid a wage of six dollars a month and board, and for the second year on the farm eight dollars a month. For the third year their earnings vary from twelve dollars to twenty-five dollars a month, practically the wage of a man. Rev. Mr. Fea informed me that a number of the society's older immigrants had taken up free grant homesteads and were quite prosperous farmers on their own account. He instanced a number of cases, but spoke of two boys who had only been in Canada three years before they took up land. There has been, as usual, a greater demand on him from farmers of western Canada for juvenile labour than he could supply. One of their wards was returned to England during the year, owing to chronic ill health. Twenty-four juveniles whose ages averaged fifteen years were received and placed in situations in the early summer, nineteen of whom had previously done both farm and garden work in England.47 In his report of 1913-14, Smart wrote "During the past year this influential society has sent thirty boys to Western Canada, all of whom were readily placed... The superintendent reported that their wards were doing satisfactorily." 4S The CAS used the home of Mr. J.P. Vickers, their agent in Winnipeg, as a receiving home. Vickers worked as a foreman in a harness shop. According to Walter Cranfield in John Bull's Surplus Children: His house is typical of that favoured by the Canadian artisan of the better class. A large upper room is used as a dormitory for the small parties of
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boys that arrive from time to time. As they generally stay for one night only, the accommodation is perhaps adequate, especially as Mrs. Vickers a capable, homely woman - does her best to make them comfortable.49 Although one party of ten boys arrived in 1915, the work of this society ceased soon after, after having brought about 1,200 children came to Canada, usually in small parties of about 20 to 30 children.
East End Emigration Society I British Dominion Emigration Society I Self-Help Emigration Society I Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) I Church Emigration Society I Tower Hamlets Mission Many of these emigration societies worked primarily out of London, under the direction of members, or clergy, of the Church of England. Often they assisted each other and the emigration efforts of the children's division, the Waifs and Strays Society. The East End Emigration Society was founded in 1882 by Reverend John Fenwick Kitto (died April 1903). The original policy of the organization was to send indigent emigrants to Canada, pay for their first few months and help them obtain employment. The society sent families and boys to the Andrews Home located at 46 Belmont Park in Montreal, Quebec. This home was founded on January 12,1895, by the generosity of H.O. Andrews, Esq., a local barrister and "maintained by an endowment, supplemented by nominal fees received from British immigrants for their board and lodging." 5° Smart, in his 1900 report continued "It is under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Synod of Montreal." He also stated: Rev. J. Frederick Renaud has general supervision over the work, which is carried on in conjunction with the following English societies: 'The Society for the Promotion of Christian knowledge [sic], of London,' 'The Church (of England) Emigration Society,' and cThe Self-help Emigration Society.' A few years ago the Corporation of the Andrews Home decided to discontinue the reception and placing of British immigrant children.51 The societies associated with the Andrews Home were the SPCK, the Self-Help Emigration Society, the Church Emigration Society and the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS). Immigration Chaplain Canon Casson Renaud was chaplain of the Montreal home. Reverend John Bridger and Reverend R.O. Creep
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brought emigrants from St. Nicholas Home in Liverpool; Reverend R.O. Barron brought children from the Isle of Man; and Reverend C.R. Baskett of Birstwith also brought his young charges to the Montreal home. The SPCK ran a home at 34 Northumberland Ave., London, W.C., England. It had workers such as the Reverend Osborn B. Allen of the St. Nicholas Vestry in Liverpool, who assisted in its operations. Miss M.K. Grimes also worked with the SPCK assisting parties of emigrants to Canada. Reverend Bridger, Organizing Chaplain of the Church Emigration Society at Church House, Deans Yard, Westminster, S.W. London, was actively involved with this organization. (He also assisted the Children's Aid Society of London's children sent to Winnipeg, Manitoba.) Reverend Canon William Cooper, of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, also worked to encourage emigration to Canada: In the immigration report of 1893, special note was made of the involvement of these organizations: I have again to call attention to and express my obligations for the assistance we have received from the great religious societies. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has an emigration committee, of which His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury is the president, and the Rev. John Bridger, so well known in Canada, is the organizing secretary. Mr. Bridger takes the deepest possible interest, as he has always done, in attracting attention to Canada, and in promoting emigration. He arranges every year for a number of clergymen to go out in charge of parties, and on their return these gentlemen invariably deliver lectures; and it is hardly necessary to say that their interest in emigration matters is always much stimulated after visits of this kind. Naturally, many clergymen throughout the country, especially those in the country districts, who are often consulted by intending emigrants, are frequently in communication with Mr. Bridger....52 Bridger, at the request of the immigration agent, submitted a report about his work. The SPCK, he stated, had been actively involved in emigration for 15 years. The organization made a special effort to select only those it felt would make good emigrants but, he stated, "[w]e are not an emigration society; we have no land to sell; no axe to grind; our work is to help emigrants to make the great change with as little friction as possible...."53 Captain Andrew Hamilton, of the Tower Hamlets Mission, was also mentioned by the agent. This organization sent many women to the Women's Protective Immigration Society in Montreal.
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The Self-Help Emigration Society helped "those likely to turn out good colonists, and who have at least part of the necessary funds."54 The headquarters of the Society in Montreal was located at 813 Craig Street. Although it assisted mostly adults, young emigrants were sometimes included in its parties. Reverend R.R Winter of the Liverpool Self-Help Emigration Society, at 4 Tower Garden, Water Street, in Liverpool, brought boys to Canada through the auspices of this agency. Emile Marquette, provincial immigration agent in Montreal, was the Honorary Secretary of the Society in Canada and helped the young immigrants find situations. In an 1895 questionnaire, the society stated that it only sent boys between 14 and 18 years of age to Canada as labourers.55 .. .Mr. E. Marquette, of Montreal, who, amid other duties of a more general nature, acts for the Self-Help Emigration Society, the East End Emigration Fund, and other smaller organizations, makes use, by the courtesy of the respective Governors, of one or other of the various Children's Homes, not in every case associated with the emigration movement, existing in the city.56 Mrs. Sidney Vatcher of St. Phillip's Vicarage, Stepney, was in charge of outfitting the emigrants. Upon arrival in Canada, Marquette, acting as agent for the society, would meet the boys. He reported in 1900 that the "class of immigrants arrived and settled in this part of the province through this office is a very superior one, especially those sent over by the Self Help, East End, Bristol and other emigration societies in England."57 The East End Emigration Society and the Self-Help Emigration Society eventually amalgamated. In his 1912 report, Smart referred to the organization as The Self-Help Society - East End of London, and stated: Mr. E. Marquette, receives and places in occupation boys and girls from the above organization. He reports that, with few exceptions, they have done very well, and are well settled. The boys are sent to agricultural districts and the girls are placed in domestic service, chiefly in Montreal.58 In 1913, the society changed its name to the British Dominion Emigration Society. After the war the organization was subsidized by the British government through the Oversea Settlement Committee and the Empire Settlement Act, and had offices in Toronto and Montreal. The Inspector's report for the year ending March 1916, noted that since 1900, some 408 children had come to Canada with this organization. In Toronto the office was
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closed in 1932; in Montreal, however, the society had associated itself with the White Star Line (which later amalgamated with Cunard Lines) and it continued to help immigrants to Canada.
East London Family Emigrant Society I East End Emigration Fund I East London Emigrant and Relief Committee I British Colonial Emigration Fund In 1867, the East London Family Emigrant [Emigration] Society was formed, to be later renamed the East London Emigrant and Relief Committee or just the East End Emigration Fund, and still later the British Colonial Emigration Fund. Lady Hobart, a friend of Annie Macpherson's, was the prime mover of this organization. The East London Family Emigrant Society, located at 15 Eccleston Square, S.W. London, sent mostly families to Canada. However, occasionally, young emigrants were included in its parties. In the immigration report of 1893, the agent stated that "Capt. Gretton, the moving spirt of the particular society"59 was very satisfied with the success of their work.
Fairbridge Society Kingsley Ogilvie Fairbridge (1885-1924), born in Rhodesia, journeyed to England as a Rhodes Scholar in 1909. It was during his stay that he became acutely aware of the poverty in many of the English cities. He had a vision of a farm where homeless boys and girls could be brought and trained. The Society for the Furtherance of Child Emigration to the Colonies was formed and later renamed the Child Emigration Society. Although Fairbridge did try to set up a home in Canada, (he was offered land in Newfoundland - not part of Canada at the time), he did not receive the assistance he wished from the Canadian government. Consequently, he turned his attention to Australia and, about 1913, began to send children to Pinjarra in Western Australia. In 1926, the Middlemore Homes and the Fairbridge Society began to co-operate in their efforts. A new residence was built at Selly Oak, Birmingham, and some of the Fairbridge school-aged children were sent there. Middlemore Homes helped to build a cottage on the Fairbridge Farm in Australia and some of their children began to make their way to that part of the world. When Fairbridge died in 1924, his followers started a farm in British Columbia, that same year. Approximately 1,000 acres of land was purchased near Duncan, on Vancouver Island, just 40 miles north of Victoria, British Columbia. The farm would house up to 150 boys and girls at one time with twelve children placed in each cottage.
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The Fairbridge system was different from all others conducted in Canada in that these children were to remain at the farm school until they were 18 years old. It was not until September 1935, that the first children, between the ages of six and sixteen, arrived at what was called the Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School. Other parties followed and even in 1940, when the Second World War was raging, children were sent to Canada and Australia. In 1941, a party of 23 boys and girls went to Canada, however, but the war finally put a stop to any further emigration. It was not until post war that a few more children made their way to this British Columbia farm, under special dispensation of the Canadian and British Columbia governments. After the war emigration of children was very limited, and as the children became of age they left the farm. Finally, in 1950, when the farm was no longer required for its initial purpose, it was rented out.
Gordon Boys' Home The Gordon Boys' Home is located in Woking, Surrey, England. Founded in 1885, and named in honor of General Charles Gordon, a hero of the Crimean War, the home tried to give boys a well-grounded vocational education in a variety of fields, keeping the boys there until they were about 17 years of age. Records in the National Archives of Canada show that in May 1894, three boys from this home were sent to Canada aboard the SS Sardinian. When Canadian authorities discovered their arrival, a letter was sent to Reverend R. Hyett-Warner of the Gordon Home in Kingston, Ontario, which was the destination given for the lads. These letters were returned. Additional information soon came to light and the government sent another letter, this one to Reverend Stearne Tighe at Emerald, Post Office, Amherst Island, Ontario. Tighe was very indignant and informed the government that he did the placing of the boys voluntarily. Upon arrival in Canada the boys were sent to him at Amherst Island where he took guardianship. He did not consider it any of the government's business and refused to fill out any of its forms. How could they expect him, a poor man of the cloth, to afford the time and money to fill out and mail all of those forms? It was pointed out to the Reverend Tighe that there were government regulations controlling the immigration of children into Canada. Unless he complied, he would not be allowed to continue this work. There is some speculation that Reverend Tighe had been actively placing boys since about 1887. However, with this governmental warning, it appears that 1895 ended Reverend Tighe's involvement in child immigration. The Gordon Boys' Home, however, sent several boys to Canada under the Empire Settlement Act between 1927 and 1930. At least one of the boys went to Vimy Ridge Farm
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near Guelph, Ontario. Another joined his grandmother and others were mostly placed in Ontario. In the year 2003, the Gordon School still functions as a boy's school in England at Woking, Surrey.
W.I Pady Reverend William J. Pady, a Baptist minister and well-to-do cheese merchant and shipper, began to send children to Canada about 1889-90. Instead of running a receiving home for children in either England or Canada, he obtained children from various Unions and industrial schools from all over England and sent them to Canada. At first he brought only a few children and placed them in Montreal, Quebec. Children who were brought to Canada by Reverend Pady were often small, too small to obtain work. He sometimes used the helplessness of these children to obtain homes for them. As a matter of fact, he was said to have "dumped young ill-clothed immigrants"60 in both Montreal and Winnipeg. Canadian law required that Reverend Pady have a receiving home in Canada which could, if necessary, take the children in if they became ill or were returned from a placement. To cover himself, Pady claimed the home of his son, A.J.S. Pady, in Emerson, Manitoba, as his receiving home. This might have gone unnoticed for a time, but in 1894 a small destitute lad turned up at the Children's Home in Winnipeg, asking to be taken in. When it was learned that he had come to Canada with Pady, questions were asked and the local press picked up the story. To make matters worse, the young boy turned out to be a Roman Catholic and Pady, they found, was making no effort to place Catholic children in Catholic homes. An official was sent to inspect the house in Emerson listed as Pady's receiving home and the results were printed in the Winnipeg Tribune of August 17,1894. It was found to be a "small board shack in which Pady's son, who is farming, is living. There is no accommodation for boys and so far as the officials could learn none [meaning the boys] had ever been kept there."61 Some of Pady's children, aged between eight and 15 years of age, came to Canada with a Mr. Seymour while others came with Miss Bertha Pady, his daughter. She was the one who had to answer to the Canadian government when it started to investigate her father's work. Bertha argued that she knew little about her father's affairs; she had been working in Toronto when her father had contacted her and asked her to look after some of the children. Pady had told his daughter that he intended to open a receiving home in Montreal, Quebec.62 While both boys and girls of varying ages came to Canada with Pady, government
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records show only a few children a year arrived in the beginning. However, in 1893, some 40 to 50 children came under his auspices. In April 1894, the Canadian government asked Pady to cease his operations, but it was 1896 before his work was finally stopped.
Salvation Army In 1890, William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, wrote a book called In Darkest England and the Way Out discussing his solution to London's poverty issue. He spoke of the "submerged tenth" whom he believed should be placed in farm colonies. Once these people were given agricultural training, Booth believed they could be sent to overseas colonies. He said it "would be absurd to speak of the colonies as if they were a foreign land. They are simply pieces of Britain distributed about the world, enabling the Britisher to have access to the richest parts of the earth."63 Originally, Booth wanted to set up farm colonies but his scheme was not supported by the government. However, the Salvation Army began to assist members of its organization to emigrate in the late 19th century. Some young men were first trained on the Army farm at Hadleigh in Essex, and then assisted to Canada. The numbers grew substantially and by the early part of the 2Oth century this organization was playing a major role in the emigration of children as well as adults. According to official government records, the Salvation Army began its work with child migrants in 1905. However, Smart's 1913 report stated that during the past year "the Salvation Army has inaugurated their work of juvenile emigration. At Indian Road West, Toronto, their Home for the reception of children is under efficient supervision. The children were found well cared for and comfortably settled."64 NUMBERS OF YOUNG IMMIGRANTS BROUGHT TO CANADA BY THE SALVATION ARMY65 1905-1906
1906-1907
1907-1908
1908-1909
1909-1910
20
39
nil
42
44
1910-1911
1911-1912
1912-1913
1913-1914
13
24
98
118
In 1912, Walter Cranfield stated: The Salvation Army, in its inquiries concerning the applicant for a child, has a separate question as to the habits, character and housekeeping abilities of the farmer's wife. It also asks whether the family owns or only rents its own house.
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The Army, it should be added, every year emigrates a good many children for adoption. These are, of course, all under fourteen years of age, and some are as young as five or six. The demand, which is greater than the supply, is more for girls than for boys; which speaks well as to the motives of the adoptive parents. On the Army's side, the work is extremely well done. Children remain for a week or so in the Receiving Home, where they recuperate after their long journey and acquire good domestic habits, and then go on two months' trial before the legal documents are signed. In 1914, Smart made some interesting comments about the Salvation Army home and its methods: On the 121 of January an official visit of inspection was paid to this Home [Indian Road, Toronto]. There were a number of children - boys and girls of tender years and of various types - in residence, some of whom had been invalided back to the Home and were under treatment and others were here preparatory to being replaced. The Home is small but comfortable and the children appeared to be happy and contented. As the work of the Salvation Army in this regard expands as anticipated, larger and more convenient quarters will, I am advised, be provided. The children brought to Canada by the Army are placed out under the following terms: All boys of school age are placed where food, clothing and school attendance are given until they are at least thirteen and coming fourteen years. Child to begin school attendance as early as possible in the autumn. When past school age they are placed on a scale of wages according to size and ability. First year, $40 to $60; second year, $75; third year, $100; fourth year, $125 to $150. A list of clothing or cash advanced is to be kept by all employers whether on wage or for school terms. Any balance of cash is to be sent to the Salvation Army, S.A. Temple, Toronto, and placed to the boy's credit, for which he receives bank interest until of age (eighteen years). This is to be done at end of term or when settlement is effected. All girls of school age are placed on the same conditions as boys. But when past school (fourteen or fifteen years) they are paid at $4 per month for first six months or year, according to ability, and second year, $5 to $6 per month. The mistress is requested to assist and guide the girl in purchasing her clothes, and keep a list of the same, with any money advanced. From Adjutant Charles Vallance, of the London, England, staff, I learned that while the Army has emigrated children to Canada in conjunction
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with its general emigration propaganda, yet it was only within the past three and a half years that a distinct department was created in London dealing specifically with juveniles, and this form of emigration had now become a special feature of the work. A further development is likely to take place on the lines of dealing with the children of widows whose husbands have died at the front. 7 As already noted, the First World War stopped child emigration from 1917 until 1919. With the introduction in 1919 of the Committee for Oversea Settlement, the Salvation Army began again to think of bringing young emigrants to Canada. But it was the passing of the Empire Settlement Act of 1922 that moved the Army to increase its participation in emigration work on all fronts. Widows and their children had a very hard life in England, prompting the Army to view them as being worthy of assistance. The Army made them a major part of its work. "Youths between fourteen and eighteen years of age; ...orphans and unwanted children," among others, were the subjects of this migration work. Although most of the young Salvation Army immigrants were boys, some girls came as Blue Medical Domestics. These girls, usually "aged 14 to i/,"69 were "placed in Salvation Army-run hospitals in Canada. In this regard, Clinton Lodge served as a hostel for many of the oldest and youngest immigrant domestics."70 In his thesis on the emigration work of the Salvation Army, Nicholas Mew states that the young girls were most likely placed in Clinton Lodge (478 Jarvis Street, Toronto) because it was used by the Army to house married women with children. Mew believed that the young women could learn household skills and child rearing from the married women. In all, 102 young girls were brought to Canada between 1925 and 1930 to work in the Salvation Army hospitals.71 In 1922, a dispute occupied between the Salvation Army and the government of Canada. By an Order in Council, dated October 6, 1922, the Canadian government authorized the payment of grants to the agencies assisting young immigrants. However, the Salvation Army was explicitly excluded. In a memo of June 21,1923, the Army received some clarification: Mr. Badgley: Reg. Mr. Blair's Memo of 20* inst. Grants Re Juvenile Immigrants. Order in Council of 29 May 1920 #1190 seems to be the basis of present grants to juvenile organizations. Order in Council of 27* June 1921 #2276 authorizes grant for fiscal year
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1921-22 on same lines. Order in Council 2n November 1921 #4096 extends above order #2276 by adding several other homes. The Salvation Army is not mentioned in any of the above orders and I cannot find any Order in Council authorizing a grant to it unless it is included in order of 29 May 1920.72 The Privy Council, however, rejected the request of the Army to be included stating that the "Minister recommends that the same privilege or arrangement be extended for the fiscal year 1922-23 to all Receiving and Distributing Homes or Agencies bringing juvenile immigrants to Canada, with the exception of the Salvation Army, who are receiving Government assistance for their general immigration work."73 It appears the problem was that the Army was involved in the emigration of adults as well as children. Officials tried to explain this to the government stating: The Children's work has always been kept separate and operated on a different plan to general immigration work, with a separate Receiving Home and Officers, and separate accounts. We have undertaken expenses in good faith that the grant would be forthcoming as in previous years, and I am very much surprised that after we have done the work, incurred expenses all in good faith, that our claim is disallowed. This under the circumstances is hardly fair. We should surely have been notified of any change at the beginning of the season, in order that we might have had an opportunity of putting our house in order and arranging accordingly.74 Even with this dispute raging, the Army continued to assist emigrants. Brigadier Trudge wrote to G. Bogue Smart on May 30,1923, informing him of a party of 100 boys, aged between 14 and 17 years, who were to sail on the Megantic on June i of that year. The boys were going west, but Trudge thought that Smart might want to inspect them upon arrival at Quebec. That same year, Armenian boys begin to appear in the records of the Army. The Army informed the Canadian government that it would like to bring 14 boys, from Miss Newnham's orphanage on the Isle of Corfu, to Canada. Fegan Homes had also requested permission to bring Armenian boys and had assured the government that the boys would receive training on its farm in England before coming to Canada. The Salvation Army was told that if it "gives these boys a similar pre-emigration training as that which Mr. Fegan is giving his eight Armenian boys there will be no objection to the Salvation Army arranging for the emigration of the six boys in question."75 But,
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when Vahram Kabadaian, Haig Ouzounlan and Garabed Haroutounian arrived via the Montrose on July 20, 1923, there was some dispute about whether they should be allowed to stay. Records show that the Chase Farm School, 127 The Ridgeway, Enfield, Middlesex, sent some of its boys and girls with the Salvation Army. There are also notes about some children being returned to England and some who joined relatives in Canada. Placement of children was from one side of the country to the other. By 1926,1,655 children had come to Canada through the Salvation Army/6During the early 19205 the Army was one of the major child migration organizations; after 1926 its involvement dropped off significantly.
Leonard K. Shaw and the Manchester and Salford Homes Leonard K. Shaw was an evangelical and a businessman who was greatly affected by the poor and destitute of his City of Manchester. He worked with Ragged Schools in the city and, as an extension to this work, set up shelters for homeless boys in 1870. The Manchester and Salford Refuges started as an offshoot of a Ragged School in Quay Street, Deansgate: A dark room on the ground floor was the eating room, the front cellar was a living room by day and a school room at night, the back cellar was the bathroom and lavatory, and the sleeping accommodation was upstairs in hammocks, which were hung around the room at night but rolled up against the walls in the day so that the room could be used for other purposes. Very soon more accommodation became necessary and a home for little orphan children was opened, to be followed by five additional orphanages, each the gift of some interested individual or family. Now the Manchester and Salford Boys' and Girls' Welfare Society has several organisations for the young, including a children's garden village.77 Shaw also founded a home in Manchester on Francis Street called the Strangeways Institute as well as the Salford Boys & Girls Refuge. To prepare the children for life in Canada, he founded Rosen Hallas at Cheetham Hill in Manchester during the i88os. In 1872, the first group of children sent from Shaw's homes went to Marchmont in Belleville. At first the children were sent to Canada with Annie Macpherson's organization and, from 1877 on, with Ellen Bilbrough and later her husband, Reverend Wallace. In 1895, a questionnaire was sent out by the Canadian government to various child
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emigration agencies. One was addressed to the Manchester Homes, in care of Mr. Norman T. Lee, who operated from Grenfell, Assinaboia, North West Territories/8 In his reply dated July 13,1895, Norman Lee indicated that Reverend Wallace, of Marchmont in Belleville, conducted the children to Canada. He said that this was a new venture by the Manchester Homes and not a new organization.79 Smart's 1906 report stated: Children from these influential schools are sent to Canada each year under escort to Marchmont, Belleville, and are placed in situations and homes by the Rev. Robert Wallace. Over fifteen hundred have already been emigrated. The efficiency of these excellent homes and schools is enhanced by the industrial training which they provide. The children receive every encouragement. Each boy is paid a wage which varies according to the work he performs. On Saturday, pay day, the lads are given pocket money, the juniors a half-penny and those attending school a penny each, and every effort is made to treat the children as entities. As a result of this policy I was immediately struck with the freedom with which the children moved about. They were very polite and conversed with me unreservedly, giving an account of their treatment and daily routine in the home. It is quite impossible, in the space at my disposal, to adequately describe in detail the training afforded the children in these homes. It is sufficient, however, to say that the training and discipline are thorough, and one may look for good results from the children selected for emigration to the Dominion. During the last half of this present year 31 girls and 73 boys were emigrated, 44 of whom were orphans and 21 had one parent living. I desire here to express my appreciation of the kind hospitality and the efforts put forth by Mr. Ackroyd, Honorary Secretary, and officers of the homes which facilitated my inquiries into the care and training of the unbefriended and needy children of Manchester. ° In 1914, upon the retirement of Reverend Wallace, Herbert O. Knight of Birmingham was sent from the Manchester home to take charge of Marchmont. However, the First World War halted child emigration and, in 1920, when emigration of children resumed, Marchmont was turned over to the amalgamated Macpherson and Liverpool Sheltering Home. It is estimated that about 2,129 children were sent to Canada by this organization by the Manchester Homes between 1872 and 1921.
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Smyly Homes Mrs. Smyly, born circa 1815, at the age of 19 married a Dublin surgeon. As a young woman she was touched by the plight of the children of the city and started working among the poor, spending much of her time visiting sick children in their homes or in hospitals. Dublin, Ireland, in 1852 was, like many large cities of the time, suffering under the strain of a growing population. People were leaving the land in search of work in the industrialized cities. Mrs. Smyly, with the assistance of a good friend, Reverend Alexander Dallas, rented a stable loft on Townsend Street. Together they started a dayschool where the children could come to receive a hot meal and be taught a rudimentary education, including Scripture readings and hymn singing. Reverend Dallas called this organization the Irish Church Missions. In time, other schools were opened on Grand Canal Street and Luke Street. However, Smyly could not help but be moved by the conditions under which these children lived. She wrote letters to the press and officials and started a publication called Erin's Hope, which became the monthly publication of Smyly Homes. Determined to try to do more to help, she opened her first home at 52 Townsend Street circa 1860. There was room for about 40 boys. On November 14,1861, another home was opened on Grand Canal Street, built at a cost of £2,000, on land adjacent to the Ragged School. This one could house 100 boys and it was soon followed by a home for girls on Luke Street. The Birds' Nest, operating under the motto "God's Providence is mine Inheritance," was opened at Mounttown, but it quickly proved far too small and was moved to larger quarters. In short order there were 81 children in residence. On April 11,1861, a large field at Kingstown in Dublin was purchased and a new home was soon under construction. The Dublin Evening Mail of April 9,1862, reported the opening of the new Birds' Nest. Next the Coombe Home, for sixty boys, was added, along with a home on Luke Street which was to "act as a receiving station for extra pressing cases." 1 The Elliott Home was opened at 168 Townsend Street to care for 100 more children. Other homes and schools followed until Smyly Homes and schools were caring for over 1,000 children. Through the Macpherson organization, Smyly Homes sent some of its children to Canada as early as the 18705. The children were received at Marchmont in Belleville, and at Blair Athol in Gait, (now Cambridge). Later, when the Macpherson home was moved from Gait to Stratford, children were sent there. Mrs. Smyly died at the age of 86 on May 16,1901. Two of her daughters, Annie Dallas Smyly and Ellen Smyly, assumed the management of her homes and schools. In 1904, they came to Canada to visit their wards and to investigate the possibility of a receiving home. Annie Smyly, who arrived first, was joined in April 1905, by her sister Ellen and
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Mr. and Mrs. George W. Tebbs. Mr. Tebbs was in charge of the Smyly Coombe Boys' Home and Mission in Dublin. At this time Smyly Homes consisted of: the Birds' Nest Home, Kingstown, for 200 children; Elliott Home, Townsend Street, for 100 children; the Boys' Home on Grand Canal Street for 70 boys; Nead le Farriage Home for 80 children; the Girls' Home on Townsend Street for 40 girls; the Coombe Boys' Home for 60 boys; the Children's Home, Dollymount, for 30 children. As well, there were Ragged Schools on Townsend Street (where free meals were given daily), Grand Canal Street, the Coombe, and Lurgan Street which were attended by some 400 children.82 On May i, 1905, Ellen Smyly wrote to Mr. Smart. "We have been wishing to open a Home out here in Canada for our Irish boys, & I have come out to join my sister with the intention of seeing what opening there would be."83 Miss Ellen went on to say that she would like to meet with him to discuss the matter. The reply, dated May 9, stated "the only steps necessary to take with reference to your proposed establishment of a receiving home in Canada, so far as the Federal Government is concerned, is an official notice setting forth your policy regarding the immigration of the children and the supervision to be maintained over them until they reach a certain age."84 As requested, she wrote back to outline the Home's policy: To select children from amongst those who have been under training for some time in our Dublin Homes, and send them out to Hespeler, [now part of Cambridge] Ont., where we have secured a house for their reception, which will be managed by Mr. and Mrs. Tebbs. To send children aged from 12 to 14, of a respectable, though necessitous class, and to retain them at the Home at Hespeler for about one year before obtaining situations for them. We believe that this time of probation will be of the utmost advantage to the children, by familiarizing them with Canadian ways and ideas before they are placed amongst strangers, and so make that ordeal much less trying for them. When they leave our Home, Mr. Tebbs will keep in touch with them by visiting and correspondence until they are of age.85 The Canadian government thought to support the immigration process by paying philanthropic organizations a bonus, called a capitulation grant, of $2.00 for every child immigrated to Canada, provided they were not from a "workhouse, reformatory, industrial school, penitentiary or other public institution of a like character." 6 As was the policy, Smart visited the Smyly Homes in Dublin to determine its eligibility for this grant. He found the children carefully selected and well disciplined and recommended that Smyly Homes receive the grant of $2.00 a child.
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The Coombe Home in Hespeler, Ontario, originally built in 1858 by Jacob Hespeler. Courtesy of Smyly Homes. The Coombe in Hespeler, Ontario, was a house built in 1858 by Jacob Hespeler located on a hill overlooking the Speed River, at 152 Guelph Avenue. Ellen Smyly wrote, "[w]e have called this Home in Hespeler The Coombe, in memory of the old Coombe in the Liberties of Dublin, from which many of the boys have come."87 George Tebbs wrote to Smart to inform him that we "sail Aug. 31 to commence the work at Hespeler." The first party of 15 sailed for Quebec on the S.S. Virginian on August 31,1905, in the care of William Merry, the superintendent of Miss Macpherson's Children's Home in Stratford. He would continue to include Smyly children in his parties until the First World War brought a stop to child migration. Smart paid his first visit to the home in 1905 and wrote in his report: The Misses Smyly of Dublin, who for many years have been engaged in philanthropic work amongst the needy children of Ireland, are about to establish a receiving and distributing home at Hespeler, in Ontario. For many years children from their Dublin homes have been sent to Canada through other agencies. These ladies spent some time in Canada last year, and personally visited many of their former children in western Ontario, and the establishment of a home in this country is the result largely of the prosperous condition in which they found their earlier emigrants. Their Canadian interests, I understand, will be looked after by an experienced gentleman, who has been identified with their work in Ireland. 9
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Another visitor for the opening was JJ. Kelso. A very active participant in child reforms in Ontario, he had some reservations about the immigration of children. As the Superintendent of Neglected and Dependent Children, appointed by the Ontario government, John Kelso journeyed from Toronto to Hespeler for the event and, on December 13,1905, he wrote: Dear Miss Smyly, I have just returned from Hespeler, where I assisted in the pleasant and historic function of declaring the "Coombe" opened for the reception and care of Irish children. The place was crowded with the best people of the town, and everyone was delighted with the evening's programme. I can assure you, from personal observation, that you are most fortunate in having two such workers as Mr. and Mrs. Tebbs to represent you in this Province. They are splendidly qualified in every way. With kind regards and good wishes for the Christmas season, believe me, Very sincerely yours, JJ. Kelso.90 The following year, Smart said: The Coombe Home, Hespeler, Ontario - The Misses Smyly of Dublin. (Formally opened December 13,1905.) My first official visit to this receiving and distributing home was made on June 21,1906. The home was originally the residence of Jacob Hespeler, the founder of the thriving town of that name.91 The house is a large, handsome, cut stone structure, situated on a high elevation, surrounded by twelve acres of land, and a healthier or more suitable location could hardly be found. The living rooms and dormitories are nicely furnished and afford a cheerful outlook for the children. Boys and girls received here are from the Bird's Nest and other well known training homes in Dublin and its vicinity. There were 17 boys and 5 girls in residence at the time of my visit. The boys were busily engaged at gardening, poultry raising and such employment, and the girls were being taught domestic work. It is desired to keep each party of children here a year before indenturing them, in order that they may become familiar with Canadian ways. During their stay at the home they attend the
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town school. In selecting situations for the children an effort will be made to place them within a radius of 6 miles of Hespeler, under personal supervision. There are 28 boys in situations. The Irish Protestant Benevolent Society, of Toronto, and the citizens of Hespeler have shown a kindly interest in the home, which is under very efficient management. The Misses Smyly are to be congratulated on acquiring this excellent property.92 The Coombe had a large garden where the children, when they were in the home, spent time weeding and harvesting. Over the years the garden was increased to include swamp land which was cleared and drained. Produce from fruit trees, including 30 plum trees planted in 1910, as well as strawberries and other fruits were also sold locally to raise money. Some of the yield from the garden was canned and preserved for home use while the rest was marketed. An ad from The Busy Town of Hespeler reads: "Garden produce, eggs and honey will be on sale. Donations may be sent to: Mr. G.W. Tebbs, the Superintendent or to the Home Account, Dominion Bank, Telephone 62. P.O. Box 88 "93 Placement of a child first required the filing of an application, which cost $3.00. References were also necessary and the following conditions were to be met: children under 14 were to be given board, clothing, schooling and were to attend church and Sunday school; children over 14 were hired depending on their worth. The children were to write to the home at least twice a year to report on their experiences and conditions. One restriction was noted: "As a rule our children are abstainers, therefore we do not wish them to be placed in homes of intemperate people, nor to be in the employ of hotelkeepers."94 Smart reported that the children were placed at wages of $35 in the first year. That increased to $50 in the second year and $65 in the third. The wages were collected by the
Boys at work in the garden of the Coombe in Hespeler. Courtesy of Smyly Homes.
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superintendent of the home and deposited into a bank account - with a passbook for each child. The number of children actually in The Coombe varied from time to time. Some children were placed out on farms soon after arrival while others would spend some time familiarizing themselves with the country, working in the garden, taking sewing lessons from Mrs. Beavan and learning Canadian history from Mrs. Lester Weaver. Sometimes placement on a farm was for a year while other times the stay was for as long as eight years in the same place. There were a few children who were joined in Canada by their parents and they left the home to be reunited with their family. Erin's Hope, a publication of the Smyly Homes, dated February 15,1907, contained articles about the home in Canada. It reported on Christmas in the home and extracted comments from some of the children's letters, always making sure reference to a specific child was removed. On a visit in 1912, Walter Cranfield wrote: The Smyly Home, at Hespeler, is of more recent foundation. It is really a fine old mansion that has undergone some adaptation, set near the crest of a well-wooded hill. The ballroom has been transformed into a dormitory, accommodating twenty-five beds. There are ten acres of beautiful grounds - not an acre too many, as the children, of whom there are between forty and fifty in residence, here receive a year's training in fruit farming and canning, poultry raising, bee keeping, and various other forms of manual work, before they are sent out. The Home is in charge of the Rev. G.W. Tebbs and his wife.95 In his address to the 1910 annual meeting, George Tebbs stated that there were over 150 boys and girls on the books and nearly 100 more who had come out, through Macpherson homes, before The Coombe opened. The numbers increased to nearly 300 children before the home was closed. The public was asked for donations and was informed of the costs involved in carrying on the work of the home. Outfitting a child for the trip from Ireland to Canada, they were told, came at a cost of £10. With many children willing to come, money was needed to support these efforts. It is worth noting that many of these immigrant children contributed money to this fund from their own wages as a way to repay Smyly Homes for their start and to make it possible for others to follow. In 1914 alone, $1,296.00 came from this source. "The children were keen to go, and one girl told the Matron she would even help to pay her own passage, and solemnly put one penny on her desk!"96
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Children were placed on about 100 farms located across Ontario. Some eventually moved to other parts of Canada as their Ontario "families" relocated. Each year a report was sent to Ottawa advising of the number of children who had arrived from Ireland. In 1913, when George Tebbs decided to enter the Anglican Ministry, he was replaced by Arthur P. Pullam, a teacher in one of the Smyly Homes in Ireland. Pullam came to The Coombe at a time when world conditions were to change the work of the home drastically. With the beginning of the First World War, all emigration of children stopped. Many of the boys from The Coombe enlisted and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). In a letter dated April 2,1917, Smart wrote to Arthur Pullam about his former charges: I beg to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of your letter of 22nd ultimo, advising the Department of the number of your former wards who, up to the present date, have joined the C.E.F. for overseas service. One hundred and eight is a remarkable and gratifying showing indeed - one to be proud of. These figures represent, I imagine, over 50% of the total number of boys sent to Canada by Mrs. Smyly.97 Later that year Pullam reported to Smart updating his numbers: 115 boys enlisted, 10 killed, 29 wounded, i gassed and 2 were prisoners of war. The enlisted boys came from various parts of Ontario as well as from other provinces. In the Waterloo Historical Society's annual volume of 1923, the names of the lads who lost their lives are listed. They were: John Birch, William Duffy, Robert Ingham, Robert Skuse, James Burke, John Douglas, Stephen Gough, James Gough (brother of Stephen), James Keith, Sam McCaw, Neville Oldfield, Andy Smith, Dick Williams, William Perkins, William Roberts, John Sims, and Harold Sweeny.98 In Thoms's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Year 1917 the main branch of Smyly Homes and Schools for Necessitous Children was listed at 21 Grattan Street in Dublin. The organization then was comprised of: the Boys' Home, Grand Canal Street, for 70 boys; Townsend Street Schools and Girls' Home for 40 girls; Coombe Schools and Boys' Home for 55 boys; Elliott Home at 165 Townsend Street for 70 children; Spiddal Orphanage, Sandycove, County Dublin, for 40 children; Birds' Nest Home, Kingstown, for 170 children; Girls' and Infants' Schools, Grand Canal Street and the Lurgan Street Schools for boys, girls and infants. In 1917, The Coombe in Hespeler was sold for $8,500 to the Waterloo County Children's Aid Society (CAS) and, under the terms of the agreement, Arthur Pullam remained as superintendent for the new owners.99 The Hespeler Coombe had entered a
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new phase in its history. Run by the CAS, it took on a new role in acting as an orphanage and housing children for many years. In 1947, the house was sold by the CAS to the Lutheran Church with the idea of creating a seniors' home. But it was sold again in 1951 and made into apartments and remains the same today. Smart reported that 266 children came through this home. "Some hundreds of children were sent there, and as far as we know, every single one made good."100
Stanley Boys' Home In 1895, a questionnaire was sent out by the Canadian government to all agencies involved in juvenile emigration. Mr. Shuttleworth of Brantford, Ontario, received one of the forms.101 He claimed to be assisting with the placement of boys from the Stanley Boys' Home. The Home was located at 14 Soho Street in Liverpool, England. No other information has been found regarding this institution.
Miss Emma Stirling and the Edinburgh and Leith Children's Aid and Refuge Society Emma Maitland Stirling was born in Scotland in December, 1838, of a Scottish father and an American mother. Little is known of her early years except that the family was well off financially. As a young woman she had an accident which incapacitated her for some six years and left her lame. In 1876, after the death of her mother, Emma moved to Merleton, Wardie in Granton, near Edinburgh. Here, a friend told her stories about the mistreatment of children in the city. Touched by these stories, she established a Day Nursery early in 1877 for the children of working mothers; the children were under seven years of age. For a fee of 2 pence a day the children received their three meals. Miss Stirling hired motherless girls to assist her with the care of the infants. By the fall of that year, she decided to open her first children's home. While she agreed to have a board of directors, she wanted control of admissions, the servants and provisions, including the amount of food given to the children. Emma Stirling took on the responsibility of funding her homes and paid the fee to send these children to local public schools. The organization became known as the Edinburgh and Leith Children's Aid and Refuge Society and within a few years there were eight homes. They included the: Stockbridge Day Nursery, 10 Mackenzie Place, Edinburgh; Infant Home, 11 Mackenzie Place, Stockbridge, Edinburgh; Girls' Home, 2 Craigholm Crescent, Burntisland, Fife Girls' Home, Leadburn Park; Boys' Home, Rosebank, Leadburn Park; Boys' Home, i Craigholm Crescent, Burntisland, Fife; Boys' Home, 4 Bayton Terrace, Granton Road, near Edinburgh and the Shelter from Cruelty at 150 High Street in Edinburgh.
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In addition, homes at Merleton, Wardie, and at 16 Craigholm Crescent, Burntisland, were in operation for a number of years but were closed in 1886. Several of these homes accommodated between eight and twenty-five children each, with a few older children placed in each home to help care for the younger children. Miss Stirling tried to keep the numbers low in her homes believing that it would be more like a "home" for the children and less like an institution. Boarding out was also used to help alleviate the stress created by a high demand for the service. Emma Stirling campaigned long and hard for changes to the law to protect children. She was rewarded in 1888 when the laws governing cruelty to children were finally passed. Credit was given to her for the establishment of the Scottish National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children which evolved from her early work and led to her opening the Shelter from Cruelty Home in Edinburgh. As early as 1882, she began to investigate Canada as a means to give her children a new life. But it was not until 1885 that she took a lease on Hillfoot Farm at Leadburn Park, Nova Scotia, (about two miles from Aylesford). There were two houses on the property. In May 1886, Emma Stirling took 25 children on board the Caspian and sailed for Canada. The children wore "neat cloaks, and bright fisherman's caps, which I devised as a means of keeping them in sight"102 she said. The hats were knitted and bright red so it must have been easy to spot the little red heads in a crowd. During the voyage she was very ill but grateful that most of the party were good sailors. To the delight of the passengers, the children entertained them with Scottish songs. The party, comprised of four children under four years of age, one two-year-old, with many of the remaining 20 children under eight years of age, arrived in Halifax on June 5,1886. Upon arriving at the farm, Emma Stirling described it: It lies in the Annapolis Valley, about one hundred miles from Halifax, in what is known as the Garden of Nova Scotia, sheltered by the North Mountain, as it is called, though there is nothing like a mountain about it, no rugged steeps, or uncultivated moorland - a green swelling range of hills, with here and there a brook, and here and there a wood. Spruce and hemlock trees are abundant, but there is also a variety of "hard wood," as beech, birch, maple, ash, and oak are called. There are also plenty of "willows by the watercourses"; some of them are very fine trees, many have been planted by the French when Nova Scotia was called Acadia. In many places the pasture on the hillside is broken up by the plough, and excellent crops of potatoes and oats are growing on it. Turnips at that time were more scarce; but we have raised them largely, and they seem to be coming more into fashion. Lower down in the valley more Indian corn and squash are to be seen, and quantities of hay.
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All over the valley, whether on hill or in valley, the apples grow as natural fruit; of course the orchards consist of trees grafted with fine kinds, and the effect is beautiful, whether in the early summer, when the blossom is on the trees, or later on in the season, when from the beginning of August till the end of October, it is the principal industry to gather and pack for sale the wealth of the orchards, bending with their weight of splendid fruit, of all colours, so that at a little distance no leaves are very apparent, and you only see a tree, red, crimson, golden russet, bright green, pink, and yellow - in short, all colours except blue. I think our farm is one of the prettiest in this pretty neighbourhood, lying as it does on the sunny side of the mountain; the house is shaded by some large willow trees, in all probability planted by the French. The orchards lie behind it, and on the tableland at the foot of the mountain there is an excellent situation to be in time filled up with fruit trees, which will bring the orchards into one. It is well sheltered by the rising ground to the west. In front of the house is a fine meadow of fifty acres, fairly well cleared, but with the stones left in heaps of various sizes, which we shall find use for by-and-by. The rest of the tillage land and pasture extends to 210 acres, well sheltered by the "Woodlot" or natural forest, and dotted here and there with clumps of spruce and deciduous trees, and any quantity of apples. There are also large quantities of wild raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries; so we are at no loss for jam. By-and-by we shall cultivate small fruit as well as orchard produce. There are lovely views in every direction. Two miles off is the village of Aylesford, with its pretty houses, railway station, post-office, and three churches. The house was a small, old-fashioned farm-house, thirty by forty feet, with small L (or wing) for kitchen and woodshed, one and a half stories high, the lower flat divided into a wonderful number of tiny rooms, with two staircases, so narrow and steep that it was to me a marvel how any person of ordinary proportions ever succeeded in getting up or down. I, however, managed to get to the top, and found myself in what is called in Nova Scotia an "unfinished chamber," that is, an attic merely partitioned with rough boards, with no plaster, but with windows, and in warm weather quite fit to sleep in. The roof slopes down nearly to the floor. I was strongly reminded of mice, and heard one half had been used as a granary. It was evident that much must be done before the accommodation could be made in any degree sufficient for our large family.103
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Work was started immediately at turning the farmhouses into suitable accommodations for the many children. Homes were found for some of the first group of children and, in September, a second party of 36 children arrived by train from Halifax. On May 7,1887, another 56 children, ranging in age from two to seventeen years, came from Scotland. By this time the house on the farm had a kitchen, laundry, nursery, storeroom, bathrooms downstairs and upstairs, six bedrooms and a large attic bedroom for the boys. Work was also being done on a pipeline from the spring to the house. Fences were built around the orchards and pastures and the stock and crops needed tending. The fourth sailed on September 13,1887, on board the Caspian. The immigration agent at Halifax reported "I am very much pleased to state that I have visited Miss Stirling's Home & from what I saw, I am sure a good work is being carried on. The home is worthy of any assistance you can give."104 The following year a schoolroom and summer kitchen with more storerooms were added. The schoolroom was used for services, conducted by the circuit minister, on Sunday evenings and many neighbours also attended. Two parties of children arrived in 1888, another party of 27 on March 26 aboard the Manitobany a party of 17 on April 28 on the Nova Scotian, and four more children arrived on June 10. The immigration agent reported, "[s]o far as I can learn all the children placed in homes in this Province are doing well. I have no complaints from any of them."105 In the fall of 1888, Emma Stirling bought another fifty acres of land with the idea of building a new barn and in October 1889, a barn-raising brought her idea to completion. She also bought a sawmill which was used a great deal to supply lumber for the many building projects on the farm. A gristmill, shingle mill and joiner's shop were also started. These businesses helped to supply revenue as neighbours also used the facilities. Fruit trees, planted in 1890, were arranged in three orchards. On a visit to the Aylesford farm, one visitor commented on the way the little ones followed Miss Stirling around. They called her "Tirling" and seemed quite devoted to her, said the visitor. Miss Croall's Home for Destitute Children, at Stirling, Scotland, sent children to Emma Stirling's home in 1888 and in June 1890. Dr. John Middlemore also used her facilities between 1893 and 1895 when he finally built his own home at Fairview, near Halifax. Emma Stirling's house and barn were burned down on April 3,1895, under mysterious circumstances. She believed the fire had been set deliberately. Although an arrest was made, the verdict of the jury was not guilty. On July 19,1895, tired and ill, she ceased operation of her home and moved to Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The farm was sold off in pieces in 1896. A home in Coatesville, called Drumpellier, was where Emma Stirling lived out her years, accompanied by a few of the children she had brought to Nova Scotia. Well known in the Pennsylvania community for her philanthropic works, she died on September 2,19O7.10
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Mrs. Janet Wallis and Hurst House Training Home Early in the i88os, Janet (McCall) Wallis opened Wallis' Babies Home in Walthamstow, England.107 This home sheltered both mother and baby. During the day while the mother went off to work, the baby was cared for by the staff of the home. After a day's work, the mother returned to the home and took up the care of her child. This type of institution was joined by homes specifically established for the care of children, such as Hurst House Training Home located in South Croydon, Surrey. Founded by Janet Wallis about 1893, Hurst House was a training home for both boys and girls. She also established another home, called the Haven for Homeless Little Ones (located, in 1906, at 11 Croham Road in South Croydon). The name of the institution was later changed to the Mission of Hope. Operations expanded in 1908 with the leasing of two adjacent semi-detached houses on Hurst Road, Deepdene and Essendene. In 1910, Hope House, located at 93 Grove Lane, Denmark Hill, was also acquired, becoming the institution's first maternity hospital. Rokeby, at 54 Leigham Court Road in Streatham (renumbered 132 in 1930), became headquarters in 1914.10 In 1907, Mrs. Wallis sent a few children to Canada in the care of Reverend Robert Hall, a city missionary in Toronto. Reverend Hall agreed to place the children and see that they were cared for in a proper manner. Hall's home, at 87 Howard Street, Toronto, was considered the temporary Canadian Home of Mrs. Wallis' organization. Smart reported that 12 children came from the home in 1908: During the past year changes have occurred in the personnel of the executive of some of the homes, and one agency has been added to my list Mrs. James (sic) Wallis, of the Hurst Training Home, London, S.E. This lady has established a receiving and distributing home at Toronto for boys. From her agent who accompanied the first party to Canada I learned that her young immigrants are gathered from a class other than the exceptionally poor, and many are connected with families of respectable tradespeople and artisans. On their arrival at Toronto and before the party was broken by distribution I inspected the children, and found them of good physique and intelligence and of such a type as should be acceptable to the Canadian farmer. The Reverend Robert Hall, a prominent Toronto clergyman, has undertaken the responsibility of placing the children in situations, and will act as agent for Mrs. Wallis.109 At first the children from Hurst House were sent to the City Mission Fresh Air
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Home at Bronte, four miles west of Oakville, Ontario (today, part of the city of Oakville). Later, a home called Haven for Homeless Little Ones, Inc., was established at 2 Endean Avenue in Toronto. Mr. W.G. Twiggs was the superintendent of this Canadian home. Janet Wallis' receiving home was later established at 875 Palmerston Avenue, Toronto, with a Mr. Morris as the superintendent. In January, 1914, the home was visited by G. Bogue Smart: Comfortable quarters are provided at this place [Palmerston Avenue], for the reception of children on their arrival at Toronto for distribution. There are at this date 40 children under the supervision of the agency, the majority of whom are within easy distance of Toronto. They are all placed out on a definite agreement with farmers who have previously been approved by the testimony of responsible parties. If the child is under the age of 12 years it is stipulated that it shall be treated as one of the family with whom it is to be placed, and necessary school attendance. Should the child be over the age of 12 years, a wage is agreed upon which is to be paid in two half-yearly instalments to Mrs. Wallis' agent. The indentures are made for one year, and may be renewed if conditions are found satisfactory.110 Richard Render, Secretary of Hurst House, accompanied the children from England to Canada. Before returning to the home in England, he inspected the children previously sent to Canada. Operations in Canada ceased with the outbreak of World War I, never to be resumed. The work in England, however, continued and, on Mrs. Wallis' death in 1928, her daughter, Adeline Wallis, took charge. Some 50 children were sent to Canada through this organization.
Charles E. Baring Young Charles E. Baring Young, of Daylesford, Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, England, ran a small training farm for boys. He took in six to eight young men, originally, between the ages of 16 and 21, with the intention of training these lads in agricultural practices. About 1895, Charles Young purchased a 200 acre farm on Concession 13, Lot 6, of East Zora township, Oxford County. Havelock Farm,111 located about two miles from Woodstock, Ontario, was managed by Mr. H.G. Benfield.112 Starting in the spring of 1909, Young sent about eight to ten boys to his farm in Canada from his farm in Oxfordshire, England. The boys received further training, lasting about one year, on the
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farm in Canada and then were placed with local farmers. If the boy were older, he might be placed out immediately with an area farmer. Although most of the boys were trained in agriculture, some received training in carpentry, masonry and other trades. Some boys were sent to Canada by the Kingham Hill Trust, endowed by Charles Young for the training of boys in various trades. Records at the National Archives of Canada show that 10 boys arrived in 1909 and 16 in 1910. At that time, Young planned to send between 12 and 20 young men to Canada, in the spring of each year. Supplying the boys with passage money and a suit of clothing, he operated strictly as a private organization without any assistance or funding from others. The National Archives of Canada records list the names of many of the boys. When Charles Young died in 1932, there were some 50 to 60 of these young men living in Ontario. His brother carried on the work until his death in 1933, at which time control passed to a Committee of Trustees. By this time, however, economic conditions in Canada were reducing opportunities for young people and so the work ceased. Over 200 boys came to Canada with the assistance of Charles Young. Kingham Hall still exists as a school in England.
Young Men s Christian Association (YMCA) The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), begun in England in 1844 by George Williams, was intended to give young men a place to go in their spare time, a place where they could meet with others to study the Bible. But the YMCA soon became more than that to thousands of young men in England as well as in Canada and the United States. The " Y," as it became known, was soon assisting young men to come to Canada. Not much has been found on the involvement of the YMCA in the emigration of young people, but for the few years it did assist young men in emigrating, the parties used the YMCA facilities all across Canada to house the boys. A more important role in the immigration process was also played by the YMCA (and YWCA). The "Y" was used by other groups as temporary housing for new immigrants. In many cases, it became home to the young men and women who, at age 18, went out into the world on their own.
British Oversea Settlement/Empire Settlement Act The Oversea Settlement Committee came into existence post war, in 1919. Attached to the Colonial Office, the committee was to oversee emigration to the colonies and to keep in close touch with the Colonial governments. Application was made to the Oversea Settlement Committee and successful candidates were given free passage to one of the colonies. The scheme ran from April 1919 to the end of 1922.
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The committee, with the aid of the National Relief Fund, also helped established organizations involved in child emigration to assist young emigrants with "the understanding... that such children and juveniles would have suffered some hardship arising out of the war."113 Money was granted to organizations such as Barnardo Homes, Fegan Homes, Cossar Farm, the Salvation Army and the Church Army. The Church Army training farm at Hemel Hempstead was used for selected boys who were interested in going overseas. They "were given a course of testing and training before they were allowed to sail."114 It was found, however, that allowing free passage, as the Oversea Settlement Committee did, only solved part of the problem. The emigrant still had to come up with the money to pay for clothing, meals, accommodation and additional travelling expenses in order to get to the colony and find a place of employment. The Empire Settlement Act, passed in 1922, allowed for the paying of all or part of the expenses, depending on the case. Before anyone could qualify for this assistance, however, a medical examination was required. A boy, between 16 and 19 years of age, was to contribute his own money for part of the expenses and then, under the Act, obtain the rest of the funds needed to "take up land on his own account." Those boys with more capital might be put through agricultural school or college. The British Oversea Settlement Committee brought the boys mostly into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.115 The boys received assisted passage and the government of the provinces involved placed them on farms under a form of apprenticeship. An undated newspaper clipping appears in the National Archives of Canada file of the Salvation Army about the arrival of the first party of boys coming under the Empire Settlement Act. Although undated, a letter in the file refers to this party sailing on June i, 1923. The clipping reads: 15O BOYS ARRIVE EN ROUTE TO WEST First Batch of 10,000 to Be Sent to Dominions in Next Two Years Empire Settlement Salvation Army Is Working in Conjunction With British Government on New Scheme With smiling faces and eyes eagerly taking in their new surroundings, a Salvation Army party of 150 boys, under the care of Lieut.-Col. Onslow Edwin, arrived in Montreal yesterday morning from Quebec, where they disembarked the previous evening from the White Star Dominion liner Megantic, which docked from Liverpool. After a brief stay here the boys
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left by special train over the Canadian National Railways for Winnipeg and the West, where they will be distributed among various selected farms and kept under the observation of Salvation Army officers. Of an average age of sixteen years, the boys were all of a remarkably fine type, typically British, with their clear blue eyes and flaxen hair, and obviously looking forward to their future life in the Dominion. Talking for a few minutes, while their train was being switched, Col. Edwin stated that the boys had been recruited from good homes in England and Scotland, and constituted the first party to come forward under the new Empire Settlement Act plan. Before sending the boys to the various Dominions, the Salvation Army gives them six to eight weeks training in the city workshops of the organization, teaching them to drive nails, saw wood, set chisels, how to approach and harness a horse, how to mend boots and how to wash their clothes. After this preliminary training the boys are sent to Hadley Farm in Essex, where they are kept for a similar period and taught the arts of milking, wood-chopping and hoeing. "When the boys finish this training they are more or less familiar with things that will be of service to them later on, even though they may not be farmers," said Col. Edwin. DETAILS OF SCHEME
Discussing details of the new settlement scheme, Col. Edwin stated that the Salvation Army is working in close co-operation with the British Government. It is intended that with the training given by the Salvation Army, the outfit and passage money supplied and with after-care and supervision the [final?] cost for each boy is from £30 to £°°, Col. Edwin stated. The such deposit the sum of £5 are able - some have nothing at all - and they are then loaned by the Army and the British Government an amount not exceeding £25. The advance of £23 or is a gift from the British authorities and Salvation Army combined. "The Government of Canada," stated the colonel, "is giving us some financial assistance, but we calculate that the deficit on each boy amounts to about £8. On arrival in Canada the boys are being placed on approved farms, and in this connection it is interesting to note that the Salvation Army headquarters in Winnipeg now have on file over one thousand applications from western farmers for juvenile help. The boys receive from the farmers two dollars per week with their board and lodging, and the balance of their wages are paid to the Salvation Army in repayment of the
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original loan. It is calculated that at the end of two years the boys will thus have repaid the bulk of their obligation to the Army." Col. Edwin stated that his party was the first result of the recent visit to Canada of Commissioner Lamb, head of the Salvation Army emigration department in Great Britain, and that if the plan works satisfactorily, the Army will probably settle fully ten thousand boys in Canada and Australia within the next twelve or eighteen months.11 With the passing of the Empire Settlement Act, the "bonus system" which was used by the Canadian Government to encourage settlers, especially farmers, was terminated. Special rates were put into place for the immigration of children: "boys between 14 and 19 and girls between 14 and 17, under the auspices of approved emigration societies were assisted by a free grant to the Society concerned of $80 to the east, $100 to the prairies and $110 to British Columbia."117 Many provincial governments rented farms which were used to give the young immigrants some Canadian farming experience. Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia all set up their own farm systems. In some cases they used facilities that had been used in the past to house young immigrants, for example the Cossar and Dakeyne farms. In 1928, the United Church of Canada also used its farm near Georgetown, Ontario to train the boys emigrating under the Empire Settlement Act. The farm, originally used to house and train Armenian boys, was now renamed the United Church Boys' Training Farm, Norval, Ontario. By 1929, as the economic conditions worsened, emigration had slowed considerably. The migration efforts were then confined to boys wishing to go to Canada for farm work. All emigration ceased with the outbreak of war in 1939. Vimy Ridge Farm In 1923, the British government, in conjunction with the government of Ontario, purchased Ballagh Farm, located on lots 9 and 10 of the 5th Concession of Puslinch township, Wellington County (near the City of Guelph). Named Vimy Ridge Training Farm, it was used as an agricultural training farm for the young boys coining to Canada with the Oversea Settlement Committee. The Local Architectural Conservation Association of Puslinch township designated the site for its historical significance in 1991. The designation reads in part: It is assumed many were World War I orphans as the farm was named "Vimy Ridge." The woodworking shop, built by the Sorbys [previous
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owners] became a dormitory for the boys placed at Vimy Ridge. A covered alleyway was constructed between the dormitory and the house, as the boys took their meals in the farmhouse. The farm could house a minimum of 250 boys. But, at Vimy Ridge only public school boys were eligible. (Public schools in England were not schools supported by public funding, rather they were private schools such as Eton.) The property was sold in 1932.
Dakeyne Farm, Nova Scotia Dakeyne Farm in Nova Scotia was rented for five years, beginning on December 27, 1926, and the provincial government agreed to pay $2,500 of the cost if the Oversea Settlement Committee would pay $5,000. The house had accommodations for 20 boys, but it was felt that a bunkhouse was needed so that 250 boys, under 17 years of age, could be housed at the farm. Its operations were much like the Vimy Ridge Training Farm in Ontario. (Similar financial arrangements were made with the governments of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.)
New Brunswick Farm The New Brunswick government signed an agreement with Dr. George Cossar on June 11,1928, for the use of his farm as a training centre for lads arriving in Canada under the auspices of the Oversea Settlement Committee. Costs were shared by the government of the province and by the British government.
Vermilion Farm The Vermilion Farm was located in Alberta. In 1924, the provincial government signed an agreement with the British government and 61 young men, between 17 and 25 years of age, were sent there for special training. The course was comprised the following: 1. Field husbandry, including the handling of two, three, four and six-horse teams, harrowing, ploughing, etc. 2. The care and management and marketing of livestock; 3. Farm mechanics, including carpentry, black-smithing, gas engines and farm motors and the mechanics of farm machinery;
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4. Dairying; 5. The principles of poultry farming; 6. Horticulture, including vegetables and small fruits; 7. The study of such insect pests, blights, mildews, etc., as occur in Western Canada; 8. Farm management and economics; and 9. Elementary veterinary science.11 The provincial government was responsible for finding employment for the young men when they completed the course.
Agencies of Which Little is Known In 1893, a conference on Women's Work took place in Chicago, Illinois, in conjunction with the International Exhibition. Papers were delivered by a number of women from the United Kingdom, and they published in a volume called Woman's Mission, edited by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, a well-known reformer of the time. In the appendix of the book are reports from various homes run and organized by women. Some of these homes state that they sent children to Canada, but few of these homes have been found mentioned in the records of the National Archives of Canada. Some, however, such as Dr. Stephenson's homes, Annie Macpherson's homes and Mrs. Smyly's homes have been discussed previously in this work. Others include the following:
Headingly Orphan Homes Headingly Orphan Homes in Leeds, England, is mentioned as being started in 1860 by Mrs. Williamson. In 1893, her homes cared for about 80 to 90 children and the actively described "girls are fitted for domestic service; some of the boys have been sent to Canada under good care, and promise to do well."119 It is possible these children went through Marchmont House in Belleville, as other homes in the Leeds area did use the this home but no evidence has been found.
Home for Orphan Girls The Home for Orphan Girls located at Babbicombe, Torquay, was established about 1863 by a Miss Erskine. "Of the 208 children who have passed through it, the majority have become domestic servants either in England or the colonies."120
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St. Chad's Children's Home St. Chad's Children's Home, located at Headingley, Leeds, was run by the Church of England. The children were trained for domestic service and some of them were sent "abroad."
Colonial Training-Home for Girls The Colonial Training-Home for Girls, located at Leaton, Wellington, Salop, was run by Miss M.E. Eyton. The Home trains girls as domestic servants, previous to their emigrating to the colonies, for which life special instruction is necessary. Washing and ironing, dairy-work, the care of poultry, cooking, sewing, and dressmaking, are taught. Many children from workhouses are adopted by Canadian foster-parents, and are being sent out by the United British Women's Emigration Association [discussed in Chapter 10] with which body this Training-Home is connected. Paying pupils are also taken.121
Ladies' Associations for the Care of Girls The Ladies' Associations for the Care of Girls was established by Miss Ellice Hopkings but was then (1893) run by Miss Janes. Clubs were located in over 120 centres. Their common aim is to raise the tone of life and thought among all classes by instructing mothers and teachers in the training of the young; by forming Girls' Clubs in manufacturing towns; by looking up poor and friendless girls as they leave school, and placing them in respectable service; by emigration; by helping workhouse children to a good start in life; and by passing on the children rescued from dangerous surroundings to suitable schools.122
The Traveller's Aid Society The Travellers' Aid Society, an offshoot of the YWCA was located at i6a Old Cavendish Street, London, W. The Society would "act as guardian and protector to young women moving from place to place, who require advice and assistance."123 This organization is mentioned in the Canadian immigration papers as being of great assistance to the newly-arrived immigrant.
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Saint Joseph's Orphanage Saint Joseph's Orphanage, located in Dundalk, Ireland, housed about 120 children in an orphanage and industrial school combined. "Some of the old pupils have emigrated, but nearly all those who remain in Ireland correspond regularly with the sisters."124
Other Agencies The names of the following agencies have been found in government records. Sometimes the names of agencies differed depending on who reported the party. Some of the names listed here may belong to one of the major agencies but were entered under a variant name in the records: Aberdeen Orphanage (1888 sent a party of 3) National Refuges, London (1888 sent a party of 25) House of Refuge, Glasgow (1887 sent a party of 21) Miss Wemyss - sent children to Marchmont, Belleville. (12 children in 1887 are noted specifically but others were also sent by her) Protestant Orphan Asylum, Dublin (1887 sent a party of i) Protestant Orphans' Society, Dublin (1886 sent a party of 3 - maybe same as above) Reverend Mr. Newman, Cleveden (1886 sent a party of 2) Ballycouree Orphanage, County Tyrone (1886 sent a party of 5) Children's Home, London (1888 sent 54 children - this may have been Dr. Stephenson's party) Tralee Convent (1887 sent a party of 73) Boy's Refuge, London (1884 sent a party of 40).
Children from Countries other than the United Kingdom Stop 69: The Armenian Relief Fund I United Church Overseas League Although other agencies did bring a few Armenian boys to Canada, it is Cedarvale Farm which is most associated with this work. In 1922, the Canadian Armenian Relief Fund with the assistance of the Armenian Lord Mayor's Fund of London, England, arranged for the emigration of 100 boys from war-torn Armenia. It had taken a great deal of effort on the part of the Canadian Armenian Relief Committee to lobby the government of Canada for permission to bring children into
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the country as Canada, then, was not encouraging immigration from that part of the world. The committee, however, worked diligently, fund-raising in various centres. It was finally rewarded late in May 1923, when the immigration department agreed to allow 100 boys into the country provided that the committee take full responsibility for them until they reached the age of 18. The children were to be carefully selected, under 18 years of age and in good health. The conditions were much the same as those in place for agencies bringing children from England. However, there was a major difference in this case, the boys did not speak English. Consequently, arrangements had to be made for a home where they could live for a period of time while they learned the language and something about Canadian farming practices. A farm, consisting of about 135 acres, was purchased just outside of Georgetown, Ontario, about 30 miles west of Toronto and at Stop #69 on the Radial Railway, which ran between Guelph and Toronto. Called Cedarvale, it consisted of good farmland and had an established apple orchard on the property. One of the boys commented, "[w]e began testing the apples soon after the blossoms fell, and found them delicious at all stages of their growth and maturity."125 The first party of 50 boys (some of whom were orphans, some of whom had no idea what had happened to their families), were selected from the Corfu orphanage. They were sent by steamer to Marseilles, France, and from there took the train to the seaport of Cherbourg, with a stopover in Paris. However, the party was four boys short by the time they reached Cherbourg. Three of the boys were detained for medical reasons by the Canadian authorities in Paris. One young fellow, however, had somehow fallen from the train on the way to Paris. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries but missed sailing with his friends. On June 21, 1923, the party sailed on the Canadian Pacific Ocean Steamship Company vessel Minnedosa and reached Quebec on June 30. From Quebec they were sent by train to the farm near Georgetown, getting off at Stop #69 on the Radial Railway. Arriving on July i, one of the boys remembered, "[a]s we were coming on the railway trolley [the Radial Railway] we were waving out the windows small Union Jacks that had been given to each one of us."12 The boys detained in Paris for medical reasons soon followed on the SS Melita, arriving on July 23,1923, while the young fellow who ungracefully departed the train on the way to Paris followed on August 10, also on the SS Melita. Aged between eight and thirteen years, the life of the boys as they struggled to learn English and acquaint themselves with Canadian customs and food is detailed in the book, The Georgetown Boys, by J. Apramian. In 1924, the second group of boys sailed from Piraeus, Greece, on the SS Brage of the Fabre Line, arriving at Halifax on September 30 and taking the train to the farm. It
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would be two years later, in July 1926, when the next party of nine boys and, for the first time, two girls came to Canada from Miss M.W. Frearson's orphanage at Shemlon, Mt. Lebanon. They were followed in July 1927, by another party of eleven boys and six girls, again from Frearson's home. The girls were older than the boys and had been trained in the home in Shemlon. They were placed out in domestic service, mostly in the Toronto area. When the Canadian government gave permission to bring more children, the committee wanted to place more emphasis on the emigration of girls. About 30 did come, but they also were placed out as domestics. The boys helped plant and harvest the crops and cared for the animals on the farm. Although an effort was made to Anglicize their names the boys "revolted at this and rightly claimed that their names and memories of home were all that most of them had left of their old lives."127 They also started a newsletter, called the Ararat Monthly, with the boys themselves producing it. A few Armenian boys had come over in Fegan parties and some were brought by the Salvation Army, but most came and stayed at Cedarvale Farm. Later, in 1928, the United Church of Canada took over the farm and it was renamed the United Church Boys' Training Farm, Norval, Ontario.128 Boys from Britain now came to the farm under the Empire Settlement Act.
Russian Children Except for a reference to Russian children in 1923-24, Smart's annual report, nothing more was found on the 27 children. They may have been part of the Armenian parties.
CHAPTER 7
Roman Catholic Participation
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, driven underground in England for hundreds of years, saw the restoration of its hierarchy in 1850. When the evangelical movement to save the children began in the i86os, the Church found itself with little in the way of an infrastructure to assist in the rescue of orphaned and deserted Catholic children. This situation was further complicated by the large number of poor, starving Irish immigrants who flooded into England during, and for some time after, the Irish famine of the 18408. Two men, especially, took up the challenge for the Church: Henry Edward Manning and James Nugent. The motto that focused their efforts stipulated "No Catholic child who is really destitute, or whose faith is in danger, and who cannot be otherwise provided for, is ever refused."1
Organization: London (Westminister and Southwark Dioceses) Henry Edward Manning was born July 15,1808, at Copped Hall, Totteridge, near Barnet, Hertfordshire. Raised a member of the Church of England, he attended Oxford University. Manning, who converted to Catholicism after the death of his wife, knew the importance of education. When he became Cardinal of Westminster in 1865, he set out to build a Catholic education system. Manning began to create the institutions required and started the Westminster Diocesan Educational Fund to help finance the education of children under his jurisdiction. This show of organization greatly influenced the politicians of the time and may well have influenced the Reformatory and Industrial Schools Acts of 1866 which allowed Roman Catholic children to be sent to institutions run by their church. i38
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Under Manning's predecessor, Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman, St. Stephens Reformatory was established in 1855 at Blyth House, Hammersmith, London and St. Nicholas', at Walthamstow, was set up as the first Catholic industrial school. Orphan boys were housed at North Hyde in Southall, Middlesex, which was established in 1847, while the Convent at Norwood cared for orphaned girls. Part of Manning's plan was the creation of more Catholic institutions. The Westminster Diocesan Educational Fund gave grants for the establishment of mission and diocesan schools, which included industrial schools, reformatories, Poor Law schools, orphanages and homes of refuge. The fund also provided money for the maintenance of these schools and support for those wishing to enter Cardinal Manning, 1865. Taken from the Hammersmith Training College to become Illustrated London News, June 10,1865. teachers. The reformatory at Hammersmith was converted to an industrial school for boys and additional schools were soon established, including: St. Margaret's Industrial School for Girls in Queen's Square; the Refuge at Finchley for girls; St. Mary's Home at Hammersmith; St. Vincent's at Kensington; the Orphanage for Boys at Hendon; and St. Nicholas' at Ilford, Essex. St. Nicholas' Industrial School at Ilford, proclaimed the best in its category by the government inspectors, was run by Monsignor Searle. Located on seven acres of land with room for about 100 boys, St. Nicholas' was intended to replace the school at Walthamstow, but necessity soon required that both schools remain open. Two more reformatories for boys were soon added. In 1856, Mount St. Bernard's Abbey, Leicestershire, was started and was followed, in 1863, by St. William's, Market Weighton, York. They were soon joined by Arno's Court in Bristol, and Howard Hill in Sheffield, for girls which was founded about 1860. Howard Hill was turned into an industrial school in 1880 and was closed in 1931. The fact that London was divided at the river into two dioceses had caused Manning some concern. He felt that the church needed to show a united front in the city especially when dealing with the government. To this end he worked with the Bishop of Southwark in many areas of education. (The Diocese of Southwark at this time included what became the Dioceses of Southwark, Arundel and Brighton and Portsmouth,
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covering the area from south of the Thames, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Berkshire, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.)2 Bishop James Danell of Southwark joined Manning in his work by inviting the Sisters of Mercy, who had established St. Mary's Industrial School for Girls at Eltham, to open a school in his diocese. Later this school was moved to Croydon. Danell also opened a boys' school in Deptford, later moved to a property of 15 acres at Dartford, which housed 200 boys. On his death, Danell was succeeded by Bishop Robert Coffin but, being in ill health, Coffin did not do much to further the work. However, when Bishop John Butt succeeded Coffin, he opened a school at Whitstable for boys considered too young for Dartford. The first reformatory for girls was started by the Good Shepherd Nuns at Arnos Vale in Bristol. Another soon followed at Liverpool and even girls from as far away as London were sent there. St. Edward's Reformatory for boys was established at Boleyn Castle, East Ham, while Charnwood Forest, near Leicester, was run by Cistercian monks. They took in about 100 boys and taught them a trade. Charles Dickens visited this institution several times and, in 1857, noted: On Ash Wednesday of last year this place was opened as a reformatory for youthful Roman Catholic criminals, or whose parents are of that belief. The number of inmates at present is one hundred and twenty; but the building when completed will hold about three hundred. The ages of the boys range from ten to sixteen; and their terms of imprisonment, from three to five years. Three large towns, Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool, supply a large proportion of the inmates.3...In going through these rooms as I consider the faces that pass before me, it seems unnatural to believe, although I know it for a fact, that all these lads are criminals in greater or lesser degree, and that many of them have been in jail several times before being sent here - so open, fearless and honest do they look.4 On a second visit in 1859, Dickens wrote: Games are going on as we enter [Dickens and Father Lawrence, his guide], and the large courtyard is ringing with merriment; but no sooner are we perceived than the game is broken up, and with loud shouts all the players rush towards my companion, pressing round him, calling out his name, seizing his hand, literally striving to 'touch the hem of his garment'; never have I seen such enthusiasm and affection! They are only brought back to reason by the sound of the bell, and the warning voices of the monitors
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calling upon them to 'fall in!' in regular military order, and to march up to their chapel some five minutes distant.5 This day was to be unforgettable for Dickens. Following the service in the chapel, Father Lawrence suffered a heart attack and fell into his arms and died. Cardinal Manning fought to have the Catholic children in workhouses ministered to by priests. He soon found that this segregated the children from the others in the workhouse and added to the problems with which they had to contend. He realized the situation the Church was in and knew that something must be done to keep these young ones in the faith. This led to a long battle with the Poor Law Guardians which was not settled until after changes were made to the Poor Law Act in 1866 and again in 1868. Under these changes to the Act the Guardians were forced to give up the Catholic children in the workhouse and turn them over to the Catholic schools. Since Manning agreed to take the Catholic children for less than the usual six shillings per week (paid by the Rates), many Guardians began to hand over the children with enthusiasm. But it was not until 1884 that the law was finally enforced so that all Catholic children were turned over to the Church. Manning said of the Guardians that they were "petty potentates who love to feel their power and make the weak feel it long after rulers have learned fairness and laws have been framed justly." Manning encouraged religious orders to establish schools of various kinds in which a Catholic education was given to the attendees. The Sisters of Charity had a school, St. Vincent's, for 200 boys under seven years of age at Mill Hill in London and another, St. Agnes, at Leytonstone, which was later closed. Before 1870, additional industrial schools for girls were established at Finchley and Isleworth with Poor Law schools for girls at Hammersmith, St. Edward's at Totteridge, Sacred Heart at Homerton, St. Elizabeth at Portobello Road, and the Convent of Providence at Hampstead. Bishop Butt, of Southwark, opened an industrial school at Orpington to meet the demand on the other side of the River Thames. Another industrial school for girls, run by the Servants of the Mother of God, was established at Tower Hill. The Poor School Sisters of Notre Dame had schools at St. Mary's at Southend and at Woolwich while the Servites ran one at Stamford Hill, London. The Daughters of the Cross of Liege ran a school at Chelsea. The biggest problem Manning had with these schools was the complaint that many of the nuns were foreigners from France. Many years before, Manning had been promised that Southwark would look after its children who were in the workhouses. This promise was still unfulfilled when Butt assumed control. He took over the vacated school at Eltham and turned it into a school for 100 junior boys, those under seven years of age, who were received from the Guardians.
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Bishop Butt, with the assistance of Father Edward St. John, began to investigate the establishment of a home. St. John went to Hexham and Newcastle diocese where Monsignor Canon Rooney had founded St. Peter's at Gainford, considered a model school. When they proceeded to build a school at Orpington, Kent, to accommodate 200 senior boys, it was modelled after Manning's school at Brentwood. Since there were not enough boys to fill the school, Butt had one block set aside for girls thus solving another problem - the complaint that brothers and sisters could not see each other when they were placed in homes far apart. St. Vincent's Home, located in Brook Green Lane, Hammersmith, was opened in December of 1859, with room for about 20 boys. It took in those who were orphans or destitute, but it also took lads who were in danger of losing their faith. St. Vincent's was run on a patronage system, each child being sponsored by a patron who paid four shillings a week for his keep. When the quarters for boys became inadequate, the home was given over to the care of girls and larger quarters were found at Hammersmith. In 1876, St. Vincent's Home was transferred to the care of Reverend Lord Archibald Douglas, who changed the policy of the home and took in boys with the greatest need. St. Vincent's Home was then moved to Harrow Road and Father Douglas used his own private means to run the home. After some ten years of service, he returned to his native Scotland and the running of St. Vincent's was given over to Father Douglas Hope. Manning placed Catholic orphan boys in the care of Father William Barry, who, in 1887, opened St. Joseph's home in Stepney. In 1889, Manning opened a home called the Home for Destitute Catholic Boys, located in the East End of London. This institution was much like homes run by Barnardo and Annie Macpherson, taking in the destitute Catholic children of the East End. Later it was joined by four additional homes, with one at Stepney and one at Enfield. St. Vincent's Home also became the responsibility of Father Barry when Father Hope had to retire due to ill health. Another home for boys, St. Mary's Orphanage, located at North Hyde, grew from caring for 20 boys to 700. Under Father Barry's management these homes began to show signs of central organization. The work, however, proved very hard and demanding and Barry became ill and died on October 29,18947 Upon Father Barry's death, Father Emmanuel Bans (Father Barry's assistant) assumed control of the work. Under the leadership of Cardinal Vaughan, the organization expanded and, when an agreement was finally reached with Thomas Barnardo in 1899 and Barnardo began to turn over all Catholic children, the organization almost crumbled under the increased load. Manning's work with children led to a few run-ins with Barnardo, who used the motto "No destitute child ever refused," and this included Catholic children. Manning wanted Barnardo to hand over all Catholic children. Although Manning did try to work
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with Barnardo to have Catholic children transferred to this home, Barnardo and Manning had a very stormy relationship. Much litigation was to follow the failure of informal talks between these men. Barnardo met with Father Thomas Seddon in 1887 to discuss the possibility of cooperation. Although Seddon agreed to work with Barnardo, he did not say the Church would cease litigation. Upon Barnardo learning of a new court case and that the Church had turned away some of the boys he sent to them, relations broke off. Part of the problem had been that Father Barry, who was running the home to which the boys had been sent, did not have the facilities to care for boys over 14 years of age.
Liverpool James Nugent was born in Liverpool on March 3,1822, to Irish Catholic parents, John and Mary (Rice) Nugent. He was sent to St. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, in 1838. With no Catholic college to attend, many young men, such as James Nugent, attended this college in preparation for entering the priesthood. He followed his time there with three years at the English College in Rome and, on August 30,1846, was ordained. As a young priest Father Nugent worked tirelessly to establish schools, homes, hospitals and reformatories in the Liverpool area. He stated that some 23,000 Catholic children were "roaming about the streets and docks" of Liverpool. He campaigned for compulsory education but found a great deal of resistance among the poorer Catholics. They were in far more need of the money their children could earn and could not afford the luxury of an education. Nugent worked in a Ragged School and came to know the children of the streets. He stated: "You will not charge me with exaggeration if I say that genius and talent runs to waste in the gutters of our large towns in England, and that the poor little street wanderers, when once they have the chance of knowing and doing right, would put to the blush the children of the upper ten thousand."9 His reputation for organization became well known in Liverpool and thus the next step in Nugent's life was one he took with some hesitation but on the express wish of Bishop Alexander Goss of Liverpool. In 1863, Father Nugent was appointed the first Catholic prison chaplain in England. After working for 22 years at Walton Gaol, he quipped, "[i]t was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me when I was sent to prison. It was there that as chaplain I learned to understand the real nature of the criminal poor, and to study mankind in all its phases. It was that experience which prompted me to deal with crime in its infancy."10 Thus he began his program to save the poor youth of that city. Birkdale Farm School was founded about 1854 near Liverpool. Bishop Goss also allowed the establishment of an industrial school, St. George's, in his diocese in 1866.
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However, the government inspector refused to certify the institution because it was run by a religious order. Nugent was instrumental in obtaining the assistance of Cardinal Manning to help settle this matter. Manning, who actively encouraged social reform even outside his domain, took up the task and finally obtained the certification for the school. The Liverpool Catholic Reformatory Association at first sent boys to St. Bernard's at Leicestershire. This soon proved impossible and, in 1863, Nugent helped to obtain a vessel, the Clarence, for use as a reformatory ship. In 1884, however, the boys managed to set the ship ablaze. Although a second one was found, it too was razed in 1899. Eventually St. Aidan's at Farnworth, Widnes, was founded as a nautical reformatory school, but this time on land. In 1887, the first of the Poor Law schools was established in the Liverpool diocese. St. Vincent's, for boys, was started at Preston while Holy Family School, at West Derby, Liverpool, was for girls. Later, four additional schools were added. The Boys' Refuge was started in Liverpool and run for Father Nugent by the Brothers of the Christian Schools. He described it as a typical refuge: Here we have a large shoe factory, a printing office where every form of job work is done, and where a newspaper (The Catholic Times) is printed each week, a tailor's shop, a joiner's shop, and a paper bag factory. Each boy is taught to work for his own bread as soon as he is fit for labour, and has eight hours work and four hours school each day. There is an instrumental band of 30 performers, and everybody who has a taste for music is taught to read music just as his alphabet.11 Nugent pleaded for assistance for the youth of the city and started the "Save the Boy!" campaign with collection boxes scattered around the city: Let any man walk our streets, let him go along Marylebone, Vauxhall Road or Scotland Road, and his heart will sink as he sees not only poverty, but naked, disgusting pauperism. When I see so many poor girls crowding the workhouses and prisons: when I see the noblest race God has ever created degraded and demoralised in our large towns, is it not the duty of every man who has a spark of humanity in his veins, to stretch out his hands, and give the warm feelings of his heart, to put them in a position where they can be self-reliant, where they can gain their bread without becoming a race of paupers?12 Father John Berry was also working in Liverpool at this time to establish homes for
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boys in a similar fashion to Father Barry in London. Here he cared for working boys as well as younger boys and girls. The home, St. Vincent's Working Boys' Home, was later located at 105 Shaw Street, Liverpool. Berry would soon play a major role in the emigration of Catholic children. Nugent's work with children led to the establishment of many official organizations. A grateful Liverpool erected a statue of Father Nugent, the "Apostle of Liverpool," in St. John's Gardens.
Birmingham Meanwhile, in Birmingham, Bishop William Ullathorne opened St. Paul's Coleshill in 1884 to house destitute children. That same year this home started sending children to Canada, and St. Phillips' Orphanage in Birmingham is listed in the 1887 immigration reports. The Birmingham Diocesan Rescue Society was founded in 1902 with Father George V. Hudson in charge. He started St. Edward's Home for boys in 1906; St. Joan's Home for girls was built on the cottage system where girls were placed in smaller numbers in a home-like setting. Father Hudson accompanied many parties of children to Canada.
Manchester/Salford In 1872, Herbert Vaughan became Bishop of Salford. Very interested in education, he set about establishing Catholic schools and homes for the children. To help with the work of saving the children from losing their faith, Vaughan founded the Salford Catholic Protection and Rescue Society in 1886 - the first diocesan rescue society. Although Westminster diocese had already worked out an arrangement with the Poor Law Guardians to turn Catholic children over to Catholic institutions, Vaughan was faced with the same problem in Lancashire. However, there were no Catholic homes in which to place the children when Vaughan became bishop. To remedy the situation, he started two Poor Law schools: Tottington, Bury, for girls, in 1888, run by the Sisters of Charity; and Rochdale, for boys, run by the Brothers of Charity. The first rescue home was opened at Ardwick Green. The Brothers of the Christian Schools, who were in charge of St. George's Industrial School and the Boys' Refuge in Liverpool, moved to Manchester in 1886, and there they took up the work of Father Quick, who had established St. Joseph's as a home for boys. Although originally established as a boys' home, St. Joseph's, at Withy Grove, became an industrial school. It was moved in 1889 to Patricroft, just east of Manchester, where Bishop Vaughan introduced a new concept. In this home boys and girls would be cared for together to avoid family breakups.
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Emigration The emigration efforts of the Catholic Church started off with various dioceses making their own arrangements. Although there were several Catholic agencies bringing children to Canada, they often used the same facilities. Priests, convents, Catholic orphanages and other arms of the church were often asked for assistance. As the years went on, the facilities became more organized and more centralized. It would be nearly 30 years, however, before they finally amalgamated their work into one agency.
Liverpool: Father Nugent and the Catholic Children's Protection Society (CCPS) On August 28,1870, Father Nugent arrived in Quebec City on board the Austrian with his first group of children. He took them to Montreal for placement by the priests in that city. The immigration agent reported that "Revd. Father Nugent, Roman Catholic Prison Chaplain at Liverpool, accompanied a small party of boys to Canada, with whose antecedents he was well acquainted, and he found comfortable homes and employment for them all with little difficulty."13 Nugent talked to groups of Canadians about the emigration of Catholic youths rescued from the streets of Liverpool and other cities of England. He toured Canada and the United States, speaking to many groups about his work with children: It is estimated that there are at the present time in England and Wales 350,000 children under the age of 16 who are more or less a burden on the parochial rates. I am sure that you will agree with me that poverty is not a crime but a misfortune. These are poor children, and in most large towns there are parish industrial schools for this class. We have one in Liverpool in which there are from 1,200 to 1,500 children. I brought out 24 of these children with me a few weeks ago, all orphans, 12 boys and 12 girls; they were all well instructed in their religion and in book learning. The girls were all in excellent situations within two days at Montreal, four of the youngest being adopted into most respectable families where they will be treated as their own children. The youngest boy was 11, the oldest 15. They had all been accustomed to labour, nine of them had a trade; they all knew how to read and write well, and they had all made their Communion.14 Nugent carried out his work for over 20 years, never bringing many children at any one time. He was joined in 1882 by Mrs. Elizabeth Hudson and Mrs. Margaret Lacy
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(sometimes spelled Lacey in government records) of the Liverpool Catholic Children's Protection Society (CCPS), founded in 1881 to rescue Catholic children from, as the Kelly's Street Directory of 1902 stated, "misery and crime by finding homes and employment for them in Canada." Mrs. Lacy's children were placed far afield - from the Windsor area to Ottawa and surrounding area. In the counties of Waterloo and Wellington the services of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Guelph and of priests were used extensively. Some children were recorded as going to Sudbury, and a few to Scared Heart College, Watertown, New York. One group of children, and there may have been others, was divided, with some disembarking at Rimouski, Quebec, and making their way to King's County, New Brunswick, while the others continued on to Quebec City. Many of the children were placed through Providence House in Kingston and Hamilton, Ontario. Some children were sent to the Sisters of the Church in Toronto, and to the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Catharines, Ontario, who to the dismay of the inspector, gave out the children without any record being kept. Later the CCPS also placed children from St. Anne's Home at 149 Berri Street, Montreal, Quebec. Few records can be found in the National Archives of Canada about these early arrivals, but one list of children sent from the West Derby Union, Liverpool, in 1883, did survive.15 This group of children was sent in the charge of Elizabeth Hudson who accompanied other Roman Catholic children to Canada over the years. As with many of the early parties, these children were to be placed by the local priest. It was also expected that the priest would, from time to time, check on the welfare of the child. This list, dated June 18,1883, contains the names of ten children and gives us a little insight into the distribution of these children from the West Derby Union: CHILD
Catherine Casey Kate Bedford Mary Ann O'Toole Elizabeth O'Toole Margaret Burns
AGE
9 11 n 5 9
Florence Smiths 10 Caroline Houghney 10 Ellen Houghney not given Elizabeth Gaskill? 12 Mary Meade 10
GUARDIAN
P.O. ADDRESS
Daniel Murphy Mrs. Maise Timothy Foley St. Joseph Hospital Patrick Ryan
Mount Forest Guelph Evengrove Guelph Kingscourt, Township of Pro ten [Proton] Ayton Arthur Arthur Arthur Arthur
Mrs. O'Reilly Father Dougherty Father Dougherty Father Dougherty Father Dougherty
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Margaret Lacy began to bring children to Canada on a regular basis after 1882, placing them in various Catholic orphanages or convents. In the 1887 immigration report, the Kingston agent stated that Lacy placed 222 children in Kingston that year. A few years later, in 1891, he reported that "one hundred and sixty-eight children were taken to a sisterhood at Kingston, Ontario, in 1888 (making 1,100 since the society started) whence they were placed out in homes found for them."1 The CCPS, he noted, was located at 99 Shaw Street, Liverpool, England, just a short distance from Father John Berry's home at 105 Shaw Street. By the i88os, the law required that all workhouse children were to be inspected annually by a Canadian government inspector. Because of this, a small problem developed in 1889 when Mrs. Lacy provided a list of Union children to the Canadian government and the inspector could not find six of the children. After a little investigation, she wrote to H.B. Small of the Department of Agriculture and stated: I very greatly regret the errors of which you complain and that this trouble has been incurred by Mr. McPherson. I will take every care that in future, these errors shall not recur. The origin of the mistake is this: Two men were sent from Tyindinaga [sic] to Kingston, to take six boys to their destinations. They gave the addresses at which the boys named were to be placed; but on reaching Tyindinaga, they placed the boys in altered order in their homes. In future, I propose arranging that actual receipts shall be sent to me, by the people receiving children after they have so received them.17 Father Nugent had relied upon gentlemen of good character to keep watch on his young emigrants. Father Seddon, of Westminster, used local priests to report on the children he took to Canada. However, in 1880, Bishop O'Reilly of Liverpool established a hostel for the children in Liverpool to serve as an embarkation point, and later another, St. Anne's, in Montreal, to serve as a receiving home. Under the care of the Liverpool CCPS, the Montreal home was turned over to a permanent agent who was to keep watch over the children. Miss Agnes Brennan is listed in the immigration reports in connection with this home, as well as Antoine Robert, lay secretary to the Archbishop of Montreal, and Emile Marquette, who was the provincial immigration agent in Montreal. With the involvement of the Liverpool CCPS, a regular system was set up in Montreal with an "after-care" facility for the children.18 Starting in 1892, most of the children Margaret Lacy brought to Canada went to Montreal before placement, but exceptions were made. For example, a note in the immigration report for 1893 states that eight children were sent to the Sisters of the Church in Toronto. Miss Cunningham, Miss Yates and Father Russell also accompanied parties of children from the CCPS to Canada. Miss
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Yates took the children to Miss Brennan's home, St. Vincent's, at 11 St. Thomas Street, Montreal, Quebec. Sometimes the children are listed as going to Reverend G.M. Godts of St. Ann's Church in Montreal, Quebec. Reverend Godts was made the director of the Canadian operations in 1893, stated John Hoolahan, immigrant agent at Montreal.
Westminster: Cardinal Manning and Father Seddon In 1874, a few years after Father Nugent began his emigration program, the Canadian Catholic Emigration Committee (CCEC) was established. Reverend Thomas Seddon, secretary to Manning, was also made secretary of the CCEC. He, too, began to send children to Canada. It is estimated that "...between 1874, when it began its work, and 1884, it placed 463 of them [children], mainly from Catholic orphanages in the metropolitan area."19 He stated that it was with the greatest reluctance that he was taking the children to Canada but due to the state of the labour market in England felt he did not have any choice, "...but it is an alternative I strive to protect from abuse by having agents in that country who seek for suitable homes for the children out of the pure motive of Christian benevolence."20 Once a year Seddon sailed for Canada with his young charges, sometimes including children from the Southwark Diocese in his parties. The children were placed with Catholic families in the Ottawa area and the province of Quebec. Resident clergy in Quebec were to look after them until Marquette, the government agent at Montreal, found jobs for them. The very young ones were to be adopted by Catholic families. A few parties of children appear in the records accompanied by Miss Fletcher. In a letter dated March 24,1874, Maria Rye wrote to the Chairman of the Emigration and Colonization Committee stating that she had started the movement of child migration. She reported on the groups that followed after her, including the involvement of the Roman Catholic Church: These, together with the children sent out by the Roman Catholics, under the auspices of the Archbishop of Westminster, and I believe under the immediate care of Miss Fletcher, but whose distributing home in Canada I cannot name, form to the best of my knowledge the off-shoots of my idea broached in the English Times of 1868. The Roman Catholic children have been sent from the St. George's (Hanover Square) Union Schools, which have from time to time committed six parties of children to my care and it was through the unwearied exertions of two members of that Board, viz.: Colonel Fremantle and Mr. R. Fleming, that the Roman Catholic members of that Board availed
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themselves of so great advantage for placing out in life, members of that one persuasion in Canada.21 It was true, as Miss Rye stated, that the Roman Catholics had no reception home. "In 1880 hostels were opened in Ottawa and Liverpool to deal with the emigration and reception of the children."22 Father Seddon made use of these hostels. Although one major party of children a year came to Canada with Seddon, immigration records show that sometimes small parties of between two and six children would arrive. It is not known if these children were sent out alone or in the company of another agency. For example, in 1875, immigration records show the arrival of four children on the Sarmatian in August and two children via Portland on December 4. These parties of children are often listed as being in the care of "Cardinal Manning's Committee" or the "[Canadian] Catholic Emigration Committee." In 1886, Seddon wrote to John Lowe, the Canadian Minister of Agriculture, expressing his surprise that the government would no longer pay the $2 capitation "grant for children chargeable to the Poor Rates...."23 The Canadian government had discontinued this grant without notice. He asked that the government reconsider for 1886 since this information was not known at the time of sailing and, with increased ocean fares that year (rates went from £3 145. to £4), the Society would be hard pressed to make up the difference. The outcome was not recorded. In the immigration report for 1887, Father Seddon was listed as taking his children to St. Patrick's Orphan Home in Montreal (it is believed that this was St. Patrick's located on Dorchester Street and in the charge of the Grey Nuns). Antoine Robert, of the Archbishop's Palace in Montreal, is also listed in the reports as assisting with the children in Montreal. Some children were sent to St. Nicholas' Institute on Lombard Street, Toronto and to Rimouski and St. Giles, Quebec. The CCEC sent approximately 699 children to Canada between 1886 and i897.24 These children were sent to homes in Rimouski, Quebec, run by the Sisters of Charity, and to Toronto and Ottawa. There is also information in the immigration reports about children from numerous Unions, and from Everton Terrace Industrial School; St. Elizabeth's School, Salisbury; St. Margaret's School, Mill Hill; St. Vincent's Home, Harrow Road; St. Francis' Orphanage, Shefford; St. Mary's Orphanage, Blackheath; St. Mary's School, West Grindstead; Torrington Lodge, Eltham; Carlisle Place Orphanage; Nazareth House, Oxford; Old Place, Mayfield, Sussex; St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Great Ormand Street; St. Elizabeth's House, Bullingham; St. John's Industrial School, Walthamstow; St. Joseph's Orphange, Kingsington Hall; and Shibden Industrial School. Sometimes a few are listed from the Salford Protection & Rescue Society, but mostly they are listed as Cardinal Manning's children. St. Nicholas', at 70 Lombard Street in Toronto, founded in 1869, was run by the Sisters
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^
The St. Patrick's Catholic Orphanage, on Dorchester Street in Montreal, taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, July 3, 1875-
of St. Joseph. It was intended to "protect working boys from evil society and give them the comforts of a home....When out of employment, boys are received and when possible work procured for them."25 The Institute appears in some of the reports from immigration agents concerning the whereabouts of some of the Catholic boys from various Unions. There is also the occasional mention of boys in Father Seddon's party being sent there. For example, in July 1887, Frederick Rowe, Charles Hall, Edward Howard, George Burns, Charles Carey, John O'Brien, Francis McGrath, Thomas Quinn, John Brian and William Sullivan were all sent to St. Nicholas' upon their arrival in Canada. From the same party, Leon Julian, only four years old, was sent to Rimouski, Quebec; Robert Gethin, to St. Giles, Quebec; and Arthur Maymark was sent to Montreal.26 On September 15,1898, Seddon sailed from Liverpool to Quebec on the Allan Liner Numidian. The passenger list for this vessel records "death at sea: Revd. Father Seddon September 22nd 1898 of Cardiac failure (body landed at Quebec) - Revd. Father Seddon died at sea on 22 Sep.'98 (@ 3pm.) Body landed at Quebec and buried in Hotel Dieu on 26 Sept."27 He died while travelling with a party of 31 children. (The names of the children can be found in Appendix B.)
Southwark: Father Edward St. John and Reverend Lord Archibald Douglas On the south side of the Thames, in the Diocese of Southwark, similar work was also in progress. Father Edward St. John, who had helped establish homes for the Bishop of
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Southwark, wanted to do something more for the teenaged boys. He took in these older boys and used an old, unoccupied carpenter's shop to house them. Although he tried to find them work, many employers hired younger boys, those who would be discharged at 17 or 18 years of age to be replaced by younger boys at lower wages. Father Seddon, of the Westminster diocese, was approached for advice on what could be done regarding emigration for the young men St. John had in care. However, Seddon refused to include the older lads in his emigration parties, hence St. John raised the money to take some to Canada himself. The government agent at Montreal helped find work for the young men. Although a few of them eventually returned to England on cattle boats, others remained in Canada. These first boys were placed in Quebec, but Father St. John was determined to visit Ontario as another source of jobs for his boys. In the early years, he used the assistance of Mrs. Birt's organization, the Liverpool Sheltering Home, to take some of his children to Canada. Later, while on a visit Father St. John was received by the Archbishop of Ottawa whom, he said, told him: ...that places could be found for far more children and youths in Ontario than we could probably ever hope to send out, but that if we in England wanted to make use of his Diocese for this purpose it must be on the condition that we maintained an Agent in Canada, and also a Receiving Home in that country to care for the young emigrants, adding that his Clergy could not do this work as their hands were already over-full. Soon afterwards I was able, with the help of the Reverend Lord Archibald Douglas, to establish a small receiving home with a resident agent at Ottawa....28 Bishop Butt, of the Diocese of Southwark, founded the Southwark Catholic Rescue Society in 1887 and Canon Crea was placed in charge of the society which controlled all of the diocesan institutions for children. For many years this organization sent children to Canada under the direction of St. John. They were taken to Montreal where Marquette helped place the children. It was on one of his trips back from Canada that Father St. John struck up a conversation with an agent from the Barnardo organization. As a result of this meeting, he was sent to negotiate with Barnardo on behalf of Cardinal Manning. Father St. John said: Dr. Barnardo began by telling me that he wanted to be quite frank with me, and then stated, not unpleasantly, that he hated the Catholic Religion and everything to do with it, but owing to his inability to deal with the vast number of children and youths that were applying to him for assistance, he
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2.53
would rather see Catholic children go to Catholic Homes rather than that they should be left in degraded surroundings.29 Since Manning had just died and a successor not yet appointed, St. John could not promise Barnardo much but to press the issue with the new Cardinal when named. But it would not be until 1899, in Cardinal Vaughan's time, that relations with Thomas Barnardo would become more civil. Reverend Lord Archibald Douglas was the son of the Marquis of Queensbury. He ran St. Vincent's Home on Harrow Road in London for a time and arrived in Canada on July 2,1882, aboard the Peruvian. Accompanying him were his first party of children who were sent to Ottawa. While in Canada, Douglas visited other parts of the country and, in 1897, established a home called New Southwark in Dauphin, Manitoba. The home was built on grant land. In the 1897 immigration report, George Croxford, Resident Agent at New Orpington Lodge, Hintonburg, states: We have had 55 boys sent out here under the auspices of the Southwark Catholic Emigration Society, eight of whom have gone to the Society's farm at Makinak in the Lake Dauphin district, Manitoba; six have been placed in the Province of Quebec; and forty-one in Ontario, within 100 miles of Ottawa here. I expect Father Gaisford, one of the priests of our Society, here to-morrow, who will, in all probability visit some of the boys placed around here previous to his departure for the North-West. During the year I have had to replace about ten boys, but that includes boys that have been sent to this country since 1895. I expect that all of our boys will be visited very shortly. We take full control of our lads until they are eighteen.30 Douglas' name appears for the last time on the immigration reports in 1898. Father St. John accompanied children to Canada for many years, and Miss Proctor also accompanied parties of children from England for this association.
Salford The Salford Catholic Protection and Rescue Society began to emigrate children to Canada in 1889. Father Robert Rossall (signed his name Rob), Emigrants' Chaplain and Chancellor of the Diocese of Salford, is listed in the immigration reports as being in charge of several of the parties of children sent from Salford, some of which were taken to Montreal. In 1892, the party is listed as being sent to Mr. Robert, Archbishop's Palace, Montreal. In 1895, the destination is given as St. Ann's Parish, Montreal.
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Rossall's report of 1890 on the children placed in Canada contained information on Canada itself. He stated that the French Canadians were all Catholic and only about 400,000 Catholics were found in Ontario. For this reason many of the children were placed in Quebec. The schools "by the British North America Act, 1867, placed in the hands of the Governments of the several Provinces the rights and privileges of denominational and separate schools then existing being specially protected.... Education of children between the ages of 7 and 13 is compulsory for not less than 100 days in the year."31 Attendance in Ontario schools was only about 45 percent in rural areas but much higher in Quebec, observed Rossall. Many of the reports for the government are signed by Austin Gates, secretary of the society. Local Unions as well as local orphanages and many industrial schools such as Stockport Industrial School, St. Joseph's Industrial School and Shibden Industrial School sent Catholic children with the Salford Society.
Irish Institutions Although most of the Catholic emigration was from England, the immigration records list a few parties originating from Irish establishments. On the ship Dominion, July 12, 1880, a party of children arrived from the Sisters of Mercy of Loughrea, County Galway. There was also a party on the Hanoverian, July 16,1882, from St. Catharine's Convent in Tralee, and there may have been others.
Unions - Directly Only one mention is made in the immigration reports of Catholic children being sent directly from a Union. On September 23,1883, on board the Dominion, a party of 28 children arrived from the Preston Board of Guardians; another party followed the next year. Records in the National Archives of Canada, however, indicate that many of the children in the Catholic parties did include children from various Unions.
Other English Institutions All Saints Orphanage located in Kent, England, was listed in the 1894 immigration report as sending two boys to Tillsonburg, Ontario.
The Work Comes Together The work of the Southwark Catholic Society, directed by Father St. John, and the work
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2.55
of Reverend Lord Douglas were united in 1893 under the auspices of the Catholic Emigration Committee, an organization started by Father Seddon. This organization followed the example of St. John of the Southwark Society and modelled itself on the Barnardo Homes. In 1892, when Bishop Vaughan succeeded Cardinal Manning, the Sisters of Charity of St. Paul, Selly Park, were sent to Canada to take charge of Orpington Lodge the former Southwark headquarters in Ottawa. The New Orpington Lodge was opened in Hintonburg,32 near Ottawa, in 1895 and renamed St. George's Home. The western branch, New Southwark in Dauphin, Manitoba,33 was eventually closed while St. Anne's Home for Girls at 149 Berri Street in Montreal remained in use. Children were still placed in present day Saskatchewan and Manitoba through Catholic orphanages in those areas. In September 1894, Agnes Brennan was approached by Father O'Callaghan of Manchester, England, about establishing a receiving home. She explained the encounter and its result: Last September, two years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Rev. Father O'Callaghan of Manchester, England. He was looking after some of the young immigrant children sent out by the Salford Society in former years, and hearing that we had befriended some of those little ones, called on me to discuss the possibility of getting myself, or some one taking an interest in the children, to start a small home to receive them on arrival in Canada, or whenever they would be out of a place. In the meantime Rev. F. O'Callaghan had obtained from the members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Ann's parish a promise to take an interest in the work, and a committee was formed to this effect. The spiritual director of the society a few months before had already discussed with Rev. F. Rossall, then visitor for Salford, the secretary of a home in Montreal. Rev. F. O'Callaghan, and his companion Mr. Smart, tried to settle with different homes in Montreal, but, all the charitable institutions in the city having more than enough on hand, they succeeded with none. After due deliberation and with the advice and kind supervision of Rev. Father Godts, we have started a work which we hope will, in God's name, and in the cause of charity, bring forth good fruits. We found a house to suit, in a retired street, for which we pay the sum of $20.00 a month, and to which an addition was made this year for a dormitory at our own cost of $300.00. During the first month of 1894 we sheltered many boys in the city in boarding houses, or elsewhere, the best we could. Rev. F. Godts was
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appointed agent and empowered to act for his lordship the Bishop of Salford and for the society in Liverpool; the home was opened on May i s , 1894, and in the month of June we received our first lot of boys. Although they came from Rev. Father St. John in London, we gave them shelter until we placed them, 17 in number, in good homes in the country from our application list. Our next lot, numbering 27, ranging in age from 7 to 15 years, arrived in Montreal July 3 , in charge of Miss Yates, from Liverpool. On July the 9 we received 25 children in charge of Mr. Smart of Salford. With a few exceptions they were placed as soon as we could send word of their arrival, as we never send a child until we are sure that the parties meet them at their arrival, and never give a child unless the party is well recommended by the parish priest, and a clear understanding that if the child does not suit, he or she will be sent back to the Home, first notifying us. On September 22n we received another lot in charge of Miss Yates, from Liverpool, 27 boys and 25 girls, with two girls in charge, numbering in all 54, which were all placed in good homes to be adopted or to work, as we make a condition that no child can be had for adoption where there may be other children. When a child has reached the age of 12 or 13 they must receive wages according to their capacity and employment. We received in 1894 in all from England 123 children; besides we have had last year about 50, boys and girls, who have been out for several years, and as yet did not receive any wages, some of them having worked for three or four years for their board, although taking the place of men and women. This causes much trouble between the child and the employers. If we want those children to become useful to us, we must treat them in a kind and gentle way, as we would like our own to be used if placed in a like position. Therefore the society and the priest of the parish act as arbiters between employer and child, a correspondence is kept up, and about new year all the children in the city were visited by gentlemen for the boys, and ladies for the girls. Reports are also received from the country. No trouble has been spared in case of a child illused [sic] or not well placed. We travelled repeatedly to Ottawa and elsewhere, got a girl away from Bryson with the assistance of the government, and used the assistance of a justice of peace near St. Jerome, and got the protection of the law when required here in the city. During this present year, 1895, we have had by steamer "Numidian," from Liverpool, May 22n , 55 children; from Salford, two weeks later, 41. Then again, September 29* , from Liverpool, 19; besides 2 girls in charge, 4 from Salford, altogether 121. This year we
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received and placed of those that were in Canada already 35 boys and 41 girls, making 76 who passed through the Home, giving altogether 197 sheltered and placed, with the exception of 5 small boys to be disposed of yet. As we have a whole list of applications on hand, boys and girls of the city have been helped to find situations. One disabled boy was taken back to England, 3 girls were placed in the Good Shepherd's and are doing well. Of nearly 1,000 children placed in Canada from Liverpool and Salford, there are at present in the Good Shepherd's, besides an idiot, one girl, whom a lady wants but we like her to stay a little; in the reformatory 3 boys, one of whom will soon go and two may be sent back to England. As the societies in England are pleased with the work done, we expect the number of immigrants to increase, and are promised a large number for 1896. If duly protected, we hope, with God's helping, the Catholic Protection and Rescue Society may succeed in its work.34 In her 1897 report Agnes Brennan stated that the demand for girls between 10 and 15 years of age was on the increase. She also states that a child "Patrick Moor, from the Dublin Union"35 was returned to England with Miss Yates for health reasons. Miss Yates had inspected the children sent out in June when she returned to Canada in September, Brennan reported. However, in the "next year the Society is going to send out special visitors to make a more extended stay and to receive a more detailed account from the people and the children so that we may be able in the future to have better arrangements made in placing the children."36 She continued: The greatest difficulty in my work, is trying to convince those people who make applications for girls and boys, that if they would only treat the children with a little more consideration, and pay them in a proper manner (as they always promise they will do if I only let them have one) all would be well, and they would become useful members of society in a very few years.37 G. Bogue Smart described the home run by Agnes Brennan: The building is very conveniently laid out, and possesses four fair-sized dormitories, two large parlors, a dining room, and a kitchen. These rooms I found to be scrupulously neat and clean. At the rear there is quite a large playground. A stair-case is provided at the rear which affords an easy exit from the building in case of fire. Religious services are conducted regularly, and a chapel has been provided
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for this purpose in the Home. The children are always welcomed, and are made to feel that they have a home here to which they may return for a visit at any time. During the past year two deaths were reported amongst the children of this society, viz.: William Kyle, age fourteen, from heart disease, and Martha King, age fourteen, from typhoid fever. The children are visited once a year by Misses Yates and Brennan, and in case of any complaints more frequent visits are made. The health of the children has been generally good. There have been no cases of a contagious nature reported.3 St. Anne's Home located in Montreal at 258 Laval Avenue, was mentioned in the 1897 immigration report. John Hoolahan, Dominion immigration agent at Montreal filed the report by Miss A.R Procter and Miss H. Urquhart, listed as joint agents of the home, with his own report. Miss Procter stated that the Southwark Catholic Emigration Society used the home and that it served as both a home and a distribution centre. The Society, she noted, was no longer emigrating young children for the purpose of adoption as the practice was deemed unworkable.39 This was mainly due, she said, to the fact that French Canadians already had large families of their own and were not interested in adopting more children. Agnes Brennan reported on her activities of 1900, published in the Sessional Papers of the government of Canada. The CCPS, stated Miss Brennan, was in a new home at 53 Everton Road in Liverpool, and Miss L.M. Yates, and her niece Miss A. Yates, had just arrived with 43 children from this home. "The children we receive are not without many childish faults, for which we cannot blame them, when we think of their neglected infancy, by parents who forget their responsibility, and cast to the world's mercy those little souls."40 While in Canada, the Misses Yates visited the children sent out in previous years. Brennan also held reunions at the home from time to time and boys and girls from the surrounding area would come for afternoon tea. Emile Marquette and John Hoolahan, agent, attended the function in 1900 and "were much impressed with the happy, joyous appearance of each and every one."41 Assistance was also offered by many parish priests and the sisters of the Good Shepherd, in Montreal and Ottawa, and those of Providence, at Montreal and Kingston, also helped look after the children. The Grey Nuns in Ottawa, Agnes Brennan said, "give me great assistance on account of their visiting through the country where we place out little ones, but especially Rev. Sister Howley, of St. Patrick's Orphanage,42 Rev. Sister Jane, of Bethlehem,43 and the Rev. Sister Mary Redemption, of the General Hospital, Water Street, where, on their arrival in the capital, they all find a temporary home and kind friends."44
Roman Catholic Participation
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Cardinal Vaughan brought the charitable works of the church in England together in 1899 and founded the Crusade of Rescue, Father Bans' Homes for Catholic Destitute Children. Vaughan adopted a policy much like Barnardo's. He stated "that no Catholic children, really destitute or in danger with regard to their faith, and for whom no other provision could be made, would be refused admission to our Homes."45 A relationship sprang up between the Rescue Society and St. Patrick's Orphanage in Prince Albert (in present-day province of Saskatchewan). The first of 70 children to arrive at St. Patrick's were sent in 1901 to the care of Brother Courbis. Accompanied by Father Franklin, "they arrived on September 14,1901. They were met by a George Russel driving a team on a democrat. They were taken to the Orphanage in the 500 block on 13 St. W. in Prince Albert."46 This relationship appears to have continued until about 1907. Smart, in his 1901 report, listed the distribution of the Catholic children for that year: DISTRIBUTION OF CATHOLIC CHILDREN Quebec: Placed by the Canadian Catholic Emigration Society Boys Girls City o f Montreal 2 5 County of Ottawa n 11 Huntingdon 2 11 Pontiac i 11 Chateauguay i 11 Jacques Cartier 4 11 Laprairieand n Napier ville 11 Beauharnois 4 11 Stanstead i Total 37 5
Total 7 n 2 i i 4 11 4 i 42
Ontario: Placed by Canadian Catholic Emigration Society Boys Girls County o f Brant 2 " Carleton 15 " Grey 3 " Lanark 2 " Renfrew i " Russell 2 " Wellington 6 1 " Welland i District o f n Nipissing City of Ottawa i 11 Toronto i Total 32 4
Total 2 15 3 2 i 2 7 i n i i 36
In 1899, Monsignor Pinnington became secretary of the Catholic Children's Aid Committee, an advisory bureau on all questions related to children in the Liverpool Diocese. Soon, however, it was providing accommodations for the children as well as giving advice. When the Liverpool CCPS ran into difficulties in 1901, it was suggested that an amalgamation take place among all of the organizations conducting child emigration work.
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By this time, children were coming to Canada from several homes including: Father Hudson's homes in Birmingham, St. Vincent's and St. Edward's; St. Nicholas' Home in Manor Park, London; and also from the home in Gladding Road, to name but a few. In 1906, the Irish Catholic Immigration Society also brought children to Canada from the Boys' Orphanage on Beacon Lane in Liverpool. These children were suffering from trachoma, a contagious disease of the eye, a condition which usually prevented the emigration of a child.47 After some investigation into child emigration by Father Bans and Arthur Chilton Thomas, manager of Father Berry's Home in Liverpool, it was recommended that Coleshill become the emigration centre in England for Catholic children. In 1903, Father George V. Hudson became secretary of the Catholic Emigration Association, this association that amalgamated the child emigration efforts of Liverpool, Birmingham, Westminster and Southwark. St. Anne's, in Montreal, was closed at this time and the work was moved to St. George's Home in Ottawa. Smart's report of 1903 noted: The Catholic Emigrating Association, St. Henri, P.Q. This society was recently organized in England, under the presidency of Rev. E. Bans, Administrator of Rescue and Homes for Destitute Catholic Children, London, England. Their first party of juveniles reached Montreal on May 4, and numbered 111 boys and girls. The home, which is pleasantly located on one of the principal avenues, is suitably laid out for its use, and possesses every convenience. The playrooms, sleeping-rooms, &c., are comfortably furnished and were in splendid order. I inspected 11 children here, all under 12 years of age, and, with the exception of two small boys, who were about to be returned to England, they were all of robust appearance. The interests of the association are under the supervision of Mr. Cecil Arden, honorary manager. Mr. Arden spent some months in Canada, during 1902, visiting children and generally familiarizing himself with the work, and has, therefore, a knowledge of the requirements and the type of boy needed by the Canadian farmer. This society has taken over the work in Canada hitherto conducted by the Liverpool Catholic Children's Protective Society.48 The following year Smart noted another change. "The work of the Liverpool Catholic Children's Protective Society and the Canadian Catholic Emigration Society has been taken over by the Catholic Emigrating Association under the general management of Mr. Cecil Arden. Receiving and Distributing Homes are maintained at
Roman Catholic Participation
2.61
Montreal and Hintonburg, Ont."49 In his annual report for 1903-1904, Smart reported on the Catholic Emigrating Association and the Montreal home: My second annual inspection of this home was made on May 16 [1904]. Their first party of boys reached Quebec on the 8* idem by ss. [sic] Bavarian. The party consisted of forty-four boys, eleven of whom were sent to Canada under the authority of the boards of guardians; the balance were from private institutions and schools in and about London. Their maximum age was sixteen and minimum eleven years. I found twenty of this party in the home, the others having been sent forward to situations in Ontario and Quebec. The home is conveniently situated in St. Antoine Street, but the lack of ground room is felt somewhat. The interior of the house is well adapted for a receiving home and the rooms are large and airy. Fifty children could easily be accommodated. Two large connecting parlours are used as a reception-room and weekly 'at homes' or reunions are held on Sunday evenings for their children residing in the city. I spent some time here with Mr. Arden, who received me most courteously and spared no trouble to explain the various details of the daily routine of the home and the policy of the society in dealing with and placing out children. The work is arranged with a view to thoroughness and reasonable economy, and I believe no pains are spared to make the supervision and care of their children as effectual as possible. In addition to the party that had just arrived, four sailings have been booked for between now and September i. Many more applications have been received than it will be possible to fill.50 Smart visited the Catholic Emigrating Association's Home, Hintonburg, Ontario, in 1904-1905 and stated: Since my last inspection the headquarters of this association have been transferred to Hintonburg [from Montreal], as it was felt that this would be a more convenient point for the reception and distribution of their young immigrants. The majority of the children are located in eastern Ontario and the western counties of the province of Quebec. The home was undergoing many alterations, which will afford comfort and accommodation for a larger number of children. The honorary manager
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is assisted by a permanent staff of workers, and all are deeply interested in the welfare and success of the children. The pleasure was again afforded me of being present and addressing the annual New Year's re-union of old boys and girls at Montreal, and I was impressed by the interest manifested by their former immigrants in the affairs of the association. I had the further pleasure of meeting the Rev. E. Bans, of London, England, administrator of the homes for Destitute Catholic Children, and Arthur Chilton Thomas, Esquire, of Liverpool, honorary manager of the Liverpool Catholic Homes. These gentlemen spent some weeks in Canada, during which they visited children in various parts of Ontario and Quebec. They found the children happy and contented, healthy and well fed, and their comfort amply considered.51 Since Smart's last inspection the home was transferred to Reverend E. Bans of London, administrator of homes for Destitute Catholic Children, and Arthur Chilton Thomas of Liverpool, the honorary manager of the Liverpool Catholic Homes. Mr. Chilton's involvement was brief as he died in 1907. Following the amalgamation of the various societies and associations, the children went to St. George's Home in Hintonburg. There they would stay a day or two before being placed out. Wages were to be sent directly to the home and saved on behalf of the child in hopes of having a nice nest-egg when the age of 18 was reached. They were to be visited at least once a year and, upon a second complaint, moved to a new employer. Smart's reports over the years give a few insights into the work of the organization, for example, from 1913: This association is carrying on a work which one might briefly describe as eminently useful. During the past calendar year 193 boys and 59 girls were received and placed in situations, a considerable decrease over the figures of the previous year. There are 1,600 children under supervision, and visited regularly. From personal inspection and a perusal of their visitors' reports, a small number only were not doing well. The arrivals of 1913 were distributed as follows: Boys, province of Ontario, 83; province of Quebec, no. Girls, province of Ontario, 10; and province of Quebec, 44, while 5 were restored to relatives.52 Most of the children, reported Mr. Smart, came from London, Liverpool and Birmingham. He also stated that the "Home is admirably adapted for its purpose, and its management most creditable."53
Roman Catholic Participation
263
Catholic boys, having arrived in Canada, wait for the train, 1908. Courtesy of NAC/PA020907.
Father George Hudson, who took charge of the emigration work, ran two homes in Coleshill, Birmingham. In 1914, Smart visited the homes and reported that 253 children were sent from St. Edward's Home and St. Vincent's Home in that year. The children were given practical training in both the classroom and workshops. Hudson stated "the earlier we receive a child the better; we have yet to find a boy who had entered the Homes at an early age who has become a hopeless failure."54 In 1924, the Catholic Children's Aid Committee was amalgamated with Father Berry's Homes and the Liverpool CCPS. Father Hudson, now Monsignor Hudson, established the Catholic Child Welfare Council as a consultative body in 1929. But in that same year immigration fell off dramatically because of changes in the economy. The last child arrived in 1932 and, in 1934, St. George's Home was closed. The Catholic Church, in the early years of child emigration, gave the responsibility of visiting the children to local priests. Often these priests also helped locate good homes for new immigrants. Because of this informal practice there are often no records available for a particular child. It is important to note that each diocese in England and Wales had its own child welfare organization. They later became part of the Catholic Child Welfare Council of England and Wales. Father Hudson was appointed National Secretary of the Emigration Society in 1903 and arranged settlement of children through St. George's Home in Ottawa until it closed in 1934. The records were then returned to Coleshill, but in 1955 all records were transferred to the Crusade of Rescue (later the Catholic Children's Society). "Sadly most of these records were subsequently destroyed," after minimal information was put on a cardex, said a letter to David Lorente from Michael Pinches dated October 19,1988, and found in the National Archives of Canada Juvenile
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Immigration Finding Aid. While this may be true, often the original records may still exist at the diocesan Child Care Society offices in the area from which the child originated. Nugent Care, in Liverpool, has also taken on the responsibility of assisting former Catholic child migrants and their families in their research. Nugent Care has located thousands of extant (undestroyed) records and has made them available to Home Children Canada and the National Archives.
CHAPTER 8
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
IN THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH i, care of the poor was placed in the hands of the parish. Being protective of its purse, a parish would not hesitate to remove the poor who were born elsewhere as relief was only guaranteed in the parish of one's birth. As time passed, however, parishes joined to form what became known as Unions. In 1834, at the time of the passing of the Poor Law Amendment legislation, these parishes numbered 13,536 throughout England and Wales.1 The rules governing the treatment of the poor were established by the Poor Law Commissioners, but the newly formed Unions were placed under the direction of an elected committee called the Poor Law Guardians, later renamed the Board of Guardians. (In 1905 there were a total of 1,290 Unions.) "Thus it came about that a union of parishes, formed originally for poor law purposes only, bore no necessary relation to the other existing local boundaries."2 The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 gave the Unions the power to separate children from their parents. The Union saw as its duty the training of the child to ensure that each child had some form of livelihood (thus preventing him or her from becoming a burden on the parish when of age). However, Unions found that "children, who were for the most part orphans, bastards and deserted children, continued to remain inmates of the workhouse long after the period at which they might have earned their subsistence by their own exertions."3 This was because they considered the workhouse their home. Unions tried to solve the problem by providing more manual training and by instilling morals in the children by removing the children, if possible, from the workhouse. The 1835 amendment to the Poor Law Act allowed the Unions to hire teachers to instruct the children "for at least three of the waking hours at least every day, in reading, writing *5
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and the principles of Christian religion, and give them other instruction to train them to habits of usefulness, industry and virtue."4 The level of education in the workhouse still left much to be desired and, in 1837, it was suggested that the Unions join forces to create better schools. This move was helped by the passing of further legislation in 1844, which gave the Unions and parishes the right to form districts. The district would then take on the responsibility for the education of the pauper children under the watchful eye of special inspectors of workhouse schools. But, by 1861, the Royal Commission on Education still gave these schools failing grades and with the introduction of compulsory education in 1870 many of these schools became a thing of the past. With the rise of industry in England, a new source of employment was found for the children. Mills and factories required many hands and "[m]ost factory jobs, they calculated, could be performed as well by children as adults; why not then bring workhouse and orphan children from the big cities to run new factories by country streams?"5 Although they were led to believe they were being apprenticed, the children "were, in reality, factory slaves, and, being orphans or foundlings they were left, at first, with no one to plead their cause. Moreover, the mills, being isolated from centres of population and for many years free from inspection, the public was kept ignorant of the price in human suffering which was being paid for cheap cloth."6 It was not until 1847 that changes were made to the law controlling the apprenticeship of children under the age of nine. This amendment also changed the duration of indenture to eight years from the previous limit, which was until the child reached 21 years of age. Since many of these children were considered hard to manage or were illtreated, many ran away. Local tradesmen were reluctant to take on this type of child, to the point where they would pay a fee to become exempt from doing so. In the 18705, the Unions began to look more to boarding-out or a "cottage" system rather than keeping the children in large institutions. The Sheffield Board of Guardians, however, chose to start a totally different system. It decided to take homes within the community and place about ten children in each home. The children would attend the local school and live in a more family-friendly environment. To solve the religion issue, separate homes were set up for both Catholic and Protestant children. New legislation was passed in 1879 giving the Guardians the power to "subscribe to any Association or Society for aiding boys and girls in service."7 Associations were set up with organizations such as the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS), the Association for Befriending Boys, and the Girls' Friendly Society. Emigration of children increased soon after this time with children being sent to Canada through established societies. However, many more boys than girls were sent because the Guardians believed that "...girls should not be sent out above the age often years, and in no case, except under very special circumstances, above the age of twelve
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.67
years." Although girls in England and Canada went into domestic service, the girls in Canada, the Unions believed, seemed to marry well because of the higher regard the Canadians placed on the "practical side of housekeeping."9 Changes were made to the Poor Law system from time to time, but none that altered it to any great degree. A Royal Commission report in 1919 recommended vast changes to the system. Although reform was talked about, the workhouse system in the United Kingdom was not modified until 1930, and it was not until after the Second World War that the system completely disappeared. In Ireland, workhouses did not come into existence until 1838. The greatest emigration from these Unions took place during the period of the famine from 1847 through the i86os. Emigration then declined and, except for a few young women sent in the 18705, stopped.
Poor Law Child Emigrants With the passing of the Amendment to the Poor Law Act in 1834, some workhouse administrators believed they had the right to send some of their inmates to the colonies. This option was taken up very quickly by the West Kirk Workhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1835, this institution wrote to Chief Emigrant Agent at Quebec, A.C. Buchanan, uncle to the later A.C. Buchanan. Both men held the same post of Chief Emigrant Agent at Quebec but at different times. Buchanan reported receiving a letter from this institution in 1835 which read: Copy of a letter from W. Gray, Esq., relating to the sending out of Children from the Charitable Institutions of Edinburgh. Edinburgh, 30 May 1835, West Kirk Workhouse. Sir, Your letter of the 20 November ultimo I duly received on the 31s January, and I have the instructions of the managers of the institution to thank you for the attention you have paid to their communication, and to express their sense of the able and judicious system you recommend. Since that period the individual in London district to whom the four boys went, Mr. Thomas Taylor, Crookston, has written home for 10 boys and five girls in behalf of the different parties, and the managers have sent six of the former and five girls by the Hebe, one of whom is to present you this letter, on condition that they are apprenticed, the boys till they are 21, the girls 18 years of age; and that they are properly clothed, lodged, fed and otherwise properly treated, without making any stipulation for wages, but leaving
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that optional with their masters according to their sense of their merit at the expiration of their apprenticeship. There is a very great demand at present for the children at home, but they are chiefly taken off by manufacturers, it is believed; in whose employment their morals are much corrupted, and they had few or no opportunities of bettering their ultimate condition. This state of matter alone it is that induces the anxiety of the managers of the institution to promote emigration to Canada. The girls, it is true, are at first better off, but it is found that they too often are meeting with disappointments, or not obtaining places, fall back for refuge to the ranks of the degraded and prostitute of their sex; many honourable exceptions have occurred, but this at least is common enough to suffer to excite sympathy in their condition. The managers will be glad if you will inspect them when at Quebec, and, if you think they deserve it, to express your good opinion for their encouragement, as well as to forward their views by your recommendation when you think it proper. Again thanking you in the name of the managers for your attention and your willingness to aid in promoting the scheme, so far as it depends on you. To A.C. Buchanan, Esq. His Majesty's Chief Agent of Quebec
I have, &c. (Signed) W. Gray10
Buchanan then sent a letter to Anthony B. Hawke, the emigrant agent at Toronto, with information on the party of children. He wrote: Office of His Majesty's Chief Agent for Emigration to Upper and Lower Canada, Quebec, 4 Aug. 1835 Sir, This letter will be handed you by a party of children, consisting of six boys and five girls, who have been sent out from the West Kirk workhouse in Edinburgh, under charge of Captain Hutton, of the brig Hebe. They are destined to Port Stanley, and will be received by Mr. T. Taylor, of Crookston, who has situations prepared for them. I have to request you to give every facility and protection in your power to these young travellers. The name of the eldest boy is R. Danier, and the eldest girl Jane Allen. To B. Hawkes, Esq. I have, &c. Government Agent for Emigrants, Toronto. (Signed) A.C. Buchanan, Chief Agent11
Poor Law Participation in Emigration The children from the West Kirk Workhouse seemed to have been a special case. When the St. Pancras Poor Law Board sent a number of children to Bermuda in 1849, and again in 1850, it caused a great deal of public outcry in England and the government began an investigation. Thus another amendment was made to the Poor Law Act and, in 1850, the Poor Law Board was given the right to emigrate children provided that the child's consent, and that of the parent, if any, was obtained. Poor Law Boards, however, were not adverse to sending children with parties of adults. For example, in 1847, when the Irish were fleeing their country by the thousands, parties were arriving in New Brunswick from the Irish Unions. The New Brunswick Courier of August 28,1847, reported that "...a third portion, sixty-three in number, of whom forty-two were orphans, had been sent out at the expense of some workhouse in Ireland."12 Sometimes the parties claimed the children were members of a family. In 1851, when a party arrived on board the Susan from Cork, Ireland, Thomas Jones, assistant to Moses Perley, the emigrant agent at Saint John, New Brunswick, wrote: In making this statement, although I am satisfied of its truth, I do not mean to impute any intention on the part of the guardians of the Cork Union to mislead the Poor Law Commissioners. They obtained their information, probably, from the master of the workhouse, who got his from the entries in its registry, compiled with the usual accuracy of such records. The Poor Law Commissioners seem to consider the circumstance of old Thomas and Johanna Leary being attended by a family of six persons, as a set off to their age and infirmity. You may judge what advantage to them and to us that accompaniment was, when I acquaint you that one of the six was a child, no connexion [sic] of the family, eleven years of age, another, thirteen years, (John and Patrick Leary,) though stated in the Commissioner's report to be respectively twelve and sixteen; another was a widow, Margaret Leary, alias Margaret Barrett, consumptive, who died after a long and expensive illness, of consumption, in the hospital; another was Ellen Leary, no connexion of the family, though passed off as a daughter, and who left them as soon as she landed; and the remaining two were unable to take care of themselves.... To Timothy Shea who has lost one, and is subject to sore eyes. He is a widower, and was accompanied by a helpless child, whom he robbed and abandoned....
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...The guardians of the Cork Union have now tried an experiment, which, as far as we are concerned, has most signally failed, and I, and all the inhabitants of this town, sincerely deprecate the renewal of the imposition. They have shifted the burden from off their own shoulders on to ours. I append a communication from Dr. Bayard, the medical man who has charge of the emigrant hospital, which, you will perceive, confirms many of the statements I have made. To: Moses H. Perley, Esq., H.M. Emigration Officer, St. John's.
I have, &c. (Signed) Thomas Jones, Assistant Emigration Officer.13
Perley, however, saw an advantage to the young labourers. He became very interested in obtaining some of these children as the demand for labourers of all descriptions was very high in the colony. ...In 1852 Moses H. Perley, the emigration agent at St. John, New Brunswick, applied directly for 100 male and 100 female children from the Poor Law unions. Later he obtained definite lists of needs: for King's County 62 male and 43 female children, for Carleton County 58 male and 47 female, and so on to a total of 249 male and 176 female children. Presently however, the Poor Law Board developed scruples and formulated legal demands which Perley and his counties could not meet.14 Requests for hundreds of boys and girls were received by Perley. In a letter included in his report he stated that he could place 290 boys and 210 girls if only the Poor Law Unions would send them. The Unions were a little concerned about who would look after these children, since Perley requested they be between 12 and 16 years of age.15 In 1854, after the Unions declined to send children, Moses Perley encountered a unique problem with the arrival of 19 boys on the Garland. These boys were from the Foundling Hospital at Cork. He was able to apprentice 16 of them to local tradesmen, but three of them were ill and were placed in hospital. J.A. Donaldson, the Toronto immigration agent, reported that some children were sent to Canada in 1865. He wrote about some girls who came from the New Ross Union and then in the next paragraph states that of the "y°ung boys which came from England of this class, all have done well with one or two exceptions, and it is still questionable whether it is prudent to advise such a class to come to this country."16 In 1862, legislation was passed in England which allowed the Unions to place wards
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
271
Children in a workhouse, believed to be from the Illustrated London News, date unknown.
in voluntary homes. However, once the emigration work of Maria Rye and Annie Macpherson began, the Unions used their services. The children were to be under 16 years of age and had to give their consent to emigrate. In the minutes of a meeting of May 24, 1873, the Hereford Board of Guardians agreed to send six of its girls to Canada with Miss Rye. The usual procedure was to obtain consent of parents, the Union and the local magistrate. Since the girls were listed as having no parents, and the Board was giving its permission, there was only the law to be satisfied. On June 7, 1873, "Mr. McCormick, Master of the Hereford Workhouse, attended with six little girls from 7 to 12 years of age, and in accordance with the instructions of the Hereford Board of Guardians, asked the permission of the Magistrates for them to accompany Miss Rye to Canada." A letter from Rye was read, signed on her behalf by Lizzie Still, who was secretary in the Peckham home, stating that the cost to send a child to Canada was £8 with "the outfit costing £2 or £2 ios., and free delivery at Liverpool." The report continues: The little girls now present appeared highly pleased at the prospect before them. They wer [sic] all smiling and cheerful and appeared healthy looking children, and did credit to their fare. The Master said he had left a number of little girls in the House crying because they had not been chosen to go. Mr Anthony aid [sic] that the application was very interesting, and,
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addressing the little girls, gave them suitable advice in simple language as to their conduct and future prospects. - Mr. M'Cormick, the application having been granted, retired with the little girls. Their names are: Emily Tyler, aged 11, St. Owen's-street; Susan Tyler, aged 8, St. Owens-street; Ann Oliver, aged 12, St. Martin's; Mary Jenkins, aged 10, St. Martin's; Ann Belcher (or Preece), aged 12, Wellington; Jane Walker, aged 9, Lugwardine [the girls arrived on the Polynesian, July 6 or Sept 29,1873]. Four of them were orphans, the two Tylers were the daughters of denizens of St. Owen's Gate without.17 Miss Rye, the Magistrate read in the letter, had a large home in Canada where the girls would live "until placed out for life" and that over 40 Unions were now using her services. It is not known if this is what Rye actually promised or if it was the press taking liberties, but the girls were placed almost immediately as in all other cases. When Andrew Doyle's report appeared in 1875, however, the Unions responded by not sending any children to Canada for a few years. This hiatus only lasted a short time. As other agencies entered the emigration process, the Boards of Guardians used many of these alternates to send Poor Law children to Canada. There were children in Fegan, Barnardo, Macpherson, Rye, and Catholic parties, all from various Unions. By the i88os, Poor Law children made up a portion of many of the organizations emigration parties. Occasionally, however, things did not go according to plan. An incident took place in 1887 which prompted an exchange of letters between W.C.B. Grahame, immigration agent at Winnipeg and John Lowe, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. Grahame wrote: We have at the immigration sheds a boy, part negro, brought out by the Rev. Mr. Winter, [Rev. R.F. Winter] who stated that this boy was smuggled on board by the Croyden Union authorities, without his knowledge. I have already reported on the matter, but took the liberty of presenting the boy, in his delapidated [sic] appearance, to the Hon. Mr. White, Minister of the Interior, on his visit here, who condemned the action of Mr. Winter & the authorities of the Croyden Union, in very plain language. I have Mr. White's permission to refer Mr. Carling to him for a description of the boy, who is now in a most filthy condition of body. The Caretaker's wife has fed, struggled to wash for him & keep him clean, since his arrival here, making out of her husband's cast off clothing, sufficient to cover him. With the consent of the Commissioner Mr. H.H. Smith, I am getting him a clean suit of clothes, and will try and make him presentable if possible.
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.73
I would again respectfully repeat my opinion, namely that the Department communicate with the authorities of the Croyden Union, Surrey, expressing displeasure at such action, requesting them not to repeat it. I am writing a private note to the Hon. Mr. White, and I trust the Minister will kindly ask his views on the matter. There are two other boys of the same stamp here, quite incorrigible, who are rambling about the country like wild beasts. Charles Tupper (who served in London, England, in 1887 as High Commissioner for Canada), reported on a visit by his assistant J.G. Colmer, regarding his discussions with the Local Government Board about sending children to Canada. Under negotiation were the conditions for inspection of the children. It was suggested to the Board that the children should be placed in an industrial institution prior to emigration so that they could be properly trained. Further more, the children were to be "of good character, not tainted with crime or connected with any criminal institution; 2. that they must be under supervision, not only in this country [England] but in Canada, by the institutions sending them out until they are of an age to look after themselves."19 As well, the Central Emigration Society, which oversaw the emigration process in England, also established some rules for the emigration of children from the Unions. These included: 1. That the Local Government Board should authorize Boards of Guardians to send any child in their Union, whom they think suitable for emigration, to any Voluntary Home or Industrial School, actually emigrating children, for the purpose of Emigration. 2. That the Guardians should pay to such Institution the sum which they are authorized by the Poor Law Acts, especially by 13 & 14 Viet. C. 101, s. 4, to raise out of the rates (£10) for the emigration of such child, and in addition such cost of maintenance previous to emigration as shall be agreed upon. 3. That the consent of the child and his or her parents (if any) should be obtained previous to his or her emigration. 4. That no Institution should be allowed to receive any such child, unless it first obtain a certificate from the Home and Colonial authorities that it is a fit and proper Institution to carry out the work of Child Emigration. 5. That the Managers of such Institution should have the right of refusing to take any such child, and of returning the child if found to be unfit for emigration.
274
THE
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6. That the inspection of the child in the Colonies should be carried out, either by Inspectors appointed by the Colonial Government, or by Visitors appointed by the Institutions, or by both. 7. That the Managers of the Institutions should send to the Local Government Board reports of any children they may emigrate from the Unions. 8. That Roman Catholic children should be sent to Roman Catholic Institutions, and Protestant children to Protestant Institutions. 9. That Boards of Guardians should be supplied with the names and addresses and religious denominations of such Institutions as may be certified by Government. The Deputation respectfully points out that the Emigration of these poor and destitute children to one of the British Colonies is the most economical and effective method for ensuring their future welfare.20 The Canadian government often granted subsidies, referred to as the "capitation allowance," to those bringing emigrants to Canada. However, in 1886, this subsidy was discontinued for any Poor Law child. The Canadian government did continue to send out inspectors to check on these children and reports were forwarded to the Unions. Sometimes the inspectors, who were usually immigration agents and who had to do much of the inspecting in the off season, had a great deal of difficulty finding the children. The children sometimes changed places on their own; occasionally the organization responsible for the child neglected to send the government the new address when a child was moved; and sometimes it was extremely physically difficult to visit a child. For example, the immigration agent at Halifax reported on some of Miss Rye's children in January 1878: ...and Fanny Ives, of Rawdon and her name is not on the list now sent I was prevented from visiting her by fearful snow drifts, Sarah Davey who was living with Governor Dodd of Sable Island I could not visit as the steamer only touches two or three times a year. I learned yesterday however from the wife of one the light-house keepers from the Island that the girl left when Mrs. Dodd did, and she is she thinks married somewhere in Cape Breton.21 The number of children to be inspected varied from year to year. In 1891, the government agent responsible for the inspection of pauper children submitted a statistical report.
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.75
INSPECTION OF PAUPER CHILDREN: iSpO-lSpl22
good Hamilton Montreal Toronto Kingston Ottawa London St. John's Quebec Winnipeg TOTAL
78 197 54 85 21
7 13 3 9 467
indifferent
bad
left
not found
total
3 -
5 -
-
89 200
3 9 4 -
8
3 3 i
1
67
2
1
102
2
2
32
-
-
7 15 5 13 530
2 -
3 24
5 3 -
-
-
1
1
-
1
-
21
13
5
Reports on the children ranged from the standard "good girl/boy" and "likes the place well" to "I would like to be removed" and "they hit me sometimes." Other comments noted that the child missed a brother or sister or that the child found farm work not to his liking and had moved into the city on his own and was either working or looking for work. But the inspectors were hard-pressed, travelling conditions of the day being what they were, to see all of the children in a year. Sometimes they relied on the report of a priest or minister in the area. After G. Bogue Smart was appointed Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes in 1900, he had his own team of inspectors. Smart, in his report of 1901, noted that the Edmonton Union, from near London, England, had sent some of its wards to Canada. He stated: During the year 1899 a number of children were sent to Canada from Edmonton, near London, and in order to ascertain their progress in their new homes the Reverend David Fotheringham, Chairman of the Edmonton Board of Guardians, visited the Dominion and spent some time among them. The local government journal of the issue of the 10 of November, published a report on his observations, in part, as follows: 'Altogether from what I saw and what I heard, I am of the opinion that the guardians could not do better for the children who desire to emigrate than to send them to Canada. They might rest assured that their future home would be respectable, and that they would be trained in the habits of industry and instructed in religion, and if there is not before them a prospect of great riches, they would, at least, be certain of their gaining a comfortable livelihood by honest labour. I shall be glad if this somewhat
2.76
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
lengthy report has the same effect on the Board of Guardians as my visit had on my own mind regarding Canada as a desirable country to which our children should be sent.'23 A few years later, in 1904, Smart reported: The work of inspecting the Poor Law children has been steadily kept up during the year. It usually begins in March or April of each year, and continues until the last days of December, practically without interruption. These reports, which are individual in character, and which have heretofore been transmitted to the British government annually, are hereafter to be sent at least half-yearly, owing to the increasing number of children under the department's supervision. It may here be stated that the operations of this branch of the department are followed with keen interest by the Local Government Board in London, under whose authority many of the children are sent to Canada. It may not be uninteresting to state that before a child can be sent to Canada unless under exceptional circumstances, it must first express a personal wish to leave England. To many children emigration is held out as a reward for merit during their training and education in the homes.24 Inspection reports were sent to the Unions in England each year. There were, however, stipulations placed on the Unions by the Canadian government before they could send their wards to this country. In 1908, the requirements were: 1. The production of a justice's certificate of the child's consent to emigrate; also 2. A medical report as to its health, both of body and mind, certifying whether, in the medical man's opinion, the child is in all respects a suitable subject for emigration to Canada; and 3. A cheque (where due) in payment of fees for inspection of the child in Canada by the Dominion Immigration Inspector. It must also be shown: 4. That the child has been educated at their cost for at least six months. The guardians must also 5. Give the name and address of the agency under whose auspices the child is to emigrate; 6. State whether they are satisfied that the person taking out the child has a reasonable prospect of finding a suitable home for the child in Canada;
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.77
7. Specify whether they have obtained from the person taking out the child a written understanding that the child shall be placed with a family of the same religion as that to which the child belongs; and that immediately after the child is placed out the Department of the Interior at Ottawa shall be furnished with a report containing the name and address of the person with whom the child is placed (such address to include the name of the nearest post office, the name of the lot, the concession and the name of the township in which such person resides), and that a report containing similar information shall be furnished to the guardians; 8. Assure the local government board that in connection with the emigration the requirements of the Canadian Immigration Act (or laws) will in no way be contravened.25 By this time, the local government board had restricted its emigration to girls under 12 years of age. Only in exceptional cases were girls over this age sent to Canada, and in these cases, they were usually sent out with a women's agency, such as Mrs. Joyce's United British Women's Emigration Association (discussed in Chapter 10). Smart reported another exception: the girl could be "accompanying a younger brother or sister."2 The inspections the agents carried out were "needed," stated Mr. Henry, who was responsible for the visits in Quebec and Ontario. "The children need it and many look anxiously for the inspector's visit, while those with whom they are placed as a rule prefer it, and in many instances are not only pleased but agreeably surprised to learn that the government is taking such a deep interest in this good and noble work."27
Leeds Board of Guardians Many children came to Canada from various Unions in England and Leeds is used as an example.28 Many of the records from the Leeds Board of Guardians are in the National Archives of Canada and give a great insight into its operations. In his 1903 report, Smart stated that "[o]ne boy was sent to Canada under authority of the Leeds Board of Guardians."29 This boy was sent to Marchmont, under the care of Reverend Wallace. Mabel and Arthur Cassidy are listed as arriving on the Bavarian in May 1905. A note in the records indicates that their sister, Lily, was too young to emigrate. The records do show, however, that Lily followed her brother and sister in 1909. When a birth certificate was requested for the child, her father, Thomas, of 20 Lemon Street, furnished one. Fred Marshall, age 12, was sent to Canada with Mrs. Birt at a cost of £19. 7. 5. John Cooper and Elsie Knight, both age 12, were also sent with Mrs. Birt. Herbert Reginald
2.78
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
Ryan, age 7, was sent with the Salvation Army, September 2,1909. John Halliwell, age 14, came July 10,1905, and Norman Victor Lawson, age 10, on July 10,1905. Some Catholic children are also listed, such as John Sheridan, age 12, and Thomas O'Neill, age 11, both sent with Father Berry's party on July 26,1905. Although many children did come to Canada from this Union, not all were without family. The Board also made an attempt to help reunite families. The case of the Taylor children, is used as an example. Elizabeth, George, Cyril, Charles and Ethel Taylor were living with their grandmother Mrs. Kellett at 25 Leicester Street in Leeds, England, in 1910. Mrs. Kellett received 16 shillings per week, sometimes a little extra for clothing, from her son-in-law, James Taylor, who twelve months before had sailed for Canada in search of work. James was joined nine months after his departure by his wife, who obtained a position in a boot factory in Toronto. Their eldest daughter, Miriam, aged 18, joined her parents and was also fortunate in finding good employment. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor then lived at 223 Parliament, Queens East, Toronto, Ontario. Mrs. Kellett, who was on relief, could not afford to continue to care for the children. She approached the Board of Guardians on December 29,1910, to ask for assistance in sending the children to join their parents. Mr. Taylor, the Board was told, would pay back the money. The Taylor children are mentioned several times in the minutes of the Board with their ages varying each time. Elizabeth was either 15 or 16, George either 11 or nine, Cyril was five, and Charles and Ethel, who appear to be twins, either seven or eight years old. George, Cyril, Charles and Ethel were said to be in school. The Board agreed to help Mrs. Kellett. Since the Taylors were members of the Church of England, the Board approached that organization to see if it would make the arrangements and also contribute to the children's passage. In a letter to the Board, the Church Emigration Society agreed it would send the children 3rd class to Canada and would split the cost of £28 and nine pence for their passage with the Leeds Board of Guardians. This first letter was followed quickly by a second. The Society had forgotten to include the rail fare from Leeds to Liverpool and an additional £3 and nine pence was required. The board's share came to 15 shillings. The sailing date was set for May 18, 1911. Before departure the children were to report to the Canadian government emigration agent in the Old Castle Buildings, Preesons Row, Liverpool. Reverend J. Wylde, of St. Saviour's Vicarage, arranged for the children's rail trip from Leeds to Liverpool. The Taylor children arrived at the Lime Street Station in Liverpool at 9:18 a.m. on Thursday, May 18. They had little time to spare for by 9:45 a.m. they were to be in the office of Alfred Jury, the Canadian emigration agent at Liverpool. They
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.79
sailed on the Corsican and Mr. and Mrs. Chinnery, fellow emigrants, agreed to care for the children during the voyage.30 The records stop abruptly. One can only hope that all went well and that the children joined their parents safely in Toronto.
"Poor Union Girls"31 The Poor Law Unions appear to have initiated the emigration of females to Canada in the late 18405. Up until this time there were few families and even fewer children sent out by the Unions. Most females were sent from Ireland at the time of, or just after, the famine. Girls were sent out of the workhouse "into the world at fourteen years of age, and then left to sink or float as best they could."32 The workhouse had gained a terrible reputation. "The majority of the girls for whose training they were responsible turned out worse than the veriest little street wanderers; and 'she who is born in a workhouse always returns there to die,' became quite a proverb."33 This unfortunate situation did not even warrant a thought on the part of the Guardians and it was not until 1873 that they finally turned to Mrs. Nassau Senior for assistance in solving this problem. Out of her report came the formation of the MABYS.M Before that time, however, the young girls and women were often emigrated to the colonies, thus relieving the Union of the cost of supporting them. Some 1,573 persons were sent to Canada by the Irish Unions in 1850. A.C. Buchanan stated that "a large proportion consisted of single females, women and children." In fact, only 350 were men. He went on to say: The single females were chiefly from Cork, Waterford and Dungarvan Unions. As female domestics were much required throughout the country, they were all without difficulty placed in situations in a satisfactory manner. The party from the Dungarvan Union, notwithstanding the length of time they were on the passage, and the late period of their arrival (9* October), landed here in good health, and were provided for most satisfactorily, as will be seen in the full particulars given of this party in the Appendix.35 Many of the women from the Waterford Union arrived on the Colonist from Liverpool, while the Cork Union women came on the Try-again. Those from Dungarvan Union sailed on the Essex from Liverpool and had a very eventful voyage:
2.80
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
This vessel, after being nine days at sea, sprung a leak, and put back to Cork, where she remained 42 days undergoing repairs, the passengers being landed and supported at the ship's expense. She sailed the second time from Cork on the 6 September, and completed the passage in 33 days, being 8 days since the passengers embarked at Liverpool; they all arrived in good health. During her detention at Cork, a number of the passengers left the vessel, and others were shipped in their places; and, on arrival here, there were found to be 15 uncertified persons on board, for which the master had to pay a fine of 508. each. The young women sent out by the Dungarvan Union were all to have received the sum of 155. sterling each on landing here. The funds not having been remitted in time, these females were provided with food, and forwarded to Upper Canada, at the expense of the Emigrant Fund. Through the exertions of the several agencies, they all readily obtained situations at wages ranging from 5£ to 9£ a year, and were distributed as follows: Quebec, including the matron -11 Montreal -17 Kingston -8 Cobourg - 97 Toronto - 47 Proceeded to friends near Burlington -9 Proceeded to friends near Albany - 336 Because of the delay in the arrival of the money, this situation warranted several letters between A.B. Hawke, emigrant agent for Upper Canada, and A.C. Buchanan. The letters give some insight into the way these parties were handled and settled. Hawke wrote to Buchanan from Toronto on October 19,1850, stating: I have just had an interview with the Hon e Mr. Leslie respecting the payment of the 18/4 each to be paid to the young women sent out by the Dungarvan Union, and he is of opinion that their passages should be deducted. There are 47 of them in this city - 24 still out of place - and I shall settle with all of them (deducting 13/9 for each passage to this city) and 8/9 to Kingston, for such as remained there. I will send you the receipts as soon as possible.37 This was followed by another letter on October 24, with more details on the progress of the party and the distribution of payment:
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.81
I herewith inclose you the Receipts of Margaret Sorehane, William Kelly & Ann Brown, and a statement of the sums paid by me. Anthony [A.B. Hawke's son] informs me that he has found places for 97 of the Dungarvan girls in the New Castle District wages from 2 to 3 dollars per month. As these girls are scattered over a large extent of Country it would be impossible in a short space of time, to find them all, and as he and his family will reside at Cobourg from November until next April, he thinks it would be better if the money coming to them was remitted at once (inserted) so that he can pay them as opportunity occurs. The Catholic Priest is his near neighbour, and as they all belong to his Church he is sure to see them during the coming Winter. As near as I can ascertain, the Amount to be deducted from each will be 12/7 leaving 5/9 each. Out of this sum must be deducted the charges for food, lodging, &c., at Cobourg. After deducting all expenses of that nature, it appears that the parties will be entitled to about 3/8 each. I am paying the 47 sent to this place 4/7 each but lodging & food have been paid for by the Society of which Mr. Elmsley is principal manager. Very few of the Dungarvan Girls remain unemployed. The Honorable John Elmsley has been very active and has found places for a great many of them, and I have authorized him to settle with such as apply to him, and desired him to call upon me for the amount. We have sent several to New Market. We have, I think, been extremely fortunate in getting rid of so large a number. Mr. A. Courts friends have -1 am told - been equally successful. If you approve of this arrangement you can send me the full amount or permit me to draw on you for the Same. I will account to you by the receipts of the parties as soon as I get them. The transactions between us with reference to their payments, appear to be as follows: Amt of Receipt
Amt Paid
Margaret Sorehane & family
£6.2.2
£4.0.10
William Kelly
1.4.5
1-4-5
Ann Brown & family
4.5.62.
2.10.6
£11.12.1
£7.15.9
Amt for the 47 Dungarvan Girls sent to Toronto at 4/7 each:
10.15.5
Amt for the 97 ditto sent to Cobourg _o
at 5/9 each:
27.17.9
£46.8.11
2.82
T H E G O L D E N B R I D G E
A.B. Hawke also had dealings with the Coothill Union immigrants at this same time and mentions them in his letters as well. In 1851, Buchanan reported that of the 3,092 immigrants sent out by the Unions only 683 were men. He goes on to say that this "shows a large preponderance of females and children when compared with males. Those sent out by the unions were generally young boys and girls from fourteen to twenty-five." Buchanan then describes the various parties and talks about how some were given a little financial support. For example, "234 paupers from the Carlow Union were paid their money on embarkation, and 662 do not appear to have received anything beyond a free passage."39 However, some Unions did make an effort. "On board the 'Governor' [sailed on April 26,1851] there were 120 from the Newcastle Union, County Limerick; viz., 106 females, one male, and thirteen children. They received a gratuity of los. Sterling each adult." Buchanan continued saying that the females "with few exceptions, single, and all able-bodied, and apparently well fitted for farm or household service where that can be procured," were all settled.40 Of the 120 Newcastle women, no were sent to Bytown (present-day Ottawa) and all were employed within 24 hours. The male in the group must have been a child because the agent states that there were n children and no adult males in the group of 120. Hawke also acknowledged the arrival of a party at Toronto in a letter dated September 12,1851: We got upwards of 300 of the Union girls on Thursday. The town being overstocked, I was obliged to send 30 to St. Catharines and nearly 100 to Hamilton. In both instances I wrote to the Roman Catholic Priests at these places, and they will no doubt all soon find places. This city and neighbourhood have nearly absorbed the remainder.41 R.A. Duncan, Poor Law Inspector of the Newcastle Union, in Limerick, Ireland, wrote to A.C. Buchanan telling him that his Union would like to send more females and other Unions were also interested in emigrating some of their inmates. He said there could be upwards of 1,000 sent in 1852, if work was available. Before Buchanan could digest this information, the Nenagh and Kilbrush unions sent 248 women to Canada. Of this number 200 were sent to Toronto, but no work could be found for them. The Roman Catholic clergy of that city helped out and sent some of the women on to Hamilton, others to St. Catharines and some to Cobourg where work was located. June 9,1852, saw another 280 persons leave on the Roderick Dhu from the Newcastle Union. This group was followed on June 26 by another 160 and 200 more from the Rathkeale Union. Between 75 and 100 of these females were sent on to Bytown where
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.83
work was obtained. Of the remaining number, Montreal took 13, Port Dover 60, and Kingston, Toronto and Hamilton 168 among them. The United States claimed 30. However, a child, Mary Kallaha, aged nine, died at sea. Mr. Fuller, the County Clerk of Norfolk, agreed to take a number of the women to Port Dover, Ontario, where he said he could easily find work for them. The women were put on board the Great Lakes ship Reindeer to continue the trip to Port Dover on Lake Erie. They arrived August 9,1852, late at night. Mr. Fuller took 56 of the women and had Captain Purdy of the Reindeer take 20 of the women further up the lake to Port Burwell with the balance going to Port Stanley. Fuller reported that all of his 56 women were placed at $2 a month. One of the women, Mary Winn, from Kildysart Union, was ill when she arrived so was placed with Dr. Seagon at Port Dover. The Doctor agreed to care for her until she was well and then provide her with work. A lad, Patrick Noone, from Newcastle Union, stayed with Mr. Fuller. Mr. McKay, at the request of Mr. Hawke, wrote to Thomas Bellairs, Collector of Customs at Port Burwell, who had complained about destitute emigrants being dropped on his doorstep: I am desired by A.B. Hawke, Esq., Chief Emigrant Agent for Upper Canada, to say, that your letter addressed to the Emigrant Agent at Montreal under date of the 14* inst. has been referred to him to act upon. The thirty emigrants landed at Port Burwell from the Steamer Reindeer, were sent from Montreal to Port Dover - with about 200 more. Mr. Fuller the County Clerk for Norfolk - to whom they were consigned states that there was an over supply at that time for that place, and that he directed the Captain to land 20 at Port Burwell & the remainder at Port Stanly [sic]. Both Mr. Buchanan & Mr. Hawke thought the distribution a good one, and that the inhabitants in your neighbourhood would have been pleased to have emigrants of their description sent among them, as there have been frequent applications received at this office for female servants, from persons residing in your section of the Province. Mr. Read when his last informed me that a person at Vienna had him to get at [sic] scant 1/2 a doz sent up, and that he would find places for them. I therefore hope you have ere this got them off your hands. It is not the wish of the Govt or the Chief Agents that the destitute emigrants should be an expense to individuals, and Mr. Hawke desires me to say, that if you have furnished them with any bread - which is the only food we are authorized to give - and that for not more than a day or two, he will pay for it, if you will send down your bill receipted.42
284
THE
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
The Georgiana brought 161 people from Newcastle Union August 7,1852. They were followed on August 10 by 202 more from Groom Union on board the Hope. Kingston received 96 of the women from Groom Union and placed them in positions in Belleville. Toronto employed 92 women. Thus, all from the Georgiana found work. July 19,1852, saw 85 single women from the Roscommon Union sailing on board the Industry, arriving at Quebec, August 30. The agent reported that these women were clean and tidy, and sent 40 of them to the Eastern Townships (in present day province of Quebec) where all were employed for $2 to $3 a month within 48 hours of leaving Montreal. Two of these women went to the United States to live with friends and the rest were sent on to Hamilton and Toronto. There were also 54 single women from the Strokestown Union, on board the Alert which sailed July 28,1852, from Dublin to Quebec. They arrived August 17, and all but three went immediately to the United States. Of the remaining three women, two found work in Montreal and the other in Bytown. Baltinglass Union sent 167 women on the Enterprise and Carlow Union sent 160 on theAnnandale in 1852. While all of this action was taking place in Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick was faced with a very different problem. Moses Perley lamented that arrivals at the port of Saint John were very quickly departing for the United States where, they were told, they could earn more money. In 1853, there was an increase in immigration and. in particular, in the number of female immigrants to Quebec. It was thought that this "increase of females has, it is very evident, originated from the Poor Unions, coupled with the pecuniary means afforded to other females for joining their husbands, brothers, or male friends already established in the province, and thereby offering the best evidence of their prosperity, and of the improvement of the condition of the emigrants."43 That year parties were received from the following Unions: Cork, Londonderry, Carlow, Carrickmacross, Ballyshannon, Tullamore, Kildysart, Naas, Newcastle, MountBellew, Groom, Chatham, Parsonstown, Tralee, New Ross and Strabane numbering 1,514 individuals. Some of these (316) were labelled "paupers"and this included 89 females and boys sent by Carlow Union, 99 females from Cork Union, 101 from Edenderry Union and 27 from Carrickmacross Union. The group from Cork arrived on board the Urania and had several sufferers of ophthalmia44 in the group, two of whom were blind. They were returned to their Union by the same vessel. The twenty-seven girls from the Carrickmacross union stated that they were to have received los. sterling each on landing; no instruction whatever had reached this department respecting them. From having stated that they were destitute and without the means of procuring lodgings, they received
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.85
assistance: eight obtained employment in this city and neighbourhood, the remainder were sent up the country. A report of their case has been made and forwarded to the guardians of the Carrickmacross union.45 The Victoria, arriving in early July 1853, from Dublin, carried the party of 138 from the Naas Union. A few of these immigrants remained in Quebec but most of them headed to friends and relations in the United States. The same was true of the parties who arrived in late July on board the Salem and the Ann Kenny. Early August saw the arrival again from Dublin of the 100 Mullingar Union females on board the Odessa. They were each given 2os. upon landing. A.C. Buchanan stated that their "appearance was much in their favour. I could only induce 41 of them to proceed to Toronto, all of whom, I have since heard, were hired the day after they arrived; and that ten times that number would be absorbed without difficulty."46 In September, 156 females arrived from the Mount-Bellew and Parsonstown Unions. They were paid £1 upon arrival and directed to Toronto and Hamilton where work was available for them. The Toronto agent was much pleased with the party and was able to place them very quickly. New Ross Union sent its party of 315 on board the Glenlyon and each received los. from the Captain before leaving the ship. About 100 of this party headed for the United States. Carrickmacross Union sent 27 girls to Canada and they were all placed "locally and some up country."47 On board the Crescent City, Ballymahon Union sent 56 girls who "were smart, tidy-looking girls."48 They were also placed in Toronto. Of the 243 females who arrived at Quebec in 1858, some were very unsuited for immigration. Mr. Buchanan wrote: The single females among these readily obtained situations; but some widows with their children who were sent out from an union in Ireland found great difficulty in procuring employment. It is obvious that the condition of such persons cannot be improved by their transfer from a country where they have friends and a legal title to support, to a country where they are strangers, and where no legal provision exists for their subsistence.49 In 1859, an even more annoyed Buchanan wrote a more scathing report. He mentioned the arrival of boys from the London Ragged Schools whom he was easily able to place, but, he said: It was very different, however, with a portion of those assisted by some of the Poor Law Unions in Ireland, among whom were 14 widows with 20
286
T H E G O L D E N B R I D G E
children. Great difficulty was experienced in finding employment for these; and as they were without connexions [sic] in the country, and no public provision existed for their support, they were exposed to much distress. A strong representation on the subject has been addressed to the Poor Law authorities by whom the people were sent out.50 New Ross Union and Clonmel Union, both in Ireland, arranged parties to Canada in 1860. Four children from Clonmel Union were sent "to join their parents in Western Canada." New Ross Union sent 44 females, 18 male adults and 14 children: Of the females from the New Ross Union, 7 were accompanied by children and 37 were single females from 18 to 30 years of age. The latter all readily found employment. Of the male adults, some of them were old and infirm and two were cripples; and it has been found necessary to send three of this party back to their native place, owing to their ill-health and infirmity rendering them unable to support themselves in this country and dependent on casual public charity. Steps have been taken to obtain repayment from the guardians of the Union for the expense of their passage back to Ireland.51 More of the Irish Unions sent women in 1862. Ballycastle, Balrothery, Carlow, Clonmel, Cork, Kanturk, and Tullamore sent 168 inmates to Canada. Buchanan noted that the "women and girls from the unions were all strong and robust; they received los. each on landing, and were promptly located in country districts."52 He reported that 18 women arrived from the London Refuge Union.53 Agent Joseph Daley of Montreal complained ".. .whereas they have hitherto annually inundated our labor market with those poor, inexperienced girls, who have never been accustomed to a single item of household or farm work,"54 something had to be done. These "poor Union girls" were apparently not being trained to be of much use in Canada. UNIONS SENDING ONLY WOMEN (FROM BUCHANAN'S REPORT OF l862)55
Date May, 10,1862 May 29,1862 June 29,1862 July 7,1862 July 14,1862
Name of Union Women Ballycastle Union 5 Rev. Mr. Frizzell [sic] (Dublin) i Cork Union 100 Balrothery Union 8 Tullamore Union 13
Children
3
Poor Law Participation in Emigration Date August 4,1862 August 30,1862 September 6,1862 September 6,1862 October 24,1862
Name of Union Women Kanturk Union 29 Gallon Union 7 Rev. Mr. Frizzelle [sic] (Dublin) 4 Cork Union 2 Cork Union 2
2.87 Children
By 1863, Buchanan was becoming a little disillusioned with the Unions. He reported: Among the women were 241 sent from various unions in Ireland, who unfortunately knew nothing of house work, and were, therefore, unable to take advantage of the great demands for women servants existing in the colony.56 He realized that a "remedy for this can only be effected by the Boards of Guardians establishing a system of training within the Unions."57 This, he realized, could only be done on a small scale but, even that, he proclaimed, would be better than sending these women to Canada with no experience which inhibited their advancement. Assisted passage was given to women by various Unions in 1863. Among them were: Reverend R. Frizelle [sic], of Dublin, 7; Waterford Union, 61; Sligo Union, 18; Clara Charitable Loan Fund, 16; Mr. Clement's Est., Co. Donegal, 3; Ennis Union, 26 and i male; Edenderry Union, 20 and 3 males; South Dublin Union, 34; Parsonstown Union, 17; Old Castle Union, 8; Clogher Union, 13; Kilmallock Union, 18; and St. Lewis Convent, Co. Monaghan, 4.58 Joseph Daley's report on Montreal arrivals was still not very positive. He continued to complain about the lack of training in the Union girls even after the local authorities had reported this deficiency to the Unions. He said: There has also been another grave mistake committed with regard to these unfortunate Union girls, as you very justly had occasion to write me during the past year, namely, sending them out to us in the fall of the year on the eve of a Canadian winter, when also it is almost an impossibility to get employment for them.59 Daley continued to say that it was only thanks to some local charitable institutions, who were kind and sympathetic, that shelter was found for the women. This taking advantage, he stated, must not be allowed to continue! The Kingston agent, James McPherson, also had a great deal to say about the Union
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women arriving in his jurisdiction. He stated that 69 of these women had come under his authority and "not one out of 10 of them can milk a cow or iron a shirt."60 Opinions were no better from R.H. Rae, Hamilton agent. He was also disappointed with the women he had received from Edenderry Union. The following year, however, Rae reported that the 18 Limerick Union girls, who came on the steamer Damascus, were very favourable. Although no list of assisted immigrants is given for 1864, mention is made of the following Irish Unions: Ballymahon, Cavon, Mullingar, Ballynacarrett, Edenderry and Limerick.61 Even after Buchanan's visit to Britain in the spring of 1863, and the various complaints filed with the Unions, the year 1865 brought new problems. Limerick Union sent 13 very unsuitable girls and they were moved on to Ottawa. The St. David brought 70 women, one man and nine children from Limerick Union (complete list in Appendix C). They were sent to St. Patrick's Home in Montreal for lodging. A letter was sent to Limerick Union describing the conduct of its former inmates. Some of the women, it said, sold boxes, combs etc. to buy drink and some performed immoral acts. The women were sent without a matron - a practice that was not recommended by the Canadian agents. But the letter from Reverend Mr. O'Brien, Manager of St. Patrick's Home went even further: The conduct of the girls was anything but what it ought to have been. The Nuns in charge of the "Home," were shocked at the gross impropriety of their conduct. I could scarcely, I fear, prevail on them to take charge of another batch from a Workhouse; their misconduct has done injury to those who may come after them. 2 From the same party of Limerick women, 13 were sent on to Ottawa. They arrived with liquor in their possession and were placed in the Orphan's Home of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Mary Collins, Ellen Henshey and child, Kate Spealy, Margaret Moriarty, and Honora Connell were sent on to Pembroke. Four of these women then returned to Ottawa. Ann Ryan, Margaret Purtell, Bridget Mara and Bridget Mack were sent to Portage du Fort. Kate McCormick and brother, Margaret Shaughnessey, Mary Pearce and Ellen Graytrix remained in Ottawa.63 In addition, nine of the Limerick girls were sent to Kingston, six to Camden and three to Amherst Island. James McPherson, had five returned but two, being older, he sent off on their own. The others he placed in Ernesttown but one of those returned to him as well. McPherson reported: For instance, in the Township of Camden, where I sent some of these girls, the Municipal authorities agreed to find places for thirty girls, but no
Poor Law Participation in Emigration
2.89
doubt it was not their intention to receive common prostitutes - and these girls were no better. Only yesterday, in the Steamer which passed here for Toronto, I saw a number of them lying on the deck dead drunk, and several of them sitting on the laps and in the arms of some artillery soldiers that happened to be on board the boat, and this in broad daylight too.64 In 1866, Daley wrote to Buchanan again stating his objections to females from the Unions. "It has been clearly established by experience that such consignments are by no means advantageous, and it is a matter of congratulation that our remonstrances have produced the desirable effect of diminishing, I might almost say preventing, a continuance of that system."65 Although there were plenty of positions available for females, they had to be willing to work and be trained in the basics, including washing, ironing and milking. Wages for domestics were increasing due to the shortage of supply. William Dixon, the agent in England, wrote on July 10,1867, of the severe shortage of young female servants. The demand in Canada, he said, was so great that he spoke to the Guardians of the Irish Unions "to ascertain if the Guardians would be willing to send out a few hundred, the Carlow Guardians only sent out a few (13). I received letters from Toronto, a few days ago, announcing their arrival, and that they were placed in comfortable situations immediately, at wages varying from i6s. to 2os. stg. [sterling] a month."66 On board the St. David were 13 (one source says 13, another 15) women from the South Dublin Union. Buchanan wrote: Thirteen servant maids arrived here that had been sent out by the South Dublin Union; they were disposed of at once, most advantageously. They seemed to be, and have proved themselves, a most respectable lot of girls, and as they were accustomed to the general duties of house services, they had no difficulty in procuring ready employment. If you can aid in obtaining a further supply of such girls for next season, you would confer a favor on the inhabitants of this city. The surrounding county also requires a number of female domestics with a knowledge of farm service, say dairy work, &c. If such persons could be sent hither, their services would command immediate and remunerative permanent employment.67 Emigration from the various Unions began to drop off in the 18705 with mostly small parties arriving. In 1871, South Dublin Union sent two parties of 15 and 14 women respectively who were placed in the Ottawa area with wages of from $4 to $6 per month including board. But the agents also knew that the factories were now luring away good domestics. On July 27,1874, South Dublin Union sent another party of 11 females to Canada.68
290
THE
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BRIDGE
In 1880 and 1881, South Dublin Union sent small parties of 28 and 37 women respectively to Canada. Then, in 1882, when conditions in Ireland were once again very deplorable, 82 single women, the first party arriving July 29, on the Sardinian and the second on September 10, also on board the Sardinian. Edward Hamilton, the emigration agent in Dublin, reported: Last year the guardians of the South Dublin Union, on my recommendation sent out thirty-seven men and twenty-eight women to Canada, and the favorable reports which the bulk of these emigrants sent home induced the guardians to send out forty-two single females last July, and forty able-bodied labourers in August, who were employed on leaving the ship. These emigrants were selected with the greatest care by a committee of the guardians, aided by the Doctor and Chaplain. They were all supplied with comfortable outfits and I had to give a very full explanation to the local Government Board regarding their reception in Canada and the prospect of their profitable employment there. Each batch of emigrants was sent out in charge of a responsible officer employed by the Union, and the excellent reports which the officers made, on their return home, were extensively published in the leading daily papers, and I am satisfied the success of these emigrants influenced the Imperial Government very much to carry out the emigration clause of the Arrears Act, through the Agency of the poor law boards all over Ireland.69 A few of the other Unions continued to send small parties. However, there were other avenues open to the women as organizations, especially interested in the emigration of women, began to take hold. People such as James Tuke and Vere Foster both began to assist females to emigrate from Ireland. There was also the Girls' Friendly Society, and other female-based organizations taking root. Discussion of these organizations is reserved for a separate chapter.
CHAPTER9
Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools IN 1851, MARY CARPENTER, A PIONEER in the area of juvenile prison reform, wrote a book entitled Reformatory Schools for the Children of the Perishing and Dangerous Classes and for Juvenile Offenders. Carpenter believed that education "...and the sound, religious, moral, and industrial training of the child, is the only curative that can strike at the root of the evil, by infusing a fresh and healthy principle, instead of that which is now so rotten in our state."1 Carpenter wished to prove that properly run reformatories and industrial schools had an important role to play in deterring children of these classes from crime. The "perishing class," said Carpenter, "consists of those who have not yef fallen into actual crime, but who are almost certain from their ignorance, destitution, and the circumstances in which they are growing up, to do so, if a helping hand be not extended to raise them." She continued by describing the "dangerous class" in this way: ...and of those who have already received the prison brand, or, if the mark has not been yet visibly set upon them, are notoriously living by plunder, - who unblushingly acknowledge that they can gain more for the support of themselves and their parents by stealing than by working, - whose hand is against every man, for they know not that any man is their brother.2 Carpenter hoped that these two classes as she defined them, could be helped by reforming the British prison system. She even went so far as to suggest that children between 10 and 15 years of age, who were repeatedly found begging or stealing, should iQl
^
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be placed in "some house of occupations,"3 based on the plan of the Philanthropic Society. Here the children could be trained for a period before being sent to the colonies. Carpenter was not alone in her beliefs; others also saw the need to assist these children. The Chaplain of the Bath Gaol stated that many of the "children of the criminal class, are labouring under bodily injuries; most of them are old before they are young; they look haggard, pale and emaciated. Many of them suffer from scrofula and cutaneous disorders, and indeed there are physically few who are capable of discharging any labourious occupation."4 Mary Carpenter, a British Reverend J. Carter, Chaplain of the Liverpool Gaol, pioneer in the area of juvenile believed that the children were, in large part, "brought into their present circumstances through parental prison reform, taken from the Illustrated London News, neglect, or failure of parental influences,... ."5 In hopes of gaining support on a different front, Reverend Carter July 7,1877. went on to discuss the great cost to society, in monetary ways, if things were allowed to continue unchanged. He supposed that hitting the public in the purse had a better chance of success then playing on sympathies. Similar conditions occurred in other parts of Britain, with Bristol declaring that all Irish were aliens and thus could be refused assistance from the Poor Law Board or admission to the workhouse. Young children in Bath were driven to crime in that city after being turned out of the workhouse, according to the Chaplain of the Gaol. But, at the same time, W. W. Whitmore of the Industrial School at Quatt stated that young girls brought up in the workhouse were more likely to become "abandoned in character"6 and believed the present situation in these institutions needed changing. But the saddest stories were those like this one from the Bristol Mercury: May 31,1852. Emma G., a child about 10 years old, was charged with stealing 3 1/2 d. from the person, which, on being detected she dropped on the floor of the shop. The policeman swore to the identity of a woman who was looking outside the shop, as being her mother. The fact of the theft having been proved, the magistrate said he -was sorry there was no help for it but the child must be committedl She was removed crying bitterly, the mother on the contrary evincing the greatest indifference!'7
Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools
293
Case after case appears where children turn to crime to support either a drinking habit of a parent or to put bread on the table. Carpenter and other reformers were appalled by the situation. However, they were just as determined not to place these children into the regular prisons which, said Sydney Smith, a clergyman and writer of the time, were nothing but "large public schools maintained at the expense of the county for the encouragement of profligacy and vice, and for providing a proper succession of housebreakers, profligates and thieves." Through the efforts of Mary Carpenter, and others like her, parliamentary committees were set up in 1852, and again in 1884, to investigate reformatories and industrial schools of various types. Reformatories, industrial schools, industrial day schools (more commonly called industrial feeding schools) and truant industrial schools became part of the British social system. Children under 14 years of age (until 1884 it was 12 years of age in England) charged with a first offence were sent to the industrial schools. Those who skipped school went to the truant industrial schools and those on second or subsequent criminal offences to reformatory schools. If parents could afford to pay they were expected to contribute to the support of the child while in the institution. Because it was considered "ineffectual and inconvenient,"9 to do otherwise, children sent to an industrial school were sentenced for a minimum of three years. Some truant schools released children after a month but if, after several attempts, the child continued to be returned to the school he or she would be sent to an industrial school for the three year duration. Emigration of children from these institutions was an established practice by 1884 and the parliamentary committee of that year believed it should be continued. The children should be selected carefully and given preparatory training so that they might do well in their new country. Institutions were to make arrangements for inspection and supervision of the juvenile in the new country. The committee "strongly recommend the adoption of emigration in suitable cases."10 The 1884 parliamentary report stated that since the inception of these institutions a total of 2,108 boys and 133 girls were emigrated. Ragged Schools, which were established in the 18405, also came to embrace the idea of emigration for some of their pupils. It was felt that this would give deserving young men and women a chance to start a new life. The first group was sent to Australia in 1849 with the help of the British government. After that, however, all costs incurred for emigration were paid from donations. In 1858, a committee was formed in Toronto, Ontario, to receive the children from these institutions. From 1858 to 1862 some 100 children were thus received by this committee. In the report of the Minister of Agriculture and Statistics, A.C. Buchanan, emigration agent at Quebec, stated: "63 boys and 18 girls, emigrated by various Reformatories, readily found employment, and, with a few exceptions, I can bear testimony to their good behaviour."11 As many as nine different reformatories are listed in Buchanan's 1862 report.
294
THEGOLDENBRIDGE
Later, some institutions, especially the industrial schools, sent children to Canada with philanthropic organizations, such as Annie Macpherson's or Maria Rye's. Children sent from reformatories were not subject to the same inspection done by government inspectors as children sent by the Unions. Therefore, there was no one in Canada checking on them on a regular basis. In 1887, James Rankin, Chairman of the Central Emigration Society in England, sent a letter to The Times: As the question of how to deal with our surplus population and find work for our unemployed yearly becomes more and more pressing, and as the mind of the public, and I hope also the mind of the Government, is much more inclined than formerly to consider any schemes put forward with a view of in some degree meeting this growing evil, I trust you will allow me to offer through your columns a few remarks upon the question of emigration.12 Rankin went on to say that the "diffusion of trustworthy information,... encouraging child emigration" and the assisting and directing of colonization were pertinent. He felt his organization had carried out the diffusion of information to great benefit to all. The second method, "that of child emigration, seems to be at once the most efficacious, the cheapest, and the most satisfactory in results of all the methods of emigration."13 To this purpose, Rankin wished the program extended to include industrial schools. In order to do this, however, a change would be needed in the law to allow the government to: ... advance as capital, for the purpose of emigration, a sum equal to what is now usually paid on each child during the time that child remained in the school - that is to say, that instead of allowing 2s. per week for four or five years (the average time a child stays in an industrial school), a capital sum of £20 or £25 might be allowed at once. It has been frequently stated by persons engaged in this work that £15 is sufficient to train, equip, and settle a child in one of our colonies, so that it appears that the emigration of such children is actually a cheaper process than keeping them at home, and I may point out that the advantage to the child is simply incalculable, as, placed in a new country where labour is in demand, he or she, if industrious and honest, is sure to find work, whereas, turned out of a school or home at the age of 16 in some of our great cities, a young lad is only too likely to relapse into his former habits and to associate with his former evil companions.14
^lI°I™"l°Hes> Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools
^95
The Honourable Charles Tupper addressing the House of Commons in Ottawa, taken from the Canadian Illustrated News, November 8,1873.
For some reason, Canada decided that same year in 1887 not to allow further immigration of children of this class. Charles Tupper, Minister of Finance, wrote to the Colonial Office "that as at present advised, I believe the Canadian Government has no desire to encourage the emigration of such children whether under discharge or under the license system."15 In response, the Home Office pointed out that: A boy discharged from a Reformatory becomes perfectly free, and ceased to be liable to any penalty in connection with the offence of which he was originally convicted. A boy released on license is in a different position. The discretion of granting a license rests with the managers of the school, and they also have the power, should they deem such a course advisable to revoke such license. As long therefore as a boy is on license he cannot be said to have altogether ceased to be under the Criminal Law. The Secretary of State would further point out that to lose the power of sending out as Emigrants discharges [sic] children, would seriously embarress [sic] him in the administration of the Reformatory Schools Act T
Law.
16
2.96
THEGOLDENBRIDGE
General J.W. Laurie, who had some years before helped Louisa Birt with the placement of her children in Nova Scotia, wrote to John Carling, Minister of Agriculture and responsible for immigration, defending the emigration of children from the reformatories. Laurie stated that for almost 15 years he had helped the Philanthropic Society place boys from Red Hill Reformatory "& have placed about fifty of whom a few - some half dozen, have finally returned to England & then after their return have under the influence of old associations fallen into crime - but not one has ever become a criminal out here - whilst many have become employers of labour & otherwise useful members of society....>>l6 Laurie continued, "I have little difficulty in finding places for them as their willing ways & habits of industry & knowledge of farm work leads them to be sought after."17 The Philanthropic Society also wrote in support of the emigration of its boys, "We are most deeply anxious that nothing should occur to cripple or even impede our Emigration because it has proved for so many years our most satisfactory mode of disposal, being far more favorable in its eventual results than openings at home have ever been - moreover we are confident that it is in the true interest of the Colony to encourage it."18 Letters went back and forth between Canada and England and finally it was taken to a new level. Lord Lansdowne, Governor General of Canada, received the following letter from Sir H.T. Holland of Downing Street: My Lord, I have the honour to call your attention to my despatch No. 339 of even date, forwarding correspondence on the subject of the emigration of Reformatory children to Canada. Her Majesty's Government are very desirous that this emigration should not be discontinued, and I shall be obliged if you will use your influence with your Ministers, should you see no objection to doing so, with a view to their giving [script not clear] the opinion of the Secretary of State for the Home Department their most favourable consideration.19 John Carling, Minister of Agriculture responded: The undersigned has the honour to report on the accompanying reference to him (Privy Council Papers 1012 G and 1014 G), on the subject of the immigration to Canada of Reformatory children, that: He is of opinion that such children, after having received their discharge and become free, cannot be said to be in any way under the Original Law, and that, therefore, the provisions of Section 24, Chapter 25 of the Revised Statutes of Canada (the Immigration Act) cannot be held to apply to them.
Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools
297
Such Children, if cared for by benevolent persons or Societies, as well before as after their arrival in Canada, might come in the same way as other immigrants. Favourable reports have been received by the undersigned of such children so placed in Canada. As respects the class of Reformatory children under license, the undersigned is of opinion that they cannot be admitted into Canada, under the provisions of the Act above referred to, as already previously reported. The undersigned respectfully recommends that His Excellency be moved to inform Sir H.T. Holland in the sense of this report, in reply to his despatch marked "confidential" of the 3r September last, and his despatch of the same date, covering copies of correspondence.20 In the end, the children were allowed to come to Canada. In 1891, a report was submitted to the government of Canada with details on the number of reformatory children immigrated in 1890. The report lists the organizations bringing such children that year, some of which brought children other than those from reformatories. Charlotte Alexander is listed as sending 10 girls from her home in Sutton, Surrey, to her Cottingham Street, Toronto, home accompanied by matron, Miss Dove. There were also two boys from Bedfordshire Reformatory sent to Mr. Gold at Melbourne, Quebec; five boys and one girl from the Boys' Home, Frome, to the Benyon Home run by the Church of England at Sherbrooke; two boys from Buxton Reformatory also to Mr. Gold; six boys from the Gordon Brigade Home, Weymouth, to John A. Donaldson, immigration agent at Toronto; three boys from Hertfordshire Reformatory also to Mr. Gold; three boys from the National Refuges, Soudon; 10 boys brought by Mr. William Pady and taken to Hamilton; two boys from St. Swithin's Industrial School to Lennoxville, Quebec; 19 boys and girls sent by the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society to its Sherbrooke home; one boy from Weston Reformatory to Mr. Gold; three boys from the Wellington Farm School to Samuel Gardner, immigration agent at Saint John, New Brunswick; nine boys with Mark Whitwell, Bristol Emigration Society, from various industrial schools also to Mr. Gardner; three boys from the National Refuges for Homeless & Destitute Children Training Ships, Farm Schools, & Homes for Boys & Girls, Shaftesbury Homes, to John Smith, immigration agent at Hamilton. (This group, sailing on the SS Polynesian, arrived May 6,1890, and one pound sterling was to be divided among the boys: Knight, Conti, and Gimbert "whose mother's address is No i Rear of 72 Terauley St., Toronto.")21 Of note here is the fact that many organizations, such as the National Children's Home, the Church of England, and the Roman Catholic Church ran reformatories and industrial schools and some of these children were included in their parties.
298
THEGOLDENBRIDGE
The number of child migrants from industrial schools increased gradually over time. In 1862, there were 131 reformatory children immigrated immigrated to the colonies and only one child from an industrial school.22 However, by 1914 those numbers were reversed with 39 from reformatories and 208 from the industrial schools.23 The emigration from reformatories decreased due to the growing number of objections from the colonies. Legislation passed in 1891 complicated matters. The consent of the child, the parents and the Secretary of State were now required before a child from one of these institutions could be emigrated. By this time, however, emigration from these institutions had slowed and finally ceased in the early 19008.
Reformatories "It will be remembered that early in the nineteenth century the penal code of Great Britain was the most severe in Europe," states Alexander G. Scholes, in his book Education for Empire Settlement.24 Thus it was that prior to 1838 the British prison system did not differentiate between adults and children. Many reformers were appalled by this situation. "Nothing can be more absurd than the passing of the sentence of death on boys under fourteen years of age, for petty offenses,"25 stated the author of Old Bailey Experiences, written in 1833. Under then British law a child could be sentenced to death, transported or sent to gaol (jail) for such crimes as damaging property, begging, or petty theft for as little as a few pence or even a worthless comb. But crime, as it was then defined, was on the increase and commitments of juveniles rose from 20 in 1809 to 230 in 1826 at New Bailey, Salford.2 Other areas of England showed similar statistics such as the House of Correction at Brixton Hill which went from 60 incarcerated youths in 1820 to 541 in 1825.27 Reformers believed that ignorance, poverty and overcrowding were major contributors to this increase in crime. Things changed slightly in the 18308 as extreme penalties for some crimes were commuted to transportation sentences. At this same time, however, several experiments in prison reform took place. Pentonville Prison became the first cellular prison in Britain with each prisoner having a cell to himself. Then, in 1836, on the Isle of Wight, Parkhurst Reformatory was established with the first inmates arriving in 1838. Parkhursfs purpose was to train boys, who had been given transportation sentences, for two to three years before they were removed from the country. Upon release the boys would be sent to the colonies with a ticket of leave or a conditional pardon. Training at Parkhurst in agriculture and several other trades was accompanied by a basic academic education. Discipline was extremely strict and armed guards were on duty. For admission to Parkhurst the boys had to be 14 years of age, four feet six inches
Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools
2.99
tall, and guilty of "roguery sufficient to warrant transportation."2 Well-meaning magistrates would impose transportation sentences just to have the boys placed in the reformatory, believing they were doing the best thing for the child. Many people believed that reformatory treatment and imprisonment were contradictions in terms. But the success of Parkhurst made some sit up and take notice. There was definite proof that the reformatory was having a positive effect. For a time, however, Parkhurst remained the only alternative for young offenders. Scotland was quick to follow when it established the Glasgow House of Refuge for Boys in 1838. This institution was originally supported by voluntary contributions from the public but, in 1841, an Act of Parliament was passed allotting a small assessment to the Refuge. These funds, however, proved insufficient to sustain the institution and donations were still required for its maintenance. In 1847, a committee was investigating the effects of placing young people in the regular prison system. An article appeared in the Quebec Morning Chronicle of July 9,1847, with some of the committee's findings: ... The evidence throws some light upon the treatments of young offenders. That the contamination of a gaol, as gaols are usually managed, may often prove fatal, and must always be hurtful to boys committed for a first offence; and that thus for a very trifling act they may become trained to the worst of crimes is clear enough. Very important evidence has been given in favour of dealing with such offenders, at least on first convictions, by means of reformatory asylums on the principle of Parkhurst Prison [sic], rather than by ordinary imprisonment; the punishment in such asylums being hardly more than what is implied in confinement and restraint, and reformation and industrial training being the main features of the process. Without going beyond the principle which should be followed on this question, the Committee are disposed to recommend the adoption, by way of trial, of the reformatory asylums as above described, combined with a moderate use of corporal punishment. The Committee also recommend the trial of a suggestion made by witnesses who have given much attention to this subject, that, wherever it is possible, part of the cost attending the conviction and punishment of juvenile offenders should be legally chargeable upon their parents. With these recommendations in place it was not long before more reformatories began to appear.
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T H E G O L D E N B R I D G E
The Philanthropic Society established Redhill Reformatory on a farm located near Reigate in Surrey. Opened in 1849, Redhill soon gained an excellent reputation. Although strict discipline was observed, there were no walls to restrain the boys as at Parkhurst. Between these two institutions (Parkhurst and Redhill) only 700 lads could be accommodated. However, this experiment in prison reform proved a great success and several other reformatories, operated by church groups and other philanthropic organizations were opened. Transportation sentences were replaced in 1853 by penal servitude and various other changes were made to the laws affecting juveniles over the years. This, however, did not reduce the need for reformatories. In 1881, there were 6,738 children in the reformatories of England.29 By 1884, there were 50 reformatories, 99 industrial schools and ten day industrial schools in England and Wales; seven reformatories in Ireland; and 12 reformatories, 34 industrial schools and one industrial day school in Scotland.30 However, it was not difficult to see that Britain still had a problem to solve and the Select Committee of the House of Lords came to this conclusion: Lastly, upon one subject the whole of the evidence and all the opinions are quite unanimous - the good that may be hoped from education, meaning thereby a sound moral and religious training, commencing in infant schools and followed up in schools for older pupils; to these, where it is practicable, industrial training should be added. There seems, on the general opinion, to be no other means that afford even a chance of lessening the number of offenders and diminishing the atrocity of their crimes.31 The irony of the education problem was soon realized - the only way that poor youth of Britain could receive an education was through crime. "The only school provided in Great Britain by the State for her children is - THE GAOL!"32 lamented Mary Carpenter. To remedy this situation, two additional institutions were established, industrial schools and Ragged Schools. The popularity of both grew rapidly.
Industrial Schools As early as the 18305, the Philanthropic Society (which ran Redhill Reformatory) had an industrial school at Hackney Cottages, St. George's Fields which had 150 children in attendance. Two schools, one for boys and the other for girls, were run by the Children's Friend Society. While in Scotland, Sheriff Watson of Aberdeen, established a "Ragged" industrial feeding school in 1841 to which magistrates had police send all vagrant children of the city. The Governor of Edinburgh Prison stated that in a period of three
Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools
301
years in the 18405 some 740 children under age 14, of whom 245 were under age ten, were committed to that prison.33 The "Children's Sheriff," as Watson was known, believed that unless something was done for these children, they would be lost to crime. "To give (a boy) any thing like the prospect of equality, in the bustling struggle of life, with those whose lot has been within the easy reach of these attainments, he must be taught reading, writing and arithmetic; without these, he can never rise above the lowest level in society constituted as that of Britain now is."34 Sheriff Watson was religiously motivated and believed that a good education meant learning the Bible. His work with these children lowered the crime rate in that city. In 1846, the efforts of Watson and friends were noted in the Montreal Witness: The plan of organizing Juvenile Industrial Schools seems to be gaining on public attention in Scotland. On the evening of the 9* instant a public meeting of those favorable to this object was held in the Thistle Hall at Dundee. Provost Brown was in the chair; supported by Lord Kinnaird, Mr. George Duncan, M.P., Sheriffs Watson and Henderson, and Sir John Ogilvy, besides many other gentlemen. Sheriff Watson gave an account of a school which had been established at Aberdeen with full success. From a return it was found that there were two hundred and eighty children in the city of Aberdeen who had no other way of living but by begging or stealing, thus being brought up as it were the inmates of a gaol, and ending their career by being transported. From the inquiries made it was found that they almost without exception had become the inmates of the gaol because they had no other means of supplying their wants but by crime. Five or six years ago he proposed to open a school for feeding and educating the vagrant children. The scheme was generally considered a benevolent, but an extremely absurd one. The question generally put was, "Do you mean to feed and educate all the young beggars in Aberdeen?" After talking over the matter about a year, a few of the friends of the scheme met and subscribed about £100. Of that sum, £60 was raised at the time of subscription. It was proposed that they should commence operations immediately by opening a school for sixty boys. This was agreed to; so they told the police to send them a dozen or two of the worst boys they could catch. In five hours they had seventy-five scholars', most of whom they were told by the superintendant [sic] were the worst they could have got. Of these, only four could write, and fourteen read. This was a miserable state of things. The children were kept at school all day, and told to go home in
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the evening, and to remember that, if they did not come back again, and were found begging in the streets, they would be subject to the same treatment. They all came back joyfully; and from that day, 19 May, 1845, not a child had been seen begging in the streets of Aberdeen. The ladies of Aberdeen opened a school for sixty girls, whose only title was the destitution of their parents; and he would venture to say that there was not a better conducted school in Britain. The children of these schools received food three times a day, and were sent home to their parents at night to whom they thus acted as the best of home missionaries; and he trusted to hear of the same principle being acted upon in Dundee.35 Other cities did follow suit and, in 1854, the first official industrial school was opened. Statistics soon showed that the number of young offenders declined in areas where these schools existed. In 1857, the first Act was passed so that children, between seven and fourteen years of age, charged with vagrancy, could be committed to industrial schools. The child could not, however, be kept in the institution past a fifteenth birthday. Industrial schools were intended to care for, educate and train children under 12 years of age, later under 14 years who had been picked up for vagrancy, who had been found consorting with thieves or prostitutes, or who had been convicted of a felony for the first time. Parents could send a child to an industrial school if they felt that the child was out of control. In many cases it was found that the parents themselves were a bad influence on the child - some sent a child out to beg or steal so that they might have the resources to partake in one of the few pleasures left to them, drink. It was hoped that removing a child from the negative influence of a parent would offer that child an opportunity for a new life away from crime. By the late i86os, there were about 65 reformatories and 77 industrial schools in operation, many of which emigrated some of their children, often included in the parties from organizations such as Maria Rye's, and those through the Roman Catholic Church.
Ragged Schools John Pounds, a Portsmouth shoemaker, is often credited for holding the first Ragged School. Pounds, who was teaching his nephew at nights, thought it might make learning more enjoyable for the lad if he had someone with whom he could share this learning experience. That single companion soon became four or five and then upwards of 40. Even after his nephew no longer required his services, Pounds continued to teach his classes. He nourished the minds and, in some cases, the bodies of his students passing on his knowledge of his trade as well. All this he did without charge until his death in 1839.
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There were also many dedicated individuals who took time on Sundays to teach some children a little reading, writing and scriptures. Called Sunday Schools, and started in 1781 by Robert Raikes, this early attempt at education for the underprivileged soon grew in popularity. In some areas schools were set up at nights and later during the day. The object of the schools was "to teach the children of the lowest poor to read the Word of God, and to understand its simple truths."36 Because the pupils of these schools were often dressed in rags they became known as Ragged Schools. Some of these schools were run by groups such as the Society of Friends (Quakers), who ran the Red Cross-street British School in Bristol. Mr. Fletcher, of that same city, was actively involved in establishing free schools and Ragged Schools in his city. "A walk through Bristol, will leave upon the mind of any one the indelible impression that no other city in England contains the like proportion of the destitute classes contemplated by Ragged Schools," he said.37 Mary Carpenter was the daughter of Dr. Lant Carpenter, a Unitarian minister. A great supporter of the Ragged School movement, he, along with his wife and daughter, started one in Bristol in 1846. Mrs. Carpenter wrote a letter, dated August 7,1846, about the school, part of which reads: At home we are beginning to be busy as usual. We had it in contemplation to begin a "Ragged School", which waited for Mary's return. She returned on Thursday night; the master, Mr. Phelps, came on Friday, and on the following Sunday nearly twenty boys were assembled. The seven which Mr. Phelps had collected brought a dozen more in the afternoon, which showed that they liked it; but, beginning to be tired in the afternoon, one of them said, "Now let us fight", and in an instant they were all fighting. Peace was, however, soon restored, and they have gone on with increasing numbers and more order than could have been expected; and to Mary's astonishment, she did not meet with one group of boys gambling or fighting on Lewin's Mead yesterday. It is literally a "Ragged School"; none have [sic] shoes or stockings, some have no shirt, and no home, sleeping in cases on the quay or on steps, and living, I suppose, by petty depredations; but all appear better fed than the children of the decent poor are. I have furnished the women of the house with towels and soap, and some sort of approach to cleanliness is insisted upon.38 In April 1844, the first organized attempt to unite these "schools" led to the formation of the Ragged School Union, with the objective of establishing schools "expressly
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for that destitute and depraved class, in the very localities, courts, and alleys where they abound."39 The Ragged School Union was "to collect and diffuse information respecting the more efficient management of such Schools, and the education of the poor generally."40 But education given for only a few hours in the evening, and usually only one evening a week, was not seen as the answer. Nonetheless, by "the i86os some 25,000 to 26,000 children came under its care in one way or another."41 Some thought these children were just: ... chance vagrants, beggars, or pilferers, who, by a little exercise of magisterial authority, might be either extinguished or reformed. It is only of late been discovered that they constitute a numerous class, having habits, pursuits, feelings, customs, and interests of their own; living as a class, though shifting as individuals, in the same resorts; perpetuating and multiplying their filthy numbers.42 By 1848, there appeared to be some improvement in the areas where Ragged Schools existed. A London city missionary reported "one of the police told a teacher a few days ago that they had not half the trouble with the boys since the school had been opened, and he attributed the change to the instruction of the school."43 The Ragged School Union knew it must strive to somehow improve the system and it did have powerful friends. One such friend, the Earl of Shaftesbury, was a leading force in the Ragged School movement. In 1848, he tried to have a bill passed allowing the Ragged School Union to emigrate some of its pupils with the financial support of the government. Although this effort failed, he did receive financial support in 1849 to send some children to Australia. After that, all emigration work was paid by donations from the public. Emigration was often offered as a prize in contests opened to the pupils. Sometimes it was given to the pupil with the best scholastic record. By May 1851, some 307 pupils had been assisted abroad, with a third of that number going to North America and the rest to the South Pacific.44 Students were always encouraged to repay their passage and, in 1851, one of the Ragged Schools noted that all of its pupils had repaid the cost of their passage. In 1853, because of a gold rush in Australia creating for unsettled conditions there, ragged school children were sent to Canada. The Annie Jane, which sailed from Liverpool in September 1853, was wrecked off the Island of Barra, killing nine of the n boys on board. In 1857, the "Song of the Emigrant" appeared in the Ragged School Union Magazine. Written by Judge Joseph Payne, an ardent supporter of the movement, the first four lines are as follows:45
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To seek for employment Where work can be found; To meet with enjoyment On less crowded ground, We cross the broad ocean In the summer of 1857, a party of girls was sent to Canada under the care of the matron of St. Giles' Refuge. "The matron's glowing reports of Canada West and the friendly and even eager reception given the girls, plus a contribution of £400 from an English philanthropist, made it possible for twenty-five more girls to be taken out in the spring of i858."46 There was, however, some opposition to this emigration program. Some felt that the children should be trained but should then remain at home to use that training. Others felt that there were more deserving emigrants (such as the agrarian) as evidenced in this item from The Times of July 26,1849: Why is an industrious village lad to be denied and a reformed pickpocket accepted? ... Why tell the country boy that his only chance of getting his passage paid to the colonies is to run to town, do a little pilfering, get familiar with the jail, go now and then to the Ragged School, just as it suits him, and after a very mixed career get sent out to the colonies?47
The Institutions In immigrations reports as well as other government documents mention is made of various institutions. Some do not mention the institutions by name while others report on the institutions collectively. For example, A.C. Buchanan's 1862 report notes the arrival of boys from various reformatories without specifically naming any institution. James McPherson, the immigration agent at Kingston, kept a ledger in which he recorded the names of immigrants whom he assisted at his agency. On July 9,1862, he listed a number of girls who arrived from various reformatories. For example (ages in brackets); Martha Rogers (17), Louisa Stirling (20) and Emma Bonett (171/2) came from the Ipswich Industrial School; Sarah O'Call (17), Betsy Robbins (17) and Mary Ann Vallor (16) from the Hampstead Reformatory; Christan Smith (15 1/2) and Maria Davis (19) from Allesby Farm Reformatory; and Ellen Howard (16), Sarah Sinclair (17), Catherine Evans (19) and Agnes Lemon (16) from the Girls' Reformatory of Glasgow. This information is of special value as passenger lists for Quebec were not archived until 1865 thus making the tracing of many of these young people very difficult.48
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The following year, 1863, saw 39 children arrive from "Reformatory Schools etc." For some reason, in 1864, the agent at Montreal reported nine children from reformatories and six from the Glasgow Reformatory. Why he reported the Glasgow Reformatory separately is interesting. It may be because of problems experienced the year before with some of these girls. WJ. Wills, the agent at Ottawa, reported receiving 32 boys from reformatories. Four, he claimed were convicted for dishonesty and given six months imprisonment while seven committed robbery and fled to the United States. The report for 1865 spoke well of lads from Feltham who went to Kingston but not so of the ones sent to Ottawa. The following year, however, immigration dropped off substantially because of the Fenian raids. The children continued to come until 1900 when Redhill was the only institution still listed in the immigration report of that year. A couple of other institutions sent children the next year, but emigration from these institutions was just about at an end. Charlotte Neff, of Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, has done extensive research on the boys from Redhill and on some of the boys from the Ragged Schools. She found Ragged School boys arriving in Canada from about 1853 onward with the Redhill boys beginning to arrive in 1854. Many of these boys stayed in the Toronto Protestant Orphan's Home for a time and some went to the United States, serving in the Civil War. Redhill boys continued to come to Canada until the early 19008.
CHAPTER 10
Female Immigration
IT is IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT "Little notice was taken of the adolescent in the early nineteenth century. Directly he [she] was old enough to work he [she] was regarded as grown up.. ."* Because of this, many of the females referred to as emigrants here were as young as 13, possibly even 12, years of age. Women first emigrated to Canada with their families, establishing homesteads or assisting their husbands and families in small shops and other businesses. Due to the travelling conditions of the time, it was not considered proper for young women to attempt an ocean voyage unaccompanied. Emigrants were crowded together "with few sanitary arrangements, insufficient food and very little to do on a voyage which might last several weeks. Some of them had waited for days at the port of embarkation before leaving, and few had friends to meet them on arrival or a definite job to which to go."2 While opportunities in Canada abounded, many females were deterred from taking this step because of existing poor conditions in transportation. As the need for domestic help became more acute, the opportunities for young women in Canada grew. By the 18308, women were in such great demand in Canada that many agents in Britain actively recruited women for the Canadian job market. Other organizations formed to provide assistance to the emigrant women. Some young women and widows travelled with family and friends to take advantage of the increasing number of jobs, while others came under the guidance of emigration organizations. Job opportunities in Britain were limited for young females. Going "into service" was one of the few options for a young girl and, once in a position, she would have to be very careful not to lose it. "To be dismissed, without a 'character,' meant the workhouse. But in the colonies, where labour was scarce, land plentiful, and opportunities almost 307
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unlimited, the uneducated classes did not have to fawn and cringe. In Canada it was a seller's market, and after generations of humiliation, pauper Britons were not about to sell themselves short."3 Young women, as well as young men, were turning to the colonies in ever increasing numbers. By the 18408, the Poor Law Unions in England and Ireland were emigrating women to Canada. This was especially so of the Unions in Ireland. Although the system of Poor Law Unions was not introduced into Ireland until 1838, the famine over taxed the Irish workhouses and left the Guardians seeking ways to relieve this heavy burden. "In 1848 the Colonial Secretary, Earl Grey, yielded to domestic pressure to rid Irish workhouses of large numbers of female orphans and reinstated the long abandoned system of mass shipments of young women to Australia."4 Australia was not the only destination as some of these women found themselves on ships bound for Canada. (Poor Law emigration is discussed in Chapter 8.) There were, however, some who opposed the emigration of women and they began to write articles warning women of the dangers. "Dr. J. Curtis, a ship's surgeon, wrote a series of articles entitled, 'The Floating Brothels of England and America,' which were published in Monas Herald^ the leading journal of the Isle of Man."5 Another reported the terrible conditions on board ship and another the hardships of pioneer life for a woman. But many of the newly formed societies were trying to improve the conditions on board the ships and were sending matrons with their parties. Written by Catharine Parr Traill in 1854, The Female Emigrant's Guide extolled the virtues of Upper Canada stating that "[i]n this country honest industry always commands respect: by it we can in time raise ourselves, and no one can keep us down."6 She also offered, to the hard worker, the reward of "marriage with young men who are able to place their wives in a very different station from that of servitude."7 Since 1846 matrons had been used to accompany female emigrants to Australia. The British Ladies' Female Emigration Society offered to assist the British government in the selection of matrons. By 1849, matrons were a permanent fixture on the Australian voyages and the emigration report for the colonies of 1858 suggested that this arrangement should be used on ships to other colonies. The emigration of females was taken up in earnest in the 1850$ and i86os by a variety of organizations established especially for this purpose. In some cases it was the "middle-class" women they were trying to help, finding jobs as governesses, nurses and teachers. Other groups assisted women of any class including domestics and later factory workers. These organizations usually had matrons accompany the women and made arrangements for them to be met in Canada where they were assisted to find employment. Maria Rye, who became involved in the emigration of "middle-class" women as early as 1862, defended the process in a letter to The Times:
Female Immigration Sir, - The twining of the red tape was bad enough, but this hempen rope of "S.G.O.'s" is destruction indeed I hope the public will forbid strangulation, and, with your assistance, I shall endeavour to untwist both tape and twine. Agreeing, as I most cordially do, with "S.G.O." as to the necessity of women receiving "a thorough education," and the duty of parents to make daughters, as well as sons, look upon labour as an honour, and one of the essential points in life, I am nevertheless compelled to ask, - Supposing women were trained, and that each girl possessed the necessary knowledge to work her way in life, what then? A surplus will, unless we are greatly mistaken, remain a surplus to the end of the story; and surely neither your correspondent nor his admirers will ever dream of a wholesale restoration in England of nunneries and convents, or draw any comparison between a competitive career in London and the comparatively leisurely life of a colonist. All I can say is this: - Knowing as I do that while here, with extreme difficulty and great self-denial, really educated women must toil on many, many hours a-day to make £200 a-year, and that there, in the colonies, persons who in this country would scarcely be considered competent to conduct the quietest village school are receiving £130 and £124 ayear for salaries as governesses, that the possibility of there being two opinions on the matter strikes me with great and increasing amazement. I not only believe, but am confident, that there are vacant situations in the colonies for many hundreds of women vastly superior to the hordes of wild Irish and fast young ladies who have hitherto started as emigrants. If these women of mine work, it will be well; if they marry, it will be well; whichever happens, good must arise for the colonies, for our countrywomen, and for commerce. As to marriages, I presume it will be allowed that even here, if we take no thought of the mental calibre and moral worth of men, we may change our names as often as we like. The same womanly instinct that has preserved us here from making imprudent matches will follow and guide us there. Happily, we need take no thought about this question, which may very safely be left for individual decision. But it may be asked, - "If emigration is likely to effect so much good, how is it that women do not avail themselves of such golden openings?" Firstly, from ignorance; secondly, from want of funds; thirdly, because such a disreputable set of women have for so many years past formed the bulk of our emigrants that respectable persons very properly decline accompanying them. A better knowledge of the social condition of the colonies is becoming general; the necessary funds to secure assisted passages are now
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in our hands, and in time we hope and trust we shall be able to make it perfectly safe and perfectly respectable for women of sterling worth to go abroad. I would remind all who are hesitating about the advisability of emigration to remember, that in olden times ten men brought evil tidings of Canaan itself; yet the land was a good land, in spite of the wretched report, and it fared mightily well with those who had courage to march on and possess it. The matter is now virtually in the hands of the women of this country. They must decide their own fate. In 1866, the Montreal immigration agent spoke of the increased demand for female workers in the "tobacco manufactories." Some 250 women and children, he said, were currently working in this industry. The demand for tobacco products, however, had dropped off "since the close of the American War,"9 but the wages were still very fair. A few years later, in 1871, the agents were still discussing work for women: Domestic servants are most difficult to be had. Many of our young women prefer working in factories, tailors shops, millinery shops, and other places where they obtain suitable work and a much larger rate of wages than they could obtain for their services as domestic servants; the proprietors of course finding it likewise to their advantage to employ them. Factories, particularly, employ immense numbers of women, and as such establishments are springing up in every part of the country their demands upon the ranks of servant girls are almost exhaustive. The supply of this class of labor is at present in no way equal to the demand. Notwithstanding the high rates of wages offered and given in this neighborhood, the want still exists, and is felt as much as ever. A suitable class of females, accustomed to the general duties of house service, would at all times meet with ready employment in this city. The surrounding country also requires a large number of females, with a knowledge of plain cooking, laundry and dairy work. I would suggest that such fact be made known among the large number of females who are out of employment in the British Isles, in the hope that many of them would avail themselves of the opportunity of seeking a home in the Ottawa Valley, where there [sic] services are in request.10 By the late i8/os, early i88os, the immigration process was much more refined receiving centres and job centres were set up to assist the women. In 1882, A.T. Gait, in his immigration report for that year, stated:
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I have been receiving many enquiries from domestic servants anxious to emigrate to Canada, but even the low assisted rate now in force does not allow me to send out as many as I desire. The wages in Australia are equally favourable with those offered in the Dominion, and the passage is cheaper. I am satisfied, as I have stated in previous Reports, that the only way by which the emigration of a good class of domestic servants can be arranged is for the committees formed in the various towns in Canada to work in cooperation with the Women's Emigration Society in this country. In order to enable the work to be successful, persons in Canada must advance the passages of the servants they may require, and if care is exercised in the selection of young women, there is no reason why a large number with satisfactory characters and qualifications should not be sent out.11 The Canadian government had started the practice of special arrangements for the female immigrant about 1874. There was a matron available to meet them at the dock in Montreal and food and lodging was provided until "suitable situations are provided for them in respectable families."12 The demand for female workers was increasing as is noted by the Montreal agent John Daley's immigration report of 1883. Female domestic servants who arrived during the year just ended were far in excess of the arrivals of the same class last year. Nevertheless, the supply was not equal to the demand, good domestic servants being eagerly sought for at this Agency during the year. One of the principal reasons for the scarcity of this class of labour lies in the fact that the large cotton, woollen, boot and shoe, and other industrial establishments recently started in and around Montreal absorb and employ a large number of female operatives who were formerly engaged as domestic servants, thereby increasing the demand for this latter class.13 The government, realizing the importance of female immigration, set up the Female Emigration Department in 1883 with Miss H.B. Richardson in charge. There were several problems to overcome, namely: ist Most of the Australian colonies give free passages. 2n The want of money to pay the passage on the part of those desiring to proceed to Canada, and 3r The difference in the supervision on board ship, and after arrival in the
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country, compared with Australia. It is right, however, I should add that the arrangements for female emigration by the Canadian Steamship Companies will compare favourably with those of any other steamers crossing the Atlantic. The causes have all operated to discourage female emigration to the Dominion, but I trust the arrangements of your Department, now in operation and in prospect, will test gradually to the removal of the difficulties I have pointed out.14 One agency particularly was singled out in the 1883 report and that was the Women's Emigration (Immigration) Society. "The question of female emigration from the United Kingdom has been attracting considerable attention,"15 stated Mr. Stafford, the chief immigration agent at Quebec. With new job opportunities and the higher demand for female labour, Canada soon became a major destination for hundreds of female immigrants. In Women of Canada, published about 1900, Miss Proctor wrote about the changes in Canada, the vastness of the west, rail lines crossing the country, and the opportunities opening to women. "The larger proportion of newcomers are at present attracted by special agencies, philanthropic or commercial, who, by offering special facilities or money assistance, aid in their importation and incur responsibility in so doing ...."l6 She mentioned the discrepancy in the numbers, immigrant men being about double the number of immigrant women. "The wages for general servants in Canadian Cities are much higher than in England, and the demand is inexhaustible."17 Farm servants were also highly paid and most urgently needed, Miss Proctor said, especially in the west. Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor-General of Canada, visited the immigration facilities at Quebec in 1893. She reported that "there are a limited number of rooms upstairs where girls arriving without friends or who are not well can stop for a few days free, or are found places for."1 But Lady Aberdeen believed that many of the young women were coming to Canada with false hopes. "It is doubtless a need, [she was referring to a boarding house for girls] for girls come out misled by advertisements or by descriptions of situations & find themselves stranded." She continued, "[h]arm has been done by Mrs. Joyce & others painting this country as an elysium for girls, & thereby bringing out a wrong class unfitted for the work required."19 In Canada the "only opening for women here is domestic & that of a rough & exacting character."20 But women's groups in England were always interested in encouraging emigration. They did, however, try to point out that not all women would make good emigrants. Some professions were in more demand and it was useless to go to Canada thinking that there was work for everyone. To this end, in 1904, the Women's Institute invited Miss Miles to come and speak at one of its meetings. The Times reported:
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Mrs. Arthur Pollard presided yesterday afternoon over a meeting held at the Women's Institute, 92, Victoria-street, S.W., for the purpose of hearing an address on Canadian emigration for women by Miss Miles, who has recently returned from Canada. Miss Miles said that she went to Canada in order to keep in touch with the children who had been sent by the Fulham Board of Guardians to Miss Macpherson's Home, Stratford, Ontario, and to the home connected with the Roman Catholic Emigration Association of Montreal. All that she saw in Canada led her to conclude that the children who went to Canada in this way were enabled to lead active, healthy, and useful lives. One boy whom she met on a Canadian farm scouted the idea of his ever returning to Stepney, where his childhood had been spent. As to the more general subject of Canadian emigration for women, she held that the chief qualifications for success were adaptability to new customs and a willingness to accept low wages at first. There was no demand for private secretaries - in Ottawa alone there were 1,400 girls who had passed a Civil Service examination and were waiting for posts - and the supply of clerks and governesses exceeded the demand. In the Government offices of Canada, however, women clerks were employed in great numbers, and there was an opening for women who would start boardinghouses for these clerks. There was also room for capable general servants, for whom wages were high. There was not at present much opening for women in agriculture, but the new Macdonald-hall at Guelph was beginning to train women for such work. For capable women there was plenty of opportunity in Canada, where the high level of public opinion was shown by the fact that women were never seen in public houses. Mrs. Pollard, in thanking Miss Miles for her address, said that after hearing addresses and reading books on emigration prospects in various countries, she felt convinced that the inefficient woman was wanted neither in the Colonies nor at home. A short discussion followed.21 With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, emigration slowed and then pretty much ceased for a few years. After the war, however, the Oversea Settlement Committee and then the Empire Settlement Act helped many women come to Canada. The 1921 immigration report contained the following on the women's division of the department: Towards the end of the repatriation period, in May 1919, a small conference of representatives of interested organizations was held in the Plaza building, Ottawa, to discuss matters relating to the immigration of
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women. At this meeting the following principles were presented to and endorsed by the Minister of Immigration and Colonization: i. That the principle that immigration of women to Canada be in charge of women be adopted, this to be worked out as follows: a. Advisory capacity. b. Employment of women workers on the staff of the Department of Immigration (i) at Ottawa, (2) in England, (3) on steamships, (4) at ports of entry. It was also decided that a survey of existing machinery for the reception and housing of immigrant women be made. At this meeting were present the members of the British Oversea Settlement Mission sent to Canada for the purpose of investigating opportunities for ex-service women. Following the meeting the survey suggested was made. In August, 1919, a temporary woman officer (later to be known as the Supervisor of the Women's Division) was attached to the Department of Immigration and Colonization for the purpose of further organizing and developing the women's work. CANADIAN COUNCIL OF IMMIGRATION OF WOMEN
In September, 1919, after communicating with all interested organizations, the first meeting of the Canadian Council of Immigration of Women wes [sic] held. The aims of this council, as stated in its first constitution, were as follows: a. Supervision of Hostels that are or will be established for the accommodation of household workers coming to Canada. b. The establishment, control and supervision of new hostels as need may arise for these hostels. c. Control of such federal financial support in the form of subsidies as may be granted from time to time for the maintenance of hostels. d. Study, followed by recommendations to the Immigration Department, of conditions covering the overseas selection and care at ports of embarkation and on steamships and trains, of women immigrants coming to Canada.22 Mr. J. Obed Smith, superintendent of emigration for Canada in England, was present at the meeting along with Miss Gladys Pott of the Oversea Settlement Mission. The meeting discussed employment opportunities, and housing and reception. "It was agreed that the placing of such women as came to the hostels should be done in
Female Immigration
3*5
The women s dormitory in the immigration building at Saint John, New Brunswick, €.1920-30. Courtesy of Erb, Isaac & Son/NAC/Co 45083.
co-operation with the Women's Division of the Employment Service of Canada."23 Hostels were set up for the women; the operation of which was in the hands of the provincial committees. During the Depression years the flow of women did slow, but the Second World War put an end to all such emigration.
The Organizations Booking Agents As Canada grew from bush settlements to towns and villages, there was a great demand for labourers of all types. In the early years there was a shortage of domestics, nurses and governesses. Because of this, booking agents, who received a bonus for each woman recruited, actively sought females and sent them to Canada. H.W.J. Paton of Aberdeen, Robert Stewart of Dundee and the Mackay Brothers Aberdeen worked as such agents, with Miss Carmichael acting as the Toronto representative for both Paton and Stewart. There were many others also involved in recruiting women for the Canadian job market.
British Ladies' Female Emigration Society Mary Jane Kinnaird helped found the British Ladies' Female Emigration Society in 1849. This organization provided matrons for any ship which was carrying single women to
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Australia and later to Canada. The matrons were to care for the sick and organize classes to help pass the time while on board. Arrangements were made to set up committees in the colonies to help the women obtain positions upon arrival in Canada. The supplying of matrons became an official British government function in 1877. In 1883, Lord Radstock opened an institution known as the Emigrants' Home, located near the docks of London at Blackwall. It was used by both families and women travelling alone while awaiting departure to Canada. The home was very large, accommodating some 600-700 people.24 However, by 1888, the work of this organization was taken over by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge and later, in 1897, by the British Women's Emigration Association.
London Female Emigration Society The London Female Emigration Society was a benevolent society which paid the passage of the women it assisted and helped them obtain positions upon arrival in Canada. In the spring of 1850, the Society sent its first group of women to Toronto. The immigration report for that year states: On board the ship "Elspeth," there was a party of females, 18 in number... They were well provided with every necessary comfort during the passage, and forwarded, at the expense of the Society, to Toronto, where arrangements had been previously made, and a committee appointed to receive them. They were all placed in situations in the course of a few days. As this is the first party sent out by this Society to Canada, it is gratifying to find that the result has been satisfactory, and that, if proper selections be made, there is no doubt that a very considerable number can be annually provided for in Canada.25 The society had two matrons who accompanied women from England to Quebec each year. This process was said to have continued year after year26 but appears to have ceased sometime in the i86os.
Columbia Emigration Society: Bride Ships The population of British Columbia in 1862 was comprised mostly of males, a fact that did not go unnoticed. Reverend R.C. Lundin Brown, the Anglican rector at Lillooet, talked to some miners about the "bride ships" being sent to Australia. A proposal was made that they also ask to have a vessel sent to British Columbia, and a letter was sent
Female Immigration
"Steam to British Columbia" - a notice appearing in The Times, of April 1862.
W
1 to BRITISH COLUMBIA.—The under-' S2TEAM
. _ signed will, tf sufficient inducement offers, despatch from Lon-i don, early in May, the iron screw •tearotaiipTYNKMOCJTH. of 1.600 tons register, and 600 Indicated hortw power, for VIOTOJltA, Vanoouver'a Inland, calling, if required, at Ban Fraucisoo. < Thto tine ship ha* three docks, with great space, and very superior accommodation for cabin and etrpscially Intermediate passengers. Bho ban just been fitted with now engines and boiler*, and all the moat recent improvements in hull, spars, and machinery.—W. 8. Lindsay and Co., 8, Austiofriars. nnTyT?! n/VT T\ V>rr*T Tic? ...* oormyctTT ^/-fcifiTinnrWi"
to the Bishop of Oxford informing him of the shortage of females in the colony: Dozens of men have told me they would gladly marry if they could. I was speaking one evening on the subject of the dearth of females and mentioned my intention of writing to beg that a plan of emigration may be set on foot; whereupon one member of the company immediately exclaimed, 'Then Sir, I pre-empt a wife', and another and another, all round the circle of those listening to me earnestly exclaimed the same. Fancy the idea of pre-empting a wife! Yet, I assure you this touches the root of the greatest blessing which can now be conferred upon this colony from home. Think of the 600,000 more women at home than there are men.27 The arrangements for the women were made by the Columbia Emigration Society, founded in February 1862, by Angela Burdett-Coutts and associates, with the assistance of the London Female Emigration Society. A first vessel sailed for British Columbia with a small party of women. It was followed on June 7, 1862, by the sailing of the Tynemouth, with a larger party of 60 women, under the supervision of a matron. The Tynemouth was a steamship of 1,600-tons, with "three decks, with great space, and very superior accommodation for cabin and especially intermediate passengers," read the ad in The Times of March 31,1862. Thus it was, that on September 17,1862, the Tynemouth arrived at Esquimalt with her special cargo.28 A reporter for the Colonist, had this to say: ... we went aboard the steamer yesterday morning and had a good look at the lady passengers. They are mostly cleanly, well-built, pretty looking young women - ages varying from fourteen to an uncertain figure; a few are young widows who have seen better days. Most appear to have been well raised and generally they seem a superior lot to the women usually met with on emigrant vessels. Taken altogether, we are highly pleased with the appearance of the "invoice".... They will be brought to Victoria and quartered in the Marine Barracks, James Bay, early this morning by the gunboat Forward. A large number of citizens visited Esquimalt yesterday
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and endeavoured to board the vessel, but were generally ordered off and returned from their fruitless errand with heavy hearts.29 The Robert Lowe sailed from England to British Columbia in January of the following year carrying another 36 women. Due to a lack of funds the organization did not pursue this type of emigration.
Edinburgh Female Emigration Society "In 1862 the Female Emigration Society had two matrons travelling in charge of women on the way to Quebec."30 A.C. Buchanan, Chief Emigration Agent at the port of Quebec, reported for that year that: From Scotland 32 girls were assisted to emigrate by "the Edinburgh Female Emigration Society," which is an association formed by ladies for the purpose of helping respectable and well disposed young females to emigrate. They are supplied with free passages and outfits in return for which they must undertake, by signing a bond, to refund the Society one-half of the cost of passage money out of the first earnings made in the colony. They came accompanied by two matrons, went straight on to Toronto, and all found places on arrival there.31 In the 1862 immigration statistics, 16 women are listed as having arrived on June 12, and another 17 arrived on August 20. These numbers differ slightly from the 32 women mentioned in Buchanan's report.
Female Middle-Class Emigration Society Maria Susan Rye (see Chapter 4) was actively involved in women's issues. She was a founder of the Women's Employment Society and, in 1859, established a law stationer's business. At the Social Science Congress in 1861, she spoke about her work with women. Her law stationer's training school, located in Lincolns Inn Fields, was intended for young gentlewomen. Here she taught them to be law stationers and copiers. In the days before the typewriter and photocopier, Maria offered the services of her trained women who copied documents and legal contracts. She promoted employment of women and, as early as 1861, began assisting women to immigrate to Australia. She wanted to establish a loan program and a "network of representatives in each colony."32 These representatives would see to the needs of the emigrant women and arrange suitable positions for them.
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In May 1862, with the valuable support of the Earl of Shaftesbury, Charles Kingsley, and Lord Brougham, Maria Rye and Jane Lewin helped found the Female Middle-Class Emigration Society.33 Rye travelled with parties of trained females to New Zealand and Australia and for several years actively recruited women to make the voyage. At first these women were gentlewomen. Then, Maria, realizing the need of women in other social strata, broadened her scope to include daughters and widows of poor professional officials, shopkeepers, postmen, policemen and artisans of middle-class society. As with many of the early female emigration organizations, the press accused them of being nothing more than marriage brokers. Maria Rye, the outspoken person that she was, replied that "if women were not so fastidious about whom they married at home they could easily find unworthy husbands immediately; there was no reason to think they would be less scrupulous in the colonies."34 Maria Rye was very much in tune with the situation in the colonies as it related to the employment of women. She knew that no matter what, women must always be ready to take up domestic service if that was all that presented itself. She believed this so adamantly that she had a clause inserted into the society's rules which read: "Every applicant is examined as far as possible, with regard to her knowledge of cooking, baking, washing, needlework, and housework, and is required to assist in these departments of labour, should it be necessary."35 She became involved with the Columbia Emigration Society which was actively recruiting working-class women for the new colony of British Columbia, and began making inquires of A.C. Buchanan in 1866. Then, in 1868, she turned her full attention towards Canada. However, Buchanan died before Miss Rye made her first trip and Canada had, in the meantime, become a Dominion. Marian Diamond, in her book Emigration and Empire: The Life of Maria S. Rye, states that William Dixon, who was Agent-General for Canada, tried to prevent Miss Rye from sending women to Canada. Dixon paid a visit to Rye and said she assured him that she would not bring Union girls in her parties. Later, Dixon heard that this was not the case. He sent letters to J.C. Tache in Canada protesting Miss Rye's work and wrote letters to the The Times. But, in 1868, L. Stafford, who had replaced Buchanan as agent at Quebec wrote, "I must also make allusion to the number of female servants brought out by Miss Maria S. Rye, a lady well known throughout the United Kingdom as the pioneer of female emigration to Australia."36 In the spring of 1868, the ship Belgian arrived at the port of Quebec with two women on board said to be "In charge of Miss Rye." However, it was the ship Hibernian, docking at Quebec on June 9,1868, that brought Maria and her first large party to Canada, 119 women, 21 males and 5 children. The immigration agent presented her with a grant of $500 from the Canadian government, to assist her in her work.
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After leaving six women in positions in Quebec City, Maria Rye then continued on to Montreal. There her party was billeted in the House of Industry until they could be placed. The immigration agent at Montreal stated with respect to Rye, "the Agent states that all the girls left by her at Montreal, about 40 in number, turned out well; and had she left the whole of them there, they could have been easily disposed of and thus have saved the expense of their Western journey."37 The remainder of the party continued on to Toronto where they all found work. The Quebec Gazette reported: These girls have been picked up with great avidity, at both places. A Toronto paper says: - One lady we saw making an effort to secure a housemaid, was ineffectual in every attempt, and retired in disgust. Enquiring afterward of one of the girls the reason for the refusal, she stated that red hair was a bad sign in a mistress, and they would prefer trying some one with less marked head gear. One girl offered her services to an applicant for $5 a month, but the anxious individual would engage her for no less than $6, hoping by this means, he said, to secure himself from further trouble on the score of hunting up domestic assistance.3 "Encouraged by the success attending her first efforts, Miss Rye, upon her return to England, organized a fresh expedition on a similar footing ,..."39 She wrote a letter to The Times which was reprinted in the Montreal Gazette: Sir, - I am intending, if all is well, to start again for Canada on the 22n of October, in the Nestorian, and am prepared to take 100 more young women with me under the same arrangements and on the same terms as before viz., 6/. per adult. During my late visit to Canada I was unable, owing to the fact of the parliament not sitting until next February, to obtain any assistance to enable me to carry on my work for that colony, beyond a complimentary gift of ioo/ from the Premier, which will do very little more than pay the railway fares of the women from Quebec to the West. I must, therefore, again appeal to the benevolent at home for help to take out this October party; and I the more confidently make the appeal because there is every reason to hope that the Canadian Parliament will vote moneys for the emigration of women next Spring, and because I have proved, by my May journey, that there is abundance of work waiting for the women's acceptance immediately they land.
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Applications may be made to me at this office. Yours very faithfully, Maria S. Rye. 418 Strand, London, W.C.4° It appears, however, that a few complaints were made about the women from the first party. The following letter appeared in the Montreal Gazette of October 28,1868. TO THE EDITOR OF THE GAZETTE
Sir, - A good deal has been said in the papers lately with regard to the girls brought out from England to this country by Miss Rye in June last, and several letters have appeared, calling in question their respectability and fitness to undertake the responsibilities and duties of household servants. Some, it appears, have been found to be too good for their places, others too bad, but of those who have given satisfaction to their employers we hear nothing, and the public may well suppose that none such exist. I cannot but think how discouraging this must be to a lady, engaged, as Miss Rye is, in a noble and purely philanthropic undertaking. I was a fellow passenger with Miss Rye, on her voyage out on board the Hibernian, and immediately on leaving Liverpool, I engaged one of her girls as a servant. This girl has been in my service ever since, and is not only respectable and trustworthy, but most industrious, and thoroughly efficient in each and every branch of household work. Miss Rye has many and great difficulties to contend with in making her selection at home, to avoid being imposed upon, and of course out of one hundred and odd girls brought out to this country a certain number will be found for various reasons unfit for service. As, however, there are two sides to every question, and since so much has been already said on the score of what I may term Miss Rye's "failure," I trust you will give my testimony to one at least of her "successes" a place in your columns. I enclose my card, and subscribe myself, Your obedient servant, FAIR PLAY
Royal Canadian Rifles, St. Johns, P.Q., Oct. 2ist., 1868. ^Because out of 100 girls, some five or six, which we believe is the whole number that anybody has heard of, have not answered the expectations of
32.2.
T H E G O L D E N B R I D G E
their employers, it is very unjust, to use the mildest terms, for writers for the public to throw aspersions on the remaining 94 or 95. That is a responsibility we should not like to take, as there is nothing more delicate than female characters, and the consequences that flow from calling it in question are fearful to the individuals.41 Maria Rye was busy recruiting her next group of women, who would sail on October 22 from Liverpool, and wrote to the newspapers explaining her process. "If you go to Canada you will land at Quebec, and go on with me into the West, where you will find work in the towns of Toronto, Peterborough, London, Hamilton, &c., and I will not leave you until you are respectably placed."42 She explained that wages were not "excessively high," ranging she told them from £10 to £20, but there were good position for domestics, dressmakers, and general servants. Each woman would have to pay the £6 fare for the fortnight voyage, she stated, but also impressed upon them that "you can easily return to see your friends in England by and by."43 If a woman was in need, however, Miss Rye was willing to "see if I can arrange to let you have a part of that money lent you."44 Departing in late October, the Nestorian arrived at Quebec City on November 4, with 91 females and i male. The immigration agents were a little surprised by the women Maria Rye accompanied to Canada. Stafford wrote: Previous to Miss Rye's arrival in Canada, it was expected that the women she proposed to emigrate and accompany would be of the better class of domestic servants, but owing to their coming chiefly from large cities in England, those brought out were not generally suited for farm servants, although from the difficulty, always existing of obtaining female servants of any description, they easily found employment.45 The immigration agent at Saint John, New Brunswick recorded: The demand for female domestics was very great, as well as for dairywomen, but the arrivals of this class of labor has fallen off for some years past. It was hoped that Miss Rye might be induced to take an interest in this portion of the Dominion, and send some of those, who find it so hard to gain a livelihood at home, to a district where there is every certainty of immediate and remunerative employment. Hundreds could have a choice of places here, with every certainty of steady employment. Comfortable homes, and good wages.46
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Although Maria Rye turned her attention in other directions in the fall of 1869, the province of New Brunswick was still interested in her work with female emigration. In the immigration report of 1872, the Honorable B.R. Stevenson, Surveyor General, of New Brunswick stated: On the Ninth of December, 1871, the Government having received an offer from Miss Rye, proposing to bring out Immigrants, an order in council was passed as follows: In Council, 9* December, 1871. Present: His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, &c. &c. &c. Read a communication from Miss Rye proposing to bring out more Immigrants. Ordered, That Miss Rye's offer to bring to this Province, during the next Spring, single women from 17 or 18 to 30 or 35 years of age, say 75 domestic servants and 25 dress-makers and machinists, upon the Government undertaking to pay three pounds sterling per head for each, be accepted; and that, if practicable, more than 75 of the number should be domestic servants, and that Miss Rye be informed, that upon the arrival of the above in this Province, the Government will be prepared to receive from her further proposals for an additional supply of Immigrants. Certified. F.A.H. Stratton, C.E.C.47 Despite this, Rye focused on the emigration of children in the fall of 1869. Female emigration was placed in the hands of Jane Lewin who had a very different view of the subject. She, unlike Maria Rye, concentrated her efforts on gentlewomen and continued this practice until 1881. Even though Canada desperately needed domestics, and had the positions to offer, Lewin persisted in trying to place governesses for whom there was little demand. From 1881 until 1884, Miss Strongetharm handled the affairs of the organization and returned to the policy of assistance to gentlewomen as well as middle-class females. In 1884, she was replaced by Miss Julia Blake. In 1886, the Colonial Emigration Society absorbed the work of the Female MiddleClass Emigration Society and Alice Bonham-Carter took charge. The society assisted about 400 women to Canada, Australia and South Africa.
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BRIDGE
Vere Henry Louis Foster Vere Henry Louis Foster was born April 26, 1819, to Augustus Foster and Albinia Hobart. Augustus served in the British diplomatic corps and thus it was that Vere was born in Copenhagen. The family was well connected with Augustus' mother marrying the Duke of Devonshire upon the death of her first husband, John Thomas Foster, who had been a large landowner in County Louth, Ireland. Vere Foster was educated at Eton and then went on to Christ Church, Oxford. He joined the Audit Office in London but after a few years moved to the diplomatic corps. In 1845, he sailed for South America to take up a post in Argentina. Upon his return to England in June 1847, Vere brought "a menagerie"48 of birds and animals with him, many of which were placed in the Zoological Gardens in London. Augustus Foster sent his son, Vere, to Ireland in 1847 to see to the business of his holdings in County Louth. The following year Augustus died and the lands passed to his eldest son, Frederick. While Louth was not as affected by famine as were many other parts of Ireland, the port cities were crowded with "poor creatures who could scrape together the physical strength and the five shillings that would carry them to England, or better still, the £4.108 that would convey them to the golden gate of America."49 Vere returned to England but in April 1849, Frederick, his older brother, stated that "Vere seems inclined to settle in Co. Louth and become agent."50 Vere travelled to various parts of Ireland and decided to become a landowner "in the hope of making myself useful by falling in with any practicable scheme for giving increased employment to the people, and for providing against a recurrence of similar destitution in the future."51 He also attended agricultural school to improve his understanding of farming. Emigration also entered into the equation as Vere stated, "I believe that the most speedy and effectual present means of doing so is by personally aiding and advocating the Emigration of a portion of the population to some other more favoured land."52 This idea was put into practice when he sent his first party of 40 to the United States in 1850. References for the emigrants were: ...previously obtained from the police of the district, from their clergy, and from their employers and others in the neighbourhood, satisfactory answers to my inquiries respecting their characters and industrious habits. Having required in many cases a deposit of one pound, as a security of their being in earnest in proposing to emigrate, I then paid their passages in many different vessels, purchased their provisions, cooking utensils, etc., bedding and some clothing, furnished them with some money for
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their expenses before embarkation, and made arrangements that they should each receive at least their own deposit of one pound sterling on their arrival in an American port.53 Stephen de Vere, a wealthy landowner in Ireland, decided to check out the immigration process and the ships involved as he planned to assist some of his tenants to emigrate. He made a report to the British Colonization Committee about the terrible conditions on the emigrant ships of the time, which may well have made an impression on Vere Foster. On October 26, 1850, Foster sailed for New York on the ship Washington, "the largest emigrant vessel afloat,"54 he stated, with the intention of investigating first-hand the conditions aboard an emigrant ship. He was especially taken by the treatment of the single women who were often forced to share beds with men. "I have known cases of females who have had to sit up all nights upon their boxes in the steerage, because they could not think of going into bed with strange men," reported the Port Chaplain at Liverpool.55 Foster reported the dreadful conditions to the British Government: There was no regularity or decency observed with regard to taking the passengers on board the ship; men and women were pulled in any side or end foremost, like so many bundles. I was getting myself in as quickly and dexterously as I could, when I was laid hold of by the legs and pulled in, falling head foremost down upon the deck, and the next man was pulled down upon the top of me. I was some minutes before I recovered my hat, which was crushed as flat as a pancake. The porters, in their treatment of passengers (naturally) look only to getting as much money as they possibly can from them in the shortest space of time, and heap upon them all kinds of filthy and blasphemous abuse, there being no police regulations, and the officers of the ship taking the lead in the ill-treatment of the passengers.5 He noted that the passengers were some days denied provisions and were often short-rationed. In addition, the ship's Surgeon had recorded fourteen 16-year-old passengers as children, thus allowing them only half rations, even though full fare had been charged. This experience was quite an eye-opener for Foster. Following arrival in New York, Vere toured the United States gathering information on wages, employment opportunities, etc. He also visited Montreal and Quebec, taking the time to meet with A.C. Buchanan, the emigrant agent. Grosse He was also on his agenda, knowing as he did the terrible events of 1847. "In one grave on the island there are 5,424 persons," he wrote.57
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THEGOLDENBRIDGE
Vere Foster knew that the emigrant had to be willing to work, and work hard, if the hope was to improve one's position. Upon his return to Ireland in 1851, he began to organize his parties and, in 1852, he established the Irish Female Emigration Fund. His intention was to have an able-bodied female member of a family emigrate in hopes that she would then assist members of her family to follow. Caroline Chisholm, who was actively involved in England with female emigration to Australia, was one of the subscribers to this fund, as well as the Earl of Shaftesbury among others. The first party sailed with the assistance of the fund in 1852. On the bottom of the certificate given to the emigrant was this message: I expect you will repay the cost of your passage to America by sending for or otherwise assisting your relatives in Ireland. If you have no occasion to do this, I hope you will send some money to me as a subscription to the Emigration Fund, to enable me to help a member of another family, selected like yourself on account of good character. I entreat you specially to love liberty and fair play for others as well as yourself, without distinction of race, religion or colour.58 The Drogheda Argus of May 17 reported on Vere Foster having sailed from Liverpool with 70 female emigrants for Canada in 1856: On Monday morning last Vere Foster, Esq., left Ardee with about seventy female emigrants for Canada. About twenty of them had been inmates of the Ardee Union Workhouse, the remainder were from the town and surrounding country - they were all decently clad with comfortable clothes. The procession as it moved along the road, with the worthy gentleman mounted on a common dray amongst his protegees reminded us forcibly of the patriarch Jacob on his journey to the land of Goshen. We confess, however, that it is a sight which must [be?] anything but in unison with the feelings of Irishmen. It shows that there is "something rotten in the state of Denmark" when our rural population are thus obliged to be annually expatriated. It certainly is not for want of the raw material to employ them, as our island, if properly managed, could employ and sustain double its present population. We think if this wholesale exportation of the bone and sinew of the country is permitted to go on thus annually that it will in the long run be the cause of regret to all classes of society.59 This item was followed in June of that year with another. This one raised suspicions
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32.7
of Mr. Foster being anti-Catholic. The item is dated Saturday, June 14, and reads in part: Female Emigration To Canada In our last publication we alluded to this subject and promised to call the attention of our readers to it when we obtained more accurate information than we then possessed, about the class of female emigrants that were leaving this part of the country under the guidance of Mr. Vere Foster, and the amount of protection afforded them on their passage to prevent their religion being tampered with. At the moment we were going to press, on that day, Mr. Vere Foster called to request that an article would be inserted which we did not look at, but believing it to be one which would further his emigration movement, it was refused a place in our columns; and he was informed by us that reports were in circulation of anti-Catholic tracts being discovered in the possession of a young woman who accompanied the Ardee emigrants on the day they embarked for Liverpool; and that if we found the rumour correct we would make the public acquainted with it. Mr. Foster's reply was not extremely courteous but very firm, for he dared us to publish anything we were not prepared to substantiate. These remarks are necessary to enable the public to understand the following letters from Mr. Foster: Liverpool, June 9,1856. Sir -1 have not seen the Argus of Saturday last, nor do I know whether there were in it any such remarks in allusion to myself as you led me to expect, but I am anxious to say that I regret very much having been betrayed into undue warmth of language and disrespectful expressions towards yourself, and I request you will accept my apology for so doing. I take this opportunity of again assuring you, that I did not, either directly, or indirectly, articulate any tracts on the quay of Drogheda or elsewhere on Monday last; nor has a spirit of proselytism had anything to do with what little endeavours! may^have made to promote the emigration of deserving poor girls from our country. I think it most likely that the person who informed you of my having distributed tracts was himself the distributor, for the purpose of creating a prejudice against my proceedings. I am, Sir, yours respectfully, Vere Foster °
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This was followed by several more letters in which Elisa Adams, alias Doolan, was mentioned. It appears that Elisa had some tracts in her possession which she was reported to have circulated. Vere Foster said, "She was the only Protestant girl in the company, and was sent by me in the Arran from Liverpool to Quebec; whereas, all the other passengers were sent in the Calhoun [40 girls sailed on June 5 from Liverpool with a small party of five sailing on the Orient on June 9] to New York."61 He continued, "a special collection was made to enable her to emigrate on account of her being a good girl in distress, and not having, like the others, the qualifications of being member of a family. She has evidently been made the organ of some mischievous, though possibly well-intentionedproselytisers ..." 2 But, there were still complaints about the fact the emigrants "have to work as hard, if not more so, for their sustenance than at home, and Catholic girls in particular removed very often a great distance from religious example and instruction, lose the peace and ease of mind necessary for even wordly [sic] comfort."63 Even though Vere had many letters of introduction and support from members of the Catholic clergy there was still doubt thrown on this work. "Batch emigration," said his detractors, was necessary when there was famine in Ireland but not now. The item also mentions a party sent by the Drogheda Union in 1856 stating that Mr. Foster should follow its example in letting people at home know the whereabouts of the girls. On June 28,1856, The Drogheda Argus continued to attack Vere Foster claiming that "our opinions were diametrically opposed to his system of Female Emigration...."64 The item went on to say that Foster had submitted an item to another paper and that: It was inserted on the same day, in another paper, with a very democratic flourish in favour of Mr. Vere Foster, and the depopulating system. Some of the contributors to the Press, have what strikes us as rather inconsistent notions of patriotism. Landlords are assailed, and very properly, for depopulating the country, yet they applaud the system, which, if carried into operating, would strip the country of its population more effectually, than all the Ejectment Acts concocted since Ireland was first legislated for by England; and which, if properly patronized by the landlords, would leave the celebrated crow-bar brigade without employment. As far as Mr. Vere Foster is personally concerned, we have nothing more to say; but we have with the Female Emigration system. We object to it without reserve, on account of the evils which may result to those who may be induced to adopt it as a means of bettering their condition.65 The article mentions a party of 73 sent by Foster in the ship Lady Franklin (sailed
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May 15 from Liverpool to New York), who had a letter of introduction to the Sisters of Mercy of Saint Catherine's Convent, New York. The paper asked that he prove that these young women had arrived and were safe. This article was followed on July 23,1856, by another item naming 73 of the women in the party and listing their place of settlement. The women ranged in age from 14 to the early twenties with Margaret Mathews, aged 37, being the eldest. The party was destined for Canada West, but a few of the girls, upon arrival, asked to remain in the United States. The girls sent to Port Dover were (age in brackets): Alice Barton (20) Maria Bellow (16) Anne Brady (16) Catherine Brady (16) Mary Brady (20) Anne Campbell (16) Mary Campbell (19) Mary Carroll (19) Catherine Carrollan (18) Biddy Carry (16) Bridget Carney (22) Mary Clarke (25) Margaret Coleman (16) Mary Connor (16) Catherine Creaton (no age given) Mary Cummerford (21) Margaret Drumgoole (20) Anne Duffy (18) Elizabeth Duffy (20) Mary Durain (16) Ellen Flanagan (18) Mary Gaherty (16) Mary Green (17)
Bessie Grimes (16) Catherine Grimes (17) Ellen Kernan (17) Mary Lamb (20) Margaret Mackie (18) Mary Malone (20) Rose Marron (20) Mary Mathews (20) Anne Meade (17) Jane Murphy (21) Margaret M'Ardle (17) Anne M'Canna (19) Margaret M'Canna (21) Mary M'Donald (21) Eliza MTntegart (16) Catherine M'Lean (18) Catherine O'Brien (16) Catherine Skelly (18) Catherine Smith (16) Kate (Bridget) Smith (20) Anne Taffe (15) Jane Tiernan (18)
The girls from Ireland sent to Simcoe, Ontario, included: Margaret Quigly* (17) Elizabeth Brady (20) Mary Campbell (20)
Margaret Lamb (25) Mary Lannon (19) Rose Magee (20)
THE
33°
Mary Cassidy (20) Ann Conolly (24) Catherine Conolly (17) Mary Crany (22) Catherine Cummerford (18) Jane Devlin (18) Maria Devlin (20) Biddy Durnin (16) Ann Halligan (24) Judith Hickey (23) Margaret Kavanagh (17) Mary Kelly (22) Betty King (20)
GOLDEN
BRIDGE
Bridget Magennis (17) Mary Matthews (17) Bridget McCabe (16) Bridget McDonald (18) Ann McGuire (20) Catherine McGuire (24) Mary McKeown (23) Mary Murray (18) Ann M'Avoy (17) Margaret O'Neil (20) Catherine Poor (26) Bridget Smyth (16)
All of the women arrived on the Calhoun and went to Simcoe, with the exception of Margaret Quigley* She went to Bradford, Canada West. The list appeared in the Drogheda Argus on June 28,1856. The Canadian News of September 3,1856, reported: The Norfolk Messenger, C.W., says a large number of fine, fair, and healthy looking Irish girls passed through Simcoe on their way to the residence of Stephen S. Fuller, Esq., to whose care they were consigned, when they were waited upon and immediately engaged at good wages as servants by farmers. They left Ireland well recommended, appear to be more than usually intelligent, and have, we believe, been sent out by Vere Foster, Esq., a gentleman whose exertions on behalf of this deserving class of his countrywomen are beyond all praise. Another batch is expected in a few days. Foster continued his work and, in March 1857, the following letter appeared in the Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser. March 2 1857. I propose to direct about 60 girls, 20 at a time, to Canandaigua, [it is in New York state between Rochester and Syracuse] in consequence to the above letter [referring to a letter from Reverend E. O'Connor of Canandaigua in which he stated he would assist emigrants sent to him], and previous verbal assurances. I have similar permission to direct other persons to the care of the Bishop of Hamilton, the Rev. G. M'Nulty, of
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Toronto, the Very Rev. Dean Kirwan, of Port Sarnia, and many other of the Catholic Clergy in Canada West-also to the Rev. James Hennessey, of Detroit, the Very Rev. Dr. Dunn, of St. Patrick's church, Chicago, the Rev. Mr. M'Faul, of Janesville, Wisconsin, and to the clergy of Rochester, Cleveland, Syracuse, Geneva, Ann Arbor, Utica, Webster, Owego [sic], and several other towns and villages in the United States. I wish I had the means of sending a million. The ensuing scarcity of labor, and therefore increase in wages and comfort would produce America in Ireland. It is my intention to stop at Dunleer for a few weeks to receive applications. I shall be there all day on Sundays, Thursdays, and holidays. I intend to send about 140 girls and a few boys. Those persons will be preferred who are in farm service, who have the smallest wages and the best recommendations and are members of the largest families, one only out of each family. I am, Sir Yours, respectfully, Vere Foster67 The City of Mobile sailed in May 1857, to New York with 120 girls. Foster sailed on a steamer just after, but arrived before them because of his mode of transport. But when the City of Mobile arrived he was met with complaints that some of the girls had been led astray. He did all he could to repair the damage (would even change shipping lines in the future) but the news did get back to Ireland. His brother Frederick wrote in his support, "The fact is, that of 120 of his emigrants, 94 accompanied him up the country and found situations already provided for them, 13 more joined their own relations, and only 13 were seduced by the sailors."68 Frederick lamented the loss of the 13, then attached a letter from his brother which stated "I am happy to say that it is almost impossible for these or any other atrocities to be committed upon emigrants by the St. Lawrence route to Quebec."69 This time, however, Vere did something a little different. He got pictures of some of the girls and addresses of where they were placed. He rented a window in a shop in Ardee and put the pictures and letters on display. This created quite a stir in the area and soon word was circulating about the improved situations of the girls. During the i86os and early 18705 the economy improved in Ireland and Vere placed more effort on another interest, education. He helped establish, refurbish and supply many schools in Ireland, regardless of denomination. Vere developed copybooks, used to teach penmanship to the scholars, in hopes that they would be able to obtain positions as clerks. In 1864, Vere made a trip to the United States on business and while there took the opportunity to investigate the education system.
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Between 1874 and 1880 crops again failed in Ireland and again Foster turned his attention to emigration. His friend Charles Parnell wrote to him: ... I believe that, if you would apply your acknowledged talents and influence to solicitation of public subscriptions, and to organising a scheme of assisted emigration to the Western States of America and to Canada, you might be eminently successful in conferring lasting benefits on great numbers of poor people whose normal state is ever verging on starvation.70 To back up his words, Parnell offered to subscribe £2 "for each young man or woman between eighteen and thirty-five years of age, in the proportion of one of the former to two of the latter, because, as men earn higher wages than women, they are usually better able to provide for themselves."71 This amount was not to exceed £15,000 but was for emigrants from Connaught, Donegal, Clare, Kerry or Cork. And so, Vere again began to take applications with all applicants having a letter of recommendation from clergy. "I give preference to girls," he wrote, "because they are least able to get themselves out, and because, as I say, they are generally the most liberal in sending home help to bring out their brothers and sisters and parents, if they wish to go."72 In 1881, Foster again visited Canada. He travelled on a Cunard steamer and enjoyed the company of Charles Tupper and wife. Tupper was then minister of railways for Canada and obtained free rail tickets for Vere and introductions to many other members of parliament. Vere discussed the emigration of families to the west, something the Canadian ministers were interested in, but he did not think this a good approach for Irish settlers. The Irish, he said, preferred the United States and cities where many manufacturing jobs were available. The following appeared in A.T. Gait's 1882 immigration report: In connection with female emigration, particularly from Ireland, I must not omit to mention the name of Mr. Vere Foster, of Belfast. This gentleman has spent a large sum of money out of his private means to assist young women to emigrate to Canada and America, and the result has been satisfactory in every way. Mr. Foster went to Canada during last season, and in a circular recently published expresses himself in favour of sending servant girls to the Dominion. I have informed Mr. Foster that it will be a great pleasure to me to co-operate in this benevolent movement — one with which his name will always be gratefully remembered. These remarks are made with the object of showing that emigration is not likely to fall off to any extent, and I am hopeful that the more intelligent people
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of every class will make their way to the Colonies in greater numbers than hitherto.73 Soon emigration once again fell out of favour in Ireland. Even with letters like this one from a priest,"... holdings are so small, the land so sterile, that these people will be always steeped in poverty .... Penal servitude would be a paradise to many of them compared to their present condition ...." did nothing to bring in the needed funds to support the emigration. As opposition increased, and the demand for domestics in America declined in the 18905, Vere Foster ceased his emigration work. Through his efforts, over 20,000 young women were assisted to America (United States and Canada.) He died on December 21,1900.
Girls' Friendly Society The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) was founded in England, January i, 1875 by Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Townsend. As first president of the society, she believed that something needed to be done to support young women. She lamented, "[d]oubtless our National Schools do much, our Industrial Schools do more (and they are multiplying continually), but these last only benefit a few out of the multitude; and it is just at the age when girls are leaving the National School that they need the most earnest help and care."74 Townsend believed that organization was the key and thus set about to create a society for women. The GFS was operated in association with the Church of England and run along diocesan lines. The Archbishop of Canterbury was asked to be the first Patron of the society. Even though the GFS did preach religion, it claimed that the organization was non-sectarian. The Society's key objective was to maintain a high standard of purity among British girls, and to obtain for every working girl of unblemished character a friend in a class above her own.75 Friendly Leaves became the quarterly publication of the GFS. By 1887, the Girls' Friendly Society was the largest, women only, society in the United Kingdom with over 100,000 members and associates. The tremendous growth of the society led to problems with organization and "rules of procedure." Miss Agnes Money wrote: We made inquiries among our gentlemen friends as to what these rules were. To our astonishment and utter perplexity, we found that no two people gave the same answer, and that these rules, though of untold antiquity, were unwritten and wholly traditional. We found that Parliamentary procedure was one thing, the procedure at meetings of a Mayor and Corporation another, that of Boards of Guardians different again, and so on.
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Never shall I forget the feeling of hopeless perplexity that weighed upon one at that time, while realizing more from day to day the immense importance of these rules. Someone told us there were such beings as "Experts" at drafting rules, but we sought for them in vain. I really think we felt something like "hunting the snark"76 just then. But we learned our lesson in the end, as a glance at our By-laws will prove, receiving great help from Mr. (now Sir Reginald) Palgrave, who had lately compiled a Handbook of Parliamentary Procedure. We found that it was quite true that By-laws are the very safeguard of charity and justice, and that to lay down rules for ourselves, and to choose a leader to see that they are kept, is an invaluable training and discipline, which boys have hitherto had in their cricket-clubs, and men in all their various organizations, but which, till the later years of this century, was wholly lacking as a factor in a woman's education. If the reproach that we used so often to hear, of inevitable quarrelling at committees of ladies, no longer exists, I do believe it is partly owing to our labours in those days, and to our having captured the "snark" of procedure at last.77 Departments were set up within the society to oversee the following activities: the Circulating Library; Help for Young Workwomen; Registry Work; Workhouse Girls in the Provinces; Homes of Rest for Sick Members (this home was located at St. John's Croft, Winchester, England); and Affiliated Societies. Later, orphanages were placed under the Workhouse Girls in the Provinces Department. Additional departments were added, or existing ones assumed new responsibilities, as more women found their way into the workplace and the need arose to see to their welfare. These included departments for Factory Girls, later renamed Mills, Warehouses and Factories; Business Girls, later named Professions and Business; Girls in Service; Literature; Lodges, later renamed Recreation-rooms and Lodgings; Industrial Training; and Emigration. Some of these departments were further divided, for example, Business was divided into groups for Elementary School Teachers, Training Colleges, Hospital and Trained Nurses and Refreshment-bar workers. A fee of one shilling a year was paid by an Associate of the GFS. Each Associate, usually from the "upper ranks of Society"78 was paired with a Member, becoming a friend and adviser to that woman. The Associate befriended the woman and gave advice on choosing a profession. Young women "of the working class" could choose among "mills, factories, teaching, sick-nursing, post office and telegraph work, and various kinds of trade"79 for employment. However, it became difficult for some of the Associates to relate to women who worked in factories, and at jobs other than those in domestic service. To
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alleviate this situation the society made efforts to "gather round us workers who could place themselves en rapport with all these varied lives and surroundings, learning to know the difficulties and penetrate the shadows that beset their different paths, to sympathize with their trials, but at the same time to recognize that no life need be without its brightness, and also that the truest heroism and the most thoroughgoing Christianity may be often found in the most unpromising environment."80 By 1880, the Girls' Friendly Society had branches in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, America and Canada. That same year Queen Victoria became Patron of the society. Additional publications, such as The Girls' Quarterly and the Associates' Journal came into being. The society organized constructive activities for girls and women employed in domestic services, business and factories. The Fredericton, New Brunswick, branch of the GFS was formed in 1882. It was followed by the Toronto, Ontario, branch, in the same year, with branches in Montreal, Quebec, and Ottawa, Ontario, being formed in 1883. Newfoundland's branch was started on July 17,1883. The "Manitoba North-West Provinces Rupertsland" branch was formed on March 24,1885. Branches at Quebec and, "Huron and Niagara" were formed in 1889, while "Rupertsland and Columbia" were formed in 1892 and, on November 17,1890, the "Canada, North-West Provinces" branch came into being. After the Canadian Treaty, establishing the GFS in Canada, was signed on May i, 1883, Mrs. Wood, of Toronto, assumed the role of Central President. The organization also established a Holiday House "on the lake shore at Hamilton." 1 The object of the society was to bind together for mutual help - secular and religious - Churchwomen as Associates, and girls and young women as Members; to encourage purity of life, dutifulness to parents, faithfulness to employers, and thrift; to provide the Society's privileges for all members, introducing travelling members from one Branch to another. 2 Qu'Appelle (in present-day Saskatchewan) had a branch of the GFS formed in August 1895, by Mrs. Featherstonehaugh (formerly the Hon. Mrs. Yelverton and one of the original council members of the GFS in England).83 This branch office was located in a small home at Indian Head. This home, located a short distance from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station, was used for the reception of English girls seeking employment in the North-West. Donated by Lord and Lady Brassey, it was opened in August 1895 by His Excellency the Governor-General and Lady Aberdeen.84 Lady Aberdeen described the day in her journal: Having made a promise to Mrs Burn wife of the Episcopalian Bishop of [sic] Qu'Appelle, to open the newly built G.F.S. Home at Indian Head, we drove in there from Fort Qu'Appelle, a distance of 25 miles. The road was v. rough, with innumerable pit-falls, & our driver said he could scarcely see the leaders
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for the gathering darkness, which was increased by the advent of a thunderstorm. We should have had a good moon, but somehow she managed to hide herself way behind heavy clouds. So our main light was derived from the lightning which after playing about amongst the clouds for a time in picturesque fashion, became extremely vivid & unpleasantly forked. Shortly before arriving at Indian [Head] it began to pour in good earnest. Nevertheless we penetrated into the Home about 10 o'c. & it was duly opened in v. Anglican fashion. Ld & Ldy Brassey have built the home & give it light & firing - Mrs Featherstonehaugh who was there to-night on a short visit gives £50 a year, but Mrs Burn is already not unnaturally anxious as to how this Home set down in the midst of the prairie is going to make both ends meet. I am glad too to see that she fully realizes the folly of sending out to this county for Canadian farm life girls trained in service in gentlemen's houses at home. We had an instance of the result of this folly to-day. Whilst waiting for tea at Mr Boyd's house at Fort Qu'Appell [sic], the servant of Mr Macdonald the Hudson Bay Agent came up to the bed-room with some water. One could not help at once noticing that she must be a trained servant with her nice neat dress & apron & cap. She lingered in the room for a moment & then asked me if perhaps I could hear of another place for her. She had been head housemaid at Lady Ormonde's & previously at Lady Dartmouth's, & had come out because she had heard that wages were higher & because her great friend was coming as matron to the Brassey Home. Here she was general servant in a little Canadian village at $10 a month (£24 a year). She said she expected things to be different from England but not like this & thought that there would be many places where three or four servants are kept. I told her how exceptional were such cases, how even in the cities one servant is the rule & two the exception. But it is utterly wrong & cruel for the G.F.S., or Mrs Joyce, or any Emigration Society, to encourage such girls to come out. It must result in utter failure both for themselves & for their employers & creates a prejudice against girls from the old country at all. Good strong general servants, ready to fall in with the ways of the country, & who have not been told that they are sure to marry comfortably so soon as they set foot in Canada are what are wanted. And Scotch & Irish girls do better than English girls - of this there is scarcely a doubt. To-night in the Home there were five girls just arrived & three of these were 14 & 15, delicate half-grown sort of girls from Essex & thereabouts, quite unfit for the rough & tumble they will assuredly meet. I am delighted
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to find Mrs Burn feeling so strongly on the subject. It was embarrassing that this girl Elizabeth Lambert should speak to me, as if she leaves, I may be supposed to have been the cause, according to my reputation for upsetting other people's servants in the newspapers. I preached to her about doing her best etc., but she said she had made up her mind to leave & to return to England as soon as she could manage it. 5 The Colonial and Emigration Committee was established in 1883 to "further the organization of the GFS in the Colonies if it was found desirable to facilitate the emigration of Members." This committee was dissolved when Ellen Joyce began her emigration work. The Honorable Mrs. Ellen Joyce, the widow of a Winchester clergyman, was associated with the Girls' Friendly Society from its inception. In November 1882, she was appointed to the society position of Correspondent for Emigration, having gained experience in this area while working with the Protected Emigration for Women organization. Then, in 1885, a department was formed within the GFS, called Members Emigration, and she was made its head. The GFS helped women emigrate to the colonies offering them assistance, companionship, a warm welcome upon arrival in the new country, along with the offer of lodgings and assistance in obtaining work. Ellen Joyce, assisted by Helen Sanford, sent women to Canada as domestics, factory workers, cooks and nurses. Some of these women were single, some widowed, and some came with young children in tow. The society also offered what they called "nominated passage" whereby an emigrant might use the assistance of the organization to bring other family members, friends or lovers to join them at reduced rates. Some women saved money from their earnings to cover the cost of the passage of friends and family. The GFS, with branches in both Britain and the colonies, offered support and assistance to the emigrant women. These women often obtained employment as domestics or factory workers. Records of the society show that these women were sent to Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan; Portage La Prairie and Winnipeg, Manitoba; Vernon, Kamloops and New Westminster, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Maple Creek and Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Fredericton, New Brunswick; and the North West Territories, which included the present day provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Several groups in Canada assisted the new immigrants. The Women's National Immigration Society on St. Osborne Street in Montreal, Quebec; E.G. Gates and M.K. Grimes of the Church Emigration Society; and the Self-Help Emigration Society on 813 Craig Street in Montreal, helped the women after arrival in Canada. They were given a few days' room and board to allow them time to begin a job search.
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Other branches were also active in emigration. The Emigration Department of the Irish Girls' Friendly Society sent members to the colonies and, in 1896 alone, some 70 Irish members emigrated. One of the busiest branches of the GFS, in regard to emigration, was that in Liverpool. The Liverpool Lodge housed and assisted many emigrating members of the society. The Girls' Home of Welcome located at 130 Austin Street in Winnipeg, Manitoba,87 was sometimes used by Ellen Joyce's parties. The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) was also a favourite place to house new immigrants as well as the Women's Protective Immigration Society home in Montreal. Mrs. Joyce was also the founder and president of the British Women's Emigration Association (BWEA), sometimes called the United British Women's Association.
Catholic Emigration Society I Ste. Anne's Emigration Society The Catholic Church turned its attention to the emigration of young women, 15 years of age and over, in 1897. Miss H.E Procter (Proctor), who ran St. Anne's Home at 258 Laval Avenue in Montreal, started her work by assisting the Southwark Catholic Emigration Society which brought children to Canada. Miss Procter stated that in 1897 she made inquiries into the "advisability of emigrating girls over school age and young women as domestic servants to Canada." She brought a few girls to Canada and used the facilities of the Women's Protective Immigration Society in Montreal. Eva Vosburgh, Secretary of that organization, stated: Miss Procter and Miss Urquhart brought out a party of 12 Roman Catholic girls in the "Laurentian" on May 31st. These were received into the Home until situations were found for them by Miss Procter. These ladies representing the Ste. Anne's Emigration Society, met the committee in June last, to discuss the possibility of working with them in assisting the emigration of Roman Catholic girls from the east end of London. Miss Procter has, however, since established a home of her own for young girls, in connection with the Ste. Anne's Society, and other societies in London, and the committee earnestly wish them every success in their admirable work.89 Another St. Anne's Home, according to Miss Procter, was opened in mid-i897, at 149 Berri Street, Montreal. This St. Anne's was to be made a sort of home-away-from-home for the girls. "The immigrants find here a registry office and lodging where they return when changing place, and those girls who are in situations in Montreal, assemble at the
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Home on certain days of the week; the wish of the Society being as far as possible to supply the place of friends and relations from whom the immigrants are necessarily cut off."90 She continued: A good deal of the work of the past six months has been the visiting and occasional replacing of the girls formerly emigrated in small numbers by the Southwark Catholic Emigration Society. The Society is no longer emigrating young children for adoption, the experience of past years having proved that this system of adoption is unworkable at least in Lower Canada, where the families are already numerous and where there is no law of adoption to safeguard the interest of the children. The girls at present emigrated are over school age and are placed as domestic servants under an agreement specifying the remuneration to be received. The Local Government Board has permitted the emigration of girls over school age to St. Anne's Home - this being an exception to the general rule as to the age of girl emigrants. We are very grateful to the ladies of Montreal and other towns for having consented to act as visitors and special friends to our girls. We have to acknowledge with thanks the assistance given to us by the officials of the Allan Line and the railway companies. We are also very much indebted to Mr. Marquette the Provincial Immigration Agent, and to yourself [referring to Mr. John Hoolahan, Dominion Immigration Agent at Montreal] for the unvarying kindness and courtesy with which we have always been met.91 Other Catholic groups and women's groups began to use St. Anne's. In 1900, G. Bogue Smart reported: The objects of this society are: i s . The reception and placing of girls in situations as domestic servants on their arrival in Canada; 2n . Keeping in touch with them after they have obtained situations; 3 . To visit them periodically; 4 . To keep an open home for them where they may come when out of employment or in ill-health. Twenty-nine girls were brought to Canada during the year 1899. These girls were all placed in the province of Quebec, with the exception of a few for whom situations were found in Ontario. Applications for these girls were largely in excess of the number sent to Canada. The girls are visited by a person connected with the society at an
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unstated time once a year, and those located in the city of Montreal much oftener. A record of these visits is kept in a book provided for the purpose. The books contain a general history of the girls and the reasons for their emigration. When making application for a girl, applicants must furnish a certificate of character from the priest of the parish in which they are resident. This work has been carried on for five years, and one hundred girls have been sent to Canada by the society during that period. A fee of fifty cents is charged persons engaging the older girls. No aid, financial or otherwise, is received by the society in Canada. The headquarters are located at 149 Berri Street, Montreal. The house is well adapted for the purpose for which it is utilized, and will accommodate comfortably about ten girls. All of the girls were placed at the date of my visit. I found the premises in first-class order. The girls are invited to the Home twice a month, on the first and third Sundays, for religious instruction and recreation respectively.92
Girls' Home of Welcome The Girls' Home of Welcome was founded by Miss Octavia Fowler in i89/.93 The home received government grants as well as private funds and was run by a board of directors. It was used as a receiving centre for immigrant domestics and as a registry office where the women could register for work. Several of the female agencies used these facilities to house their young women while they searched for employment. Notable among these was the National Immigration Society. The 1897 report of the Women's Protective Immigration Society of Montreal stated that the "want of proper protection for girls in the newly settled parts of the country has long been felt by the Society, and they therefore look forward with the greatest satisfaction to Miss Fowler's valuable cooperation with them. The Girls' Home of Welcome is non-sectarian, and is worked on the same plan as the Women's Protective Society of Montreal."94 The city directory of 1898, for Winnipeg, lists the Girls' Home of Welcome for the first time at 37 Carlton Street. In 1899, the home was moved to 272 Assiniboine Street with O.L. Fowler listed as the matron of the home. By 1901, the home was located at 130 Austin Street and Miss Fowler continued as matron. Mrs. Helen Sanford, who had worked with Ellen Joyce, was the matron of the home in 19O4.95 The intention of the home was to "afford a shelter to respectable girls and women"96 and they assisted young women, 16 years of age and over, to emigrate to Canada.97 The facilities were also used by other female emigration societies, and were taken over as a
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hostel when the Oversea Settlement Committee and the Empire Settlement Act brought many women to Canada. On June 23,1910, on board the Empress of Britain were 98 domestics heading for the home in Winnipeg. They were followed on May 22,1911, by another party of 155 women arriving on the ship Lake Manitoba?* Many of the arrivals can be found in the records for this institution held in the National Archives of Canada."
Women s Emigration Society (WES) The Women's Emigration Society was formed in 1880 through the efforts of Mrs. Caroline Blanchard and Miss Louisa M. Hubbard.100 Caroline Blanchard had previous experience with emigration, working for the governments of New Zealand and Queensland as a selection agent. Louisa Hubbard was the owner and editor of Work and Leisure, a women's magazine. By 1883, there was a branch of the society operating in the East End of London under the direction of Adelaide Ross, the wife of the vicar of St. Philip's, Stepney.101 Another branch, run by Mrs. Blanchard, operated in Marylebone and became the Colonial Emigration Society in 1883. Louisa Hubbard arranged for Adelaide Ross of Stepney and Ellen Joyce, of the Girls' Friendly Society, to join efforts in creating a register for emigration workers and unite them under the United Englishwomen's Emigration Association, later renamed the British Women's Emigration Association.
Colonial Emigration Society (CES) When, in 1883, the Marylebone branch of the Women's Emigration Society became the Colonial Emigration Society, it recruited working-class emigrants under the colonial governments' assisted passage program. It functioned until 1892, and then became part of the British Women's Emigration Association.
United Englishwomen's Emigration Association I British Women's Emigration Association (BWEA) I United Women's British Emigration Society [Association] (UBWES) I United British Women's Emigration Association The United Englishwomen's Emigration Association, formed in 1884 by Ellen Joyce and Adelaide Ross, was quickly renamed the British Women's Emigration Association. Mrs. Ross, worked with the East End London branch of the Women's Emigration Society
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until 1883, when it became part of the BWEA. Mrs. Joyce began by working in her home town with the Winchester Emigration Society helping families emigrate, then worked with the Girls' Friendly Society, helping to set up their emigration program. There were branches of the society in Ireland and Scotland with many of the counties in England also having branches of their own. In 1892, the work of the Colonial Emigration Society, which had absorbed the work of the Female Middle-Class Emigration Society in 1886, was, in turn, absorbed into the BWEA. For some 30 years the BWEA was the major organization involved in the emigration of females, and also included some children to Canada. Indeed, Miss Parker, of Old Park, Winchmore Hill, Middlesex, was reported as looking after children's cases.102 For example, on board the Sardinian, April 16,1891, Mrs. Joyce had several young emigrants in her party including Joseph Robson, William Hunt, Charles Keeping, John Botwood, James Marsh and James Creator, all between 16 and 18 years of age; some were Roman Catholic. In 1890, Ellen Joyce visited the Women's Protective Immigration Society of Montreal. The society reported: Mrs. Joyce kindy devoted an evening at the Home to meet about 30 young women living in this city, who had come out under her auspices. She was pleased to find that, with only two or three exceptions, all expressed themselves contented and happy in their new life, and had no wish to return to England.103 The following year, her visit was again noted by the immigration agents: During the summer the Hon. Mrs. Joyce, Vice President of the United Women's British Emigration Association, visited this country, and had an interview with the immigration agents of my Department from Halifax to Vancouver, B.C. The object of her visit was to explain her scheme for assisting suitable, selected and well-recommended persons of both sexes from the over peopled districts in Great Britain, to emigrate to Canada. This scheme was submitted during last session, to a sub-committee of the Select Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonization, and in compliance with their recommendation that a circular embodying Mrs. Joyce's proposal should be sent to the executive of every municipality in the Dominion, I caused ten thousand copies to be addressed to all municipal bodies, agricultural societies, and postmasters throughout the country. As a consequence of this, applications from different quarters for co-operation in Mrs. Joyce's scheme are being received here, and are at once forwarded to that lady for subsequent action.104
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The name of the association seems to have varied. In the 1901 immigration report for Quebec, the agent, Patrick Doyle, lists the United British Women's Emigration Association, London, Hon. Mrs. Joyce. The destination of the group of 55 women, 3 men and 4 children was listed as "general." The demand for domestics was still great and John Hoolahan, agent at Montreal, stated that "[n]o female immigrant, possessing certificates as to competency and character, need have any fear of not finding a suitable position with remunerative wages in Montreal and the district of Montreal. Such immigrants can find employment no matter at what season of the year they may arrive."105 But things were changing and the preference of the women was moving in a new direction. Hoolahan continued, "[t]he demand for domestic servants has been increasing year by year. The large commercial and industrial establishments, stores and offices open a field for Canadian young women which in many cases they prefer to housework."106 Ellen Joyce was the editor of the Imperial Colonist, the publication of the BWEA, a monthly filled with information for the prospective female emigrant. A hostel was opened in Liverpool and another in London to provide overnight lodgings for the women before their departure overseas. Wortley Hostel in Paddington was established in 1902. Matrons accompanied the parties on the ocean voyage and across the country as far as Victoria, British Columbia. Miss Mary Monk, who acted in that capacity "accompanied thirty-five separate parties to Australia, New Zealand and Canada over a period of twenty years."107 These facilities were used by various other groups such as the YWCA, the Girls' Friendly Society and the Aberdeen Ladies Union. The BWEA worked through local committees of volunteers to assist the emigration of the women. Committee members helped the women complete their application forms and checked references. "Each applicant who requested an advance of passage money from the Loan Fund and asked that employment would be secured for her in Canada also undertook 'to accept the situation selected for me...and to remain in that situation until I have discharged the sum advanced to me.' "lo8 When placed in Canada, the loan was to be repaid out of the woman's wages. Once selected, the BWEA booked the passage and made all arrangements for the women. Upon arrival in Canada, the parties were taken to receiving centres run by the YWCA, GFS and the Girls' Home of Welcome in Winnipeg. Women were allowed to stay for free for the first 24 hours. The BWEA tried to have positions already arranged for them before their arrival in Canada so that after a night's rest the women could go on to their new positions. Women were encouraged to accept job offers in smaller settlements and in the west, to allow them to escape the "class" system still prevalent in some of the older, established cities. Although these smaller centres were sometimes lonely for the educated ones the best chance of mobility was found there.
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The organization gained new support from many segments of the Canadian population. The Canadian Manufacturers' Association supplied lists of factory jobs to the society thus allowing them to recruit women for the positions already available. A home, called the Colonial Training Home, was opened at Leaton in Shropshire, to train young women. "All kinds of household work are well taught, including milking, dairy work, laundry, and kitchen details; and the girls trained are sent out under the care of the United British Women's Association."109 This home was aimed at the middleclass women, as they were the ones who were more and more taking to emigration. Women could stay in the home for los. a week. There they were trained for three months in colonial housework. Women from this home were especially sent to British Columbia, into the Vernon and Kelowna areas. It is on the ranches in the neighbourhood of these places that the Home Helps will find the happiest home, as there are large settlements of people from the old country, connected with good families, who will preserve the traditions and refinements of the old land while adopting the industry of ^i the new.no By 1907, the home at Leaton proved to be too small. It was moved to Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire and renamed the Colonial Training College. Many women sought entrance. The college gained a reputation and many British Columbia employers wanted only graduates of this institution. "Lady-Helps" were sought by many and by 1912, some 530 women had been trained.111 The outbreak of World War I reduced emigration substantially, causing the college to close. Mary Urie Watson, originally of Ayr, Ontario, wrote for the Imperial Colonist and stated her belief that women should be trained in the colony to which they wish to emigrate. Being from the MacDonald Institute in Guelph, Ontario, (today a part of the University of Guelph), she believed that the Institute could supply the women with the proper education to obtain good positions in Canada. While on the west coast, Miss Bainbridge-Smith started the Haliburton College for Gentlewomen. For a fee of £85 a year, a woman would receive household and farming training. She hoped these women would "carry on their own business, with the friendly advice of the college teachers."112 The Princess Patricia Ranch was opened in 1913, by the Colonial Intelligence League, an off-shoot of the BWEA. Located near Vernon, British Columbia, the ranch was for female immigrants, and enabled them to become familiar with their Canadian surroundings. The League endeavoured to help women find other occupations but insisted they should be prepared to work as "Home-Helps" if need be. British Columbia became a major destination for female emigrants. Mrs. Skinner
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was a BWEA representative working with the YWCA in Vancouver. She reported in 1907 that the demand for qualified females far outdistanced the source. In Alberta they sought teachers and urged the BWEA to send more qualified teachers. Ellen Joyce worked diligently on the emigration of these women. She also believed that the successful immigrant woman was one who married. She wrote: A cultured woman takes her love of culture within herself, and in the winter evenings has longer hours for study than we have, or generally use. I only wish that my acquaintance with English Literature had been half as good as that of the wife of a Major in the North West Mounted Police, or that I had kept up my music as she had kept up hers We know quite well that the duties of a housewife do not interfere with her being one of the most educated women in the world.113 She resigned in 1908 due to ill health after serving for 30 years, and Lady Knightley succeeded her as president of the BWEA. In April 1913, the Joyce Hostel was opened in Kelowna, British Columbia, in honor of Ellen Joyce to commemorate her 30 years of service to the organization. The home was intended to provide accommodations for women moving from domestic service to shops and office work. Between 1884 and 1914, about 20,000 women were assisted to the various colonies by the BWEA. Of this number more than 7,000 came to Canada. In 1919, the name of the society was changed and the organization became the Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women.
Women's Protective Immigration Society The Women's Protective Immigration Society (WPIS) held its first annual meeting December 11,1882, in Montreal, Quebec. This organization, established to assist female immigrants upon their arrival in Canada, took a house at 84 Osborne Street in Montreal in May 1882 and, on June 24, took in its first immigrants. The WPIS helped the residents find work. Positions for governesses, companions and "upper servants" were readily available, but the vast majority of the women were placed as domestics. Visits were paid to the women and they were given assistance when they encountered problems in their work or their personal life. The WPIS became a homeaway-from-home for many of them. Close relationships developed between the WPIS and many of the emigration societies. In 1890, the society reported that it had just experienced its most successful year. The society assisted parties sent by the "United British Women's Emigration Association,
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represented by the Hon. Mrs. Joyce. Besides these, women and girls have been sent by the East End Emigration Fund, Self-Help Emigration Fund, Church Emigration Society (represented by Miss Denison) [this was the Church of England agency], Tower Hamlets and one or two each from agents in Birmingham, Manchester, Dublin and Aberdeen, numbering in all 186, viz. 150 English, 9 Scotch, 23 Irish, i Welsh, i German, i French, i Dane."114 Some women returned to the home for assistance in obtaining new positions and the society provided them with shelter during the transition. Ellen Joyce was impressed by the operations of the society and made a suggestion which was taken under advisement: The managers are considering a suggestion made by Mrs. Joyce, that the society should continue a supervision over immigrants after they have left their first or second situations, but owing to the extent of the country and the feeling of independence which naturally grows on these young people after a residence in a colony, this is more difficult than it appears to friends in England, and seems to belong to a different sphere of work than that undertaken by a protective immigration society.115 Mrs. Cornell, the society matron, went to Halifax that year to meet the ships as they arrived; when navigation to Quebec opened, she returned there. Over 400 women were assisted, some going to the home on Mansfield Street in Montreal but many heading to the North West. Mrs. Emily Borland, secretary of the society, continued: On the 13 of August the Hon. Mrs. Joyce, President of the United British Women's Immigration Society of Manchester, England, accompanied by her son, the Rev. A. Joyce, landed in Quebec, bringing with them a number of girls for Quebec, Montreal and Hamilton, and a large party for British Columbia. Several remained at the immigration building to rest before proceeding further, and expressed great satisfaction at the way the immigrants were received and with the accommodation provided. During the season Mrs. Joyce has sent out five large parties of girls, the greater proportion of whom have gone to the North West, and in every instance they have all obtained good situations.11 In the 1894 immigration report the society stated that it had received 180 immigrants that year, which was lower than previous years, due to poor economic conditions in many countries. The immigrants came mostly from the United Kingdom, but a few
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were German, Swedish, French and Belgian. The society was non-sectarian and received parties of Catholics, Church of England, Lutheran, Baptists, Congregationalists, Wesleyans and Presbyterians in this year. They also reported the arrival of seven parties from Mrs. Joyce of the United British Women's Association and one party from Mrs. Foster of the Bristol Emigration Society. However, the society came under some criticism that year from the Church of England, under whose auspices the organization was originally formed. The Church objected to the fact that the home was assisting members of other faiths. Indeed, the society reported that "being supported almost entirely by government and therefore pledged to non-sectarian principles, these cannot be altered in favour of the members of any particular church, even though they exceed in numbers those of other denominations."117 The society provided 24 hours' free room and board and after that a fee of ten shillings a week for room and board. Women looking for work, and some who arrived with children in tow on the way to join a husband, were assisted by the society. Both Lady Hobart and Vere Foster visited the facilities of this organization and sent many of their female emigrants to the home. Other organizations all used the services of the WPIS including: the Women's Emigration Society of London; the Working Ladies Guild; the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants; the Ladies Association for the Care of Friendless Girls; the Girls' Friendly Society of London; the Female Middle-Class Emigration Society; the Training House for Girls; the Vermont Domestic Services Association; and the Devon & Exeter Girls' Reformatory.118 Women from many countries used the facilities of the society. There were the usual English, Irish, Welsh and Scots but, added to that were Swedes, Germans, French, Belgians, Russians, Finlanders and others. Religious persuasions included Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Baptist, Congregationalist, Jewish, Quaker, Lutheran and many more.
Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS) In 1875, Mrs. Nassau Senior was appointed "as the first Woman Inspector under the Poor Law Board, for the schools."119 She produced a report on the education of young girls within the Poor Law system stating that it was ineffectual in preparing the girls for a productive life. "The girls," she stated, "want more mothering."120 In order to solve the problem, she came up with a plan. The Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants was formed in 1875, following Mrs. Nassau Senior's recommendations. Located at 18 Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., the organization had workers such as Miss Poole who assisted with emigration work. The society placed its efforts on the domestic servant in London,
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especially those who had been "brought up in the London poor-law schools."121 It functioned along similar lines to the Girls' Friendly Society with the exception that it visited the girl at her workplace. Mrs. Senior did not want the girls to carry the stigma of the workhouse. "The girls were not to go out as paupers or parish girls; they were to be called young servants, and they were to be befriended, encouraged into self-respect, good temper, obedience and patience, into habits of cleanliness and thorough work, into thrift and independence."122 Although the workhouse could keep the children until they were 16 years old, it was felt that the sooner they could be placed out the better. The influence of the workhouse was not considered conducive to developing an independent person. "When they go out at about fourteen years of age there is still a margin of two years during which the guardians may, in case of failure, supplement their school training by training in some special Industrial home."123 The MABYS worked closely with the Girls' Friendly Society and assisted some of its girls to emigrate to Canada. From its home in London, parties of girls were accompanied to Canada and used the Andrews Home in Montreal. The Self-Help Emigration Society also took some of the girls to Canada and they used the facilities of the Women's Protective Immigration Society, along with other agencies.
James Hack Tuke James Hack Tuke was born in 1819 in Yorkshire, England.124 He was a Quaker and a philanthropist who helped organize famine relief in Ireland. Later, he turned his attention to assisting the Irish to emigrate to Canada and the United States. Many of his emigrants came from the counties of Connaught and Donegal and an overwhelming number of them were young women. James Tuke and William Forster were engaged in relief work during the famine in Ireland through the Society of Friends.125 Mr. Tuke was only too familiar with the condition of the people and, in 1880, he took ship to Canada. While there, he visited Sir John A. Macdonald, who was Prime Minister of Canada, and Sir Alexander Gait, the High Commissioner and talked to them about bringing Irish settlers to Canada and settling them in Manitoba. The government, however, refused to support this venture. In 1881, after returning to Ireland, Tuke "gave a short account of a recent visit to the West of Ireland (described in his article in the Contemporary Review for April), detailing the condition of the Western Unions, the evictions, and the urgent need for emigration."12 Tuke, along with a few other influential men, set up a committee to "assist the emigration of the small holders of land in the West of Ireland, especially from Galway and Mayo."127 The aims of this committee were:
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1. To aid impoverished families, or persons, desiring to emigrate from rural districts of Ireland, especially those in the Western Unions, by the loan or gift of sums of money towards the cost of transit and outfit. It is hoped that if one-half of the cost be found by the Association, the remainder will be forthcoming from local or individual sources. 2. To make arrangements for the embarkation of emigrants and for reasonable outfit, and to provide that on landing, either in the Colonies or the United States, facilities shall be afforded them for reaching the fields of labour to which they desire to go.12 The committee endeavoured to work with the Union by offering a sum of £5,000 to which the Union was to add an additional £2,000. It also proposed to assist families more so than individuals. Regardless of the dire straits of the inhabitants, conflict developed between local businessmen, who also happened to be members of the Board of Guardians, and the committee. The problem was that the shopkeepers believed "that many of the would-be emigrants were in their debt, or well off, and they proposed that I [Mr. Tuke] should submit the lists to their scrutiny, so that 'those deeply in our books, having the means of meeting their just liabilities, but now taking advantage of this emigration scheme in order to avoid them, may be struck off.' "129 The outcome was that the Board of Guardians withdrew its offer of the £2,000, thus curtailing the number of emigrants. Meanwhile, at Newport Union, the Guardians would only assist those from the workhouse to emigrate. This caused a change in plans and James Tuke was only able to offer £3 per fare. He said: ... and this statement is confirmed by the fact, that, in spite of the £3 or £5 that had been allowed to the emigrants, a number of those who came on board the "Nepigon" were most insufficiently clothed, and at the last moment a considerable amount had to be expended on them. No Irishman would leave home willingly in rags, or without shoes and stockings, and the fact that so many, after the allowance deemed needful by the officials, were still so ill-provided with clothing, is an added proof of the oft-repeated story of the abject poverty of these poor people, and of the uselessness of offering to send them out at half-fares.130 On April 28 the Austrian, of the Allan Line, sailed with 201 persons, "families or parts of families,"131 stated Mr. Tuke. The Beaver Line sent two ships, the Nepigon sailed on May 5 with 345 persons on board and the Winnipeg, with 432 on board, sailed on May 19. It was the group on the Winnipeg that Reverend James Nugent of Liverpool
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escorted. Father Nugent had been actively involved in the emigration of children to Canada since 1870, and now he offered his services to assist his countrymen. There were also "289 persons sent out by various other shipments."132 A newspaper account of the sailing states: The 'Nepigon,' which belongs to the Beaver Line, is well-fitted up; the berths are bottomed with canvas instead of the ordinary boards. The captain has the reputation of being most kind and attentive to his passengers. The cCitie of the Tribes' steam tug made two trips to the steamer, and Mr. Keogh, of the Customs, and Dr. Rice cleared and examined the passengers. Mr. Tuke was present, and they all assembled on deck and cheered lustily, men, women and children being in the best spirits.133 Major W.P. Gaskell remained behind to continue James Tuke's work in the west of Ireland. He reported on the fact that without free fares the vast majority of people could not emigrate: And some, indeed, there are among them who, spite of their excessive poverty, maintain themselves in cleanliness and decency; and who deserve, as much as they need, assistance. Emigration to them must be absolutely free; and there is not much hope that either landlords or Boards of Guardians will come forward to help them; for they are waifs and strays whom it is no one's interest to claim. Nor will this emigration tend to clear the "holdings," for they are outside the limits of these.134 "Mr. Tuke's Fund" was forced to shift its effort to assisting single emigrants to North America rather than trying to colonize. Women from Clifden and Oughterard Unions in Galway and Newport and Belmullet in Mayo were provided with emigration assistance. There were 1,276 emigrants registered within a week. "The result was that a clause was introduced in the Arrears of Rent Act in 1882 by which a sum of £100,000 was appropriated for this purpose."135 Additional moneys were made available the following year. In a letter dated February i, 1883, Reverend James Nugent wrote to L. Stafford, agent at Quebec, to tell him of the work he was doing with Tuke to bring Irish emigrants to Canada.136 Nugent had accompanied some 300 Irish emigrants to Minnesota a few years earlier, in 1880, and was hoping the Canadian government would provide assistance. Between April and August of 1883, Tuke's Committee worked with Belmullet, Clifden, Newport and Oughterard Unions from County Mayo to send about 2,000 souls
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to Canada. Many of these emigrants were families.137 Then, in 1884, this work ceased due to opposition from the Catholic clergy. James Tuke continued to campaign for government assisted emigration. He devoted his efforts to the Self-Help Emigration Society and, from 1886, served on the executive committee of the government run Emigrants' Information Office. He died in i896.138
Women's British Immigration League The Women's British Immigration League was involved in the emigration of female domestics. Many of these women were sent into the province of Saskatchewan. The organization used the facilities of the Church of England and used the YWCA to receive and house the women they brought to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In Regina, they used a hostel. Women between the ages of 18 and 25 were brought to Canada to be placed as domestics. Government records show that 140 women arrived in 1926 and the agency was having trouble placing them, turning instead to various other kinds of work. In 1929, the following ships were used to bring parties to Canada: SS Andania, Melita, Regina, Letitia, Duchess of York and the Laurentic. Some of the women continued further west. One report in the collection in the National Archives of Canada tells a tale of two very adventurous young women: The Misses Mildred and Margaret Shackle came out to Canada in July, 1928 destined to Vancouver for housework. They have travelled about the country a good deal never remaining long in one place, and are now reported to be staying at the YWCA in Saskatoon having gone there from our Hostel in Calgary. These two girls are the type described as "better educated" girls and I would be much interested to hear what they decide to do in Saskatoon. They cannot be much of a comfort to anyone as they do not remain very long and seem to be bent on seeing the country.139 This organization also had a hostel in Winnipeg, and at 711 University Drive in Saskatoon. There was also a Teacher's Hostel at Ave A and 3ist Street in Saskatoon. In the fall of 1929, they moved the Hostel from University Drive to 217 Clarence Avenue. Although most of these women were single, some came with children.
Young Women s Christian Association (YWCA) Mary Jane Kinnaird (Lady Kinnaird in 1878) was responsible for the founding of the
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Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in 1855. She started by opening a home "in Upper Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, a Home in which young women above the rank of domestic servants were boarded and lodged for a guinea a week."140 Shop girls also began to use the home as a place to go in their spare time. Other small groups followed including those set up by Miss Emma Robarts, consisting of many branches. In 1877, Mrs. Catherine Pennefather, a friend of Emma Robarts, brought these disparate groups together under the name used by Miss Robarts - Young Women's Christian Association. The organization also offered support and protection to young women wishing to emigrate and established an emigration department. As branches opened in various parts of Canada, the YWCA was used by numerous organizations to house female emigrants. The YWCA also became a hostel to thousands of young women immigrating to Canada, becoming a favourite stop off affording the women a safe place to stay until they were established in a job.
Aberdeen Ladies' Union In 1883, Ishbel Gordon, Countess of Aberdeen, became the first president of the Aberdeen Ladies' Union. "Lady Aberdeen's interests were not confined to domestic and farm servants in rural communities. She also wished to eradicate the causes of female degradation in the city of Aberdeen, where, despite the efforts of churches and charitable societies, she felt moral standards were still disgracefully low."141 The Society promoted the "Emigration of Friendless Girls."142 Some 330 females were sent to Canada over the next 30 years.
Salvation Army The Salvation Army began in England in 1865 under the direction of William Booth. It had long been Booth's desire to assist what he referred to as the "submerged tenth" to a better life in the colonies. It was his firm belief that people should not be blamed for their pauperism, but that such misfortune was caused by socio-economic conditions. The Army, however, was late into the emigration movement. It was not until 1916 that its assistance program for women began. The Salvation Army Women's Migration Scheme was at its peak in the early 19208, states Nicholas Mew in his Master of Arts thesis of 1994. He states that the records of this movement make the period from 19251931, which corresponded to the Empire Settlement Act period, easier to document as the sources are much more complete. Emigrants were accompanied on the voyage by Army officers and were met and
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housed upon arrival in Army placement homes. The Salvation Army, by virtue of its vast organization, was better equipped to follow up on its emigrants and offer assistance through the various branches of the organization across the country. It, unlike other religious emigration organizations, was willing to take people of any faith, always with the hope of conversion. The one great difference between the proposed methods of The Salvation Army Decentralisor and the past migrations of other sects, is worthy of special notice. While it seems to have been up to the present the chief object in settlements made by the various Christion [sic] bodies, each of whom were satisfied that they possessed a perfect knowledge of Scriptural truth, to keep to themselves and exclude from their communion all outsiders, an exactly contrary plan of campaign will for the highest reasons be adopted by The Army.143 In the March 17,1923, edition of The War Cry, it was stated that 981 domestics were assisted to emigrate in 1922 along with 94 children. By 1926, some 4,971 women were listed as having taken the opportunity to emigrate through the auspices of the Army since it began its work.144 These women were placed all across Canada. The Salvation Army acted as a booking agent, thus receiving a commission for each person it booked for a voyage. The Army chartered vessels and because of this, it was able to keep fares down for those migrating. The object was to break even. The female emigrant was responsible for a third of the costs of her expenses. This was to be deducted from her wages by her employer and sent to the Army. However, the Army had strict rules about how much the woman was to be paid and no more than half of the salary was to be withheld for the repayment of her travelling expenses. They also encouraged their female emigrants to spend a little extra and not travel steerage, or third class as it was then known, feeling that second class was a safer way to travel for single women. The Third Class accommodation is thoroughly up to date, and is fitted with small enclosed rooms for married people and families, the vessel having been specially fitted to suit our requirements. We desire, however, to remind our friends, that the Third Class is at the best for many people poor and rough. In our opinion the extra charge for the Second Class is a good investment.145 Upon arrival in Canada there were several receiving centres across the country from
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which to choose. Clinton Lodge at 478 Jarvis Street in Toronto, was used as a hostel for Blue Medical Domestics, as well as women with children. The Depression in the late 19208 and early 19305 forced the Canadian government to take a serious look at immigration. It withdrew its financial support from agencies such as the Salvation Army, thus putting a stop to the process.
Smaller Agencies The Church of England Emigration Society (CES), the East End Emigration Fund, the Self-Help Society, and the Tower Hamlets Mission, Emigration and Colonization Fund, all assisted some young women to Canada. They supplied a protected method of emigration in one of their parties, some offering subsidized passages and clothing.
Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women (SOSBW) With the establishment of the Oversea Settlement Committee in 1919, many women used this subsidized method of coming to Canada. The British Women's Emigration Association worked closely with this agency. The society, by May 1920, was known as the Women's Branch of the Oversea Settlement Department of the Colonial Office. Although the society knew that domestics were in demand in Canada, it also turned some of its efforts in a different direction. It was "arranging for the migration of educated women who could fill key positions overseas in such professions as teaching and nursing and so help to keep up the high standard of these professions overseas as well as to strengthen the bonds of the British Commonwealth by fostering the common ideals for which it stands."146 In 1922, the Empire Settlement Act governed this type of emigration. After only two years in operation, the Canadian government reported: The Empire Settlement Scheme provides that a loan to cover transportation may be made to British women to enable them to come to Canada for domestic work, provided they are healthy and able to comply with the regulations. In order to encourage girls to take situations on the farms, the Empire Settlement Scheme provides that a refund of £6 shall be made to any girl who takes a situation on a farm and remains at that work for one year, and during that time has made satisfactory repayments on her passage loan. It is interesting to note that 90 per cent of these women are satisfactory and the percentage of those failing to repay their loans is small.
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The Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women, which is the Women's Branch of the Oversea Settlement Committee, interviewed and arranged for the transportation to Canada of a total of 620 women and children during the calendar year 1923. These women were sent out in special parties looked after on board ship by a woman appointed by that society and in Canada by the Women's Division which gave them special attention and reported to the Society on the individual cases. ... The society reports that the total amount of loans made to women and children, who in most cases have joined the head of the family [referring to the almost 5,000 men who came to help with the harvest in the west, their families following with this organization] in Canada, has totalled £3,632.13.1. ... The Women's Division is in close touch with the Women's Branch of the Oversea Settlement Committee and is glad to assist them in every way possible, in their efforts for satisfactory settlement, and the results bear witness to the thoroughness of the work done.147 Female officers were stationed at the ports and worked in co-operation with the YWCA, the Red Cross, and various other organizations to meet the women and assist them in their first days in this county. The immigration report of 1924-25 stated that members of the Travellers' Aid, an offshoot of the YWCA, "are on duty early and late to assist all travellers, and the conductresses wire for their assistance in special cases."148 PROVINCES WITH HOSTELS FOR FEMALE IMMIGRANTS
Province Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba
City Halifax St. John Montreal Toronto Winnipeg
Saskatchewan Regina Calgary Alberta British Columbia Vancouver
Street Address House-workers accommodated 163 Young Ave. 43 35 Union St. 18 31 Drummond St. 478 72 Carelton [Carlton] St. 1083 130 Austin St. 69 [Girl's Home of Welcome] 1839 Lome St. 102 th 120 4 Ave. W. 55 997 Dunsmuir St. W. 38
In 1924, the government reported that hostels existed for the protection of female immigrants in most provinces and a list was compiled?49
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In addition to the provincial hostels, arrangements were made for the women to stay for 24 to 48 hours in various "Ys" for free. Victoria, Edmonton, London and Hamilton " Ys"all were assisting with this program. The Catholic Women's Hostel in Montreal and the Catholic Women's League Hostel in Toronto were also used for the new arrivals. "In addition to those who have been accommodated on arrival, girls who are changing situations, or wish a rest, come back to the hostels where they are welcomed, and given advice and assistance."150 The work of this organization continued for many years but the Depression caused a slowdown in the work. It was, however, the Second World War which brought an end to their work.
Women from Other Countries Madame von Koerber's Female Emigrants Elise von Koerber immigrated to Canada about 1856 with her husband, William, a former Austrian military officer. Her husband was employed by the Canadian government and upon his death, in 1872, Elise found it necessary to find work to support her family. A well-educated woman who could speak German, French and English, she found a place with the Canadian government in the immigration branch. At first, Elise worked as a government translator and then was given the position as a special immigration agent in the German-language areas of Europe. In 1872, Elise travelled to England to establish contacts and start her efforts in the immigration field. Her first stop on the continent was in the Duchy of Baden, her own homeland. She was a very good public speaker and many turned out to listen to her as she talked of the benefits of emigration to Canada. She wrote: During my sojourn of almost 16 years in Canada, I frequently had occasion to meet German emigrants, whom I helped whenever I could. I thus became greatly interested in emigration problems which, unfortunately, I found out had been sadly neglected. Matters had been left exclusively in the hands of speculators, and severe regulations promulgated in Europe from time to time contributed very little toward improving the fate of those unfortunate people ... I, unselfish, felt that improvements could be brought about only by people capable of self-sacrifice. I was unable to have my late husband take the same interest in that problem, but after his death, the opportunity offered itself for an attempt to find out whether an energetic woman would have the chance of awakening interest in her ideas, and to ascertain whether her plans could be realized.151
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Madame von Koerber started working in Switzerland with the idea of establishing a Swiss colony in Canada. In October, 1873, she returned to Canada to lay plans for the colony in the Nipissing region, and for the next two years settlers from Switzerland arrived and settled there. A great supporter of female emigration, Elise von Koerber wanted to help in some way. She assisted these young Swiss woman to emigrate and sought the support of the many women's societies. She stated: While living abroad, I have long and attentively watched emigration, and considering the extreme want of females (the working class), the general treatment they receive, the chances they have of establishing their own homes - all this encourages me to say: "why depreciate female emigration, why not rather protect it, and, as the means of doing so, introduce a system which will bring it altogether under the influence of women." Allow me to give here the result of my experience so far: Having followed emigrants throughout their route, I see that the danger for females does not exist so much in the country to which they go, but on the way to it; - there lies the root of the evil and there the protection is necessary, and I doubt not that the "Frauenvereine" [Women's Societies] of all descriptions will receive my suggestions as questions worth consideration, and will ultimately work with me, as another means of bettering the condition of a great portion of our sex.152 Elise knew there were many elements in the way of safe female emigration. Although she praised the workings of the Castle Garden institution (forerunner of Ellis Island) in the United States and the efforts of the immigration agents in Canada, more needed to be done. First, the work was to be removed from "agents" and "speculators" who were paid fees for recruiting the women. Immigration Protection Societies were needed and to this aim, Elise worked on a relationship with the YWCA in Toronto. This organization would receive the women sent to it with letters of introduction from Madame von Koerber.153 The Ontario government helped by paying the first week's stay for the women. The idea was to bring young women who were trained by the "Lette Unions" in dressmaking, sewing, teaching, linen drapery, millinery, etc. The committees in the German-language areas would assist the women at that end and committees in Canada would help the new immigrants upon arrival. The hope was to direct the women into the smaller communities of Canada. The Ottawa Central Committee was formed and consisted of: Mrs. R.W. (Mary A.) Scott, Mrs. John O'Connor, Mrs. (Roberta E.) Tilton,
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Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Cross, Mrs. Pollard, Mrs. Kingford, Mrs. Brophy, Mrs. Borradaile, Mrs. Dennis, Mrs. Zollifoffer, Mrs. K. Arnold, Mrs. A.A. Cameron, Mrs. M. Griffin, Mrs. J. Hill, Miss Woodman, Mrs. Wm Stewart and Miss Kingsford.154 The committee went on to pass a resolution: Whereas, an idea is prevalent that the object of this movement is the encouragement of female immigrants generally, which, it is considered, would be undesirable at the present time, in view of the superabundance of labor of that character, it is resolved: That it be made clearly to appear that the labors of this and other committees working in harmony with it, both in this country and abroad, are to be devoted to finding out in Canada, by communication with the various parts of the country, what may be, from time to time, the particular wants of special localities in the way of governesses, nurses, skilled or ordinary servants, and to take the requisite steps to supply such special want, not countenancing or furthering indiscriminate female immigration.155 They wrote to the Honorable J.H. Pope, Minister of Agriculture and Immigration, asking for his support and requesting that the Central Committee of the Society for the Reception and Protection of Female Immigrants be recognized by the government as the proper agent in this area. In addition, they requested that the current government grants for immigrants continue and that the Ontario government be persuaded to continue its $6 grant as well as the $2 allowance for a week's board. Groups in Berlin, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; Montreal, Quebec; and Ottawa and Toronto, Ontario, offered assistance and a small number of women were brought over and placed in Toronto as nurses and domestics. In 1877, some 62 Swiss came to Canada, some of whom were young women and orphans. In 1878, the number of immigrants rose to 191. The party included servant girls from Wurtemburg and Rhenish Prussia and they went to Montreal and parts of Ontario.156 However, in 1879, the Canadian government saw fit to discontinue Madame von Koerber's contract. Although she continued to work in this area unpaid for a few years, in 1881, she left for England and died, by her own hand, in London.
APPENDIX A
Text of Forms Used by Various Organizations i. Forms used by Miss Maria Rye (a) Form of Indenture Indenture. This indenture, made and entered into the day of A.D. 187 , between Maria Susan Rye, Henry Paffard, Esq., J.P., Mayor, Robert Notman Ball, Esq., J.R, all of Niagara, of the first part, , a minor orphan of the age of years, of the second part, now under the charge and control of the parties of the first part, and of the third part. Whereas the said Maria Susan Rye, an English lady, now residing in the Dominion of Canada, has under her charge a number of orphan children, brought from England by her, for the purpose of finding for them homes, and which said orphans she desires, conjointly with Henry Paffard and Robert Notman Ball, Esq., whom she has appointed guardians of the children aforesaid with herself, to bind out and apprentice, until they shall attain the age of 18 years, and of whom , the party hereto of the second part, is one. Now this indenture witnesseth [sic] that the said parties of the first part, in consideration of the convenants [sic] and agreements herein-after contained on the part of the parties of the third part, and by and with the full consent of the party hereto of the second part, doth by these presents put and bind out as an apprentice the said minor orphan, , the party hereto of the second part, to live with and serve him, and the said party hereto of the third part, for and during and unto the full end and term of years, beginning on the day of the date hereof, and continuing henceforth during the said period of years, fully to be completed and ended on the day of A.D. 18 , during all which period the party hereto of the second part shall well, truly, and faithfully serve the said part hereto of the third part, as help or servant, and shall obey all his lawful and reasonable commands, and that she will do no damage to her said master in his goods, estate, or otherwise, nor willingly, suffer any to be done by others, and that she will not during the said period absent herself at any time from the service of her said master without his consent first obtained; but in all things, as a good and faithful servant and apprentice, shall well demean and conduct herself to her said master. And the party hereto of the third part, in consideration of these premises, promises for himself, his heirs, executors, and administrators, and does hereby convenant [sic] and agree with the parties hereto of the first and second parts, and with each of them, to teach and instruct the said party hereto of the second part, the said , in the knowledge of books, so far as to give her a plain English education, or to cause the same to be done, and to teach and instruct, or cause to be taught and instructed, the said in the arts and duties of housewifery, and the use of the needle, and such other duties as may be necessary to qualify her to obtain a livelihood for herself when the period of her apprentice -
359
ship shall have ended, and to pay due attention to her moral and spiritual culture, and afford her the opportunity and use his authority to induce her to attend some Sundayschool and place of public worship where the doctrines of Christianity, as held by the Protestant denominations, are taught; and that he will furnish and provide suitable and proper meat, food, and clothing, both woollen and linen; and in case of sickness, with medical attendance and medicines, and all other necessaries, except that when the said shall have attained the age of fifteen years, in lieu of clothing he shall pay her wages at the rate of dollars per calendar month until she shall have attained the age of seventeen years; and from that time until the expiration of the period of service herein-before mentioned he shall pay her wages at the rate of dollars per calendar month. In witness whereof the parties herto have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written. Witness.1 (b) Form of Adoption This indenture, made the day of in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, between Maria Susan Rye, Robert Notman Ball, J.P., of the county of Lincoln, and Henry Paffard, Esquire, Mayor of the town of Niagara, of the first part, and of the second, have sent out and delivered to the said party of the second part, for the purpose of being adopted into his family, a minor child in the custody and under the protection of the said Maria Susan Rye, Robert Notman Ball, and Henry Paffard, and now at the age of , and the said parties of the first do hereby transfer to the party of the second part all their right to and power over the said child, subject, however, to the proviso herein-after contained; and the said party of the second part, in consideration of the delivery to him of the said child, and of the labour and services, love and affection, to be received by him from the said child, doth hereby adopt the said child, and take her for his own child, and doth also hereby covenant, promise, and agree with and to the said parties of the first part, that the said party of the second part will protect, maintain, educate, and in all respects regard and treat the said child as he does, would, or should do his own lawful child; that he will bring up the said child and cause it to be instructed in the principles of the Protestant religion, and the said party of the second part covenants with the said parties of the first part, that in case of any breach of the covenant herein contained to be by him performed he will forthwith, whenever requested so to do by the parties of the first part, deliver up said child to the custody of the said parties of the first part. And further, it is hereby expressly understood and agreed, that in case, during the minority of the said child, the party of the second part shall die, or become incapable of carrying out, or neglect to carry out, duly and regularly, all and singular the various obligations inposed [sic] on him by this indenture, the parties of the first part reserve to themselves the right of resuming their control over the said child, or in taking such measures of securing her rights as they may be advised. In witness whereof the parties hereto have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written. Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of .2 360
2. Smyly Home Form I, Co Agree to Receive
of Lot
Con
Tp
RO.
into my home on the following terms also to attend Church and Sunday School regularly. Should it be necessary for to be returned to the Home, notice shall be sent a fortnight beforehand, railway fare paid, and clothes be as good and valuable as at present date. I acknowledge without reservation Miss E.S. Smyly's right of removing from my home and control whenever she sees fit, and I also acknowledge the right of transferring her authority in this respect to her, Miss E.S. Smyly's agent, whose wishes I will respect as if they were Miss E.S. Smyly's, and I promise to return immediately and without loss of time to Miss E.S. Smyly or to her agent whenever either of them may require to be returned. Signed Signed For Miss E.S. Smyly. We call special attention to the clauses on the reverse side of this sheet in regard to clothing. NOTE: An accurate account to be kept by employer of the wages spent in child's clothing, etc. The account to be balanced each year, and said balance to be deposited in Savings Bank. Employers are requested to see that the children write twice a year to Miss E.S. Smyly, also that they communicate with us in event of sickness, and in no case allow the child to go into another family without our permission. Should you change your address notify us at once. No child to be taken out of Ontario without written permission. Our visitors have authority to transact and make arrangements for the children when visiting them, and must in every case see the child alone if they so desire, in order that they may make a full report of each to us. Persons making application for children should send or bring reference from their Minister. Friends knowing of children being ill treated, or in unsuitable homes, will confer a favor by communicating with us. Kindly write by return mail of safe arrival of child. Kindly Sign and Keep.
36!
APPENDIX B
Father Seddon's Last Party of Children, September 24,1898 Revd. Father Seddon's Party for Montreal1 PASS. LIST NO.
362
NAME
AGE
95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 no in 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119
Creedon, Daniel Dorrigan, Pat. Stevens, Christ. Malone, John Roach, Thomas Robinson, Thomas Sexton, James Coffey, Michael Lyons, Jno. Reiglemouth, Chas.J. Armstrong, William Bosley, Joseph Callaghan, Edward Dogne, Frank Dogne, James Hayes, Thomas Smith, Alfred Cox, Frederick Gough, Eugene Ahearne, John Hannon, John Manning, Daniel Sheridan, Pat. Powney, Frederick McCarthy, Denis
14 15 14 14 14 14 15 14 14 14 13 14 12 12 15 13 14 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 14
120 121
Jacobs, Robert Rae, William
13 14
122X i23x i24x 125 126 127
Heuss, Richard* Heuss, George* Wheelwright, Francis* Deere, Charles Terrard, Miss Terrard, Edgar
n 8 10 10 32 25
FROM WHERE
Brantford Union Workhouse Brantford Union Workhouse Chelsea Union Workhouse City of London Union Workhouse City of London Union Workhouse City of London Union Workhouse City of London Union Workhouse Holborne Union Workhouse Holborne Union Workhouse Holborne Union Workhouse Kensington Union Workhouse Kensington Union Workhouse Kensington Union Workhouse Kensington Union Workhouse Kensington Union Workhouse Kensington Union Workhouse Mile End Old Town Hamlet Workhouse St. George's Union St. George's Union St. Marys le [?] Parish [Marylebone] St. Mary s le [?] Parish [Marylebone] St. Mary's le [?] Parish [Marylebone] St. Mary's le [?] Parish [Marylebone] St. Pauerus [?] Union Straud Union West Kane Union West Kane Union Not from workhouse or union Not from workhouse or union Not from workhouse or union not from workhouse or union Matron Attendant
* As the Doctor's Certificate brought out with them individually states as per question "Is he in all respects a fit subject for Emigration to Canada" the certificate of the Doctor states "No." Consequently, Antoine Robert of Montreal, the Society's Canadian Agent, refused to receive the three boys or place them in Canada. Mr. Robert sent Ocean tickets for them to return to England by S.S. (Numidian x'ed out) Parisian sailing from Quebec on (29th Sept. '98 x'ed out) 6th October '98 and cabled to the Society in England to receive them on arrival. Miss Terrard, the Matron who brought them out, went back with them on S.S. Parisian.
363
APPENDIX C
Limerick Union Party of 1865 The list is for the St. David which sailed from Glasgow, Scotland, on April 27,1865; Dublin, Ireland, on April 28,1865; and Kingstown, Ireland, April (no date given), 1865. It arrived in Quebec City on May 12,1865. The St. David was a ship of the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company (Allan Line). The passenger list is "List Number: 5; Captain A.D. Aird." Another date appears on the manifest as: "Immigration office 13 May 1865." (If it was difficult to read the name on the passenger list a ? will appear after the name.) Ticket No. 1407 ii M ii ii ii H ii 1408 it H H H ii H H 1409 H ii n H n n ii 1409 ii n n n
364
Surname Renihan Knox Mack Peln Purtell Tuhly Mara Henely Mack Hayes McMahon Griffin Spellany O'Connor Noonan Hurley Connors Hannery Dunn Connell Moriarty Riordan Ryan Healy Gleeson Carroll Noonan Forde Thus
Given Name Bridget Sarah Bridget Margaret Mary Mary Bridget Ellen Margaret Mary Catherine Ellen Catherine Ellen Catherine Ellen Ellen Ann Eliza Honora Margaret Mary Ann Mary Ellen Catherine Catherine Margaret Bridget
Age 20 22 18 17 26
16 16
26 26 26 20 2O 19 27 2O 20 17 17 26 2O 22 25 2O 18 17 2O 18 38 19
Occupation spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster
Nationality Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish
Notes Renikan?
Pelin? Margaret?
Henshey?
Kate Spealy?
beg.Tkt 1410?
Thews?
Ticket No. n it ii
1411 n H n n n 11
n
1412 n M n n n ii n 1413 n n n n n M n 1414 n n n n n M n 1415 n M M II II II
Surname Given Name Mary Hayes Bridget Kenney Mary Gavin Mary Blake Ann Davy Mary Neville Mary Hammon Susan Delarm Mary Collins Alley Hartny Rose Costello Bridget Halloran Catherine Smith Margaret Wall Bridget Moore Mary Butler Bridget Fitzpatrick Mary Halloran Margaret Quinlevan Margaret Griffin Bridget Cusack Ellen Moriarty Bridget Finnerty Bridget Dwyer Ann Jameson Eliza Phillip Mary Halloran Shanghnessy Margaret Kate McCormack Ann O'Brien Kate Hynes Bridget Harte Ellen Greatux Eliza Purtell Johanna Grogan Mary Derell Catherine Derell Mary Barry Margaret O'Neill Ann Mattiny Margaret Mineham James Sheehy
Age 20 25 17 17 21 24 26 26 23 30 2O 25 26 22 20 22 2O 18 16 28 22 22 2O 2O 18 2O 20 19 16 17 2O 26 16 18 22 24 26 27 30 22 22
9
Occupation spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster spinster boy
Nationality Notes Irish Irish Kinny? Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Delaren/ Delarin? Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Jamison? Irish Phillips? Irish Irish Thaughnessy? Irish sister of Thomas Irish Irish Irish Irish Graytrix? Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish Matteny? Irish Irish
365
Given Name Ticket No. Surname II Patrick Kealing McCormack Thomas 1416 II Ann Kealing II Quinn Bridget II John Dowling II John Hannan II Mary Burke II Patrick O'Neill
Age 9
Nationality Notes Irish 22 brother of Kate Irish 8 Irish 8 Irish 8 Irish Irish 9 10 Irish Irish possibly related 9 to Margaret O'Neill above William 9 O'Neill boy Irish * The first column represents the ticket numbers issued by the Allan Line; for example, ticket #1407 was issued for eight people travelling together.
366
Occupation boy labourer girl girl boy boy girl boy
APPENDIX D
A Fegan Boy's Story1 On September 21,1932,1 was placed in Mr. Fegan's Homes Inc., an unloved, unwanted boy, ten years of age who had never truly lived in a regular nuclear family. I will always remember that short journey from Euston station in London to that beautiful historic town of Stony Stratford, the home of the "Cock and Bull Story" but also the home of Mr. Fegan's Homes Inc. So began my five-and-a-half year odyssey that ended in this wonderful land of Canada. One thing I find interesting is the same gentleman that brought me from London to Stony Stratford also led our party of fifteen lads from the Canada Training Farm in Kent, England, to Toronto, Canada, and his name was Michael J. Smith. April 8,1938, at dawn we were roused from our beds (I did not require much rousing I slept very lightly that night), this was the great adventure, Indians, Eskimos, Pioneers, Log houses, no roads - no! us Fegan boys were much more knowledgeable about Canada. I will always remember the beautiful photographs that hung in the dormitories, that were given to the home by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1922 after they were through with them at the World's Fair at Wembley, showing pictures of some of our great cities, as well as the Rockies, the prairie, farm scenes in the east, even pictures of Indian camps complete with the traditional teepee. After breakfast we donned our new suits and were driven to the railway station at Mar den, where we boarded our train for London, and our journey would really begin, because the CPR had arranged a "boat train" to Liverpool from London, so our ticket took us from London, England, to Toronto, Canada. The train ride from Euston in London seemed to be long and boring, despite the many interesting sights. My mind was focused on that great ocean liner and the journey across the Atlantic to a new life and a new country; we were the Empire builders, you know, and we had great expectations. I now vividly remember the beautiful English countryside. The back gardens with seedlings sprouting in neat rows, the football and rugby fields, numerous church spires, and the hawthorn and gorse growing along the railway embankments. When I was a very small boy, I had travelled that same line with my Dad and it revived memories of happy times, as we passed the great railway junction at Crewe with its myriad railway tracks and hundreds of rolling stock. Finally we arrived in Liverpool, to my young eyes, not a very pretty town. Like most industrial port cities at that time it was suffering from the malaise and hardship of the thirties. It was from such cities that the home movement began seventy years before. Finally we arrived at the dock, with the long row of huge cranes, and great stacks of goods and merchandise waiting to be shipped all over the U.K. There she was! That great liner the Duchess, waiting to take us to that land we had only read about in our geography books; the land of milk and honey, where anything could be accomplished, where motor cars were automobiles, shops were stores, and Friesian cows were Holstein cows. No doubt about it Canada would be changed forever; you can always tell an Englishman but you can't
367
STUDY THIS CAREFULLY from time to time.
DONT'S - AND - DO'S. 1) flAM^TT leave your place without our per1/Uil 1 mission, this only brings further trouble to you. No boy is per. jnitted to stay at any place he goes to himself, If you have any difficulty, write to the "Home" immediately.
I (£) \\f\ write home to your friends regularly, \ U\J say on the first day of each month. If j short of stationery or stamps, ask your people to obtain some for you and charge i same to your wage account Write CHEER\ FULLY, 'not COMPLAIN1NGLY.
2
^ HAN'T Hften t0 °ther f°lks "y*"?8" ! (7) nfl alwavs speak the truth/whenever the 1/V/ll 1 about the people you live with, ? jJ\J <>ccaii0l, and whatever the cost. If you and do not gossip with others ' ^ve made a mjstake, or forgotten, or about the family affairs of your employer. • even broken anything, own up like a man and Remember what you see and hear is PRIVATE frankly admit it* IT PAYS BEST, and should not be repeated elsewhere^;, ' " | * ______™___™_^™__»
D0
i
» DON'T err Esaraac-ti"' «w.isr as" sfss * -ifr+frs&zsfsrzz H~ tr-,,ot<w4 t>e trusted.
,---4& • ^r
J
,-
r^-^f^r^
i he possibly can. Take his advice and vou will ^; not make "many mistakes. " -.
(4) TWYM*1!11 be cruel to cattle or horses, etc. I _ __ . ^' .«. f llUfl 1 ,*&&**** that dumb animak (9) BO take care of your mALlHf, ke care of r
.s*--
ie feelings just like vou.
52 **
>'°« CTARACI^!
carc of . Nevfe ,th^ teeding or watering them is Cruelty. Ke _- *** lake y°ur CLOTHES ! &fc kind to them and they will generally become fP .f**** a" the tltne and'cultivatc a u regular obedient to you, " maam whidi nothing can wipe off. This is very IMPORTANT. (18) Flfl be kind and courteous to ever\*body— rf • tS) l\nNfT n^e^ CHURCH and Sunday I l/Vl particularly to Women and Children* JL/V/IT| 1 School. No person commands ! Keep on good terms with the respect who is negligent in this j ** MISSUS/* and do any chore for her that you matter. \Ve expect vou to attend regularly, and | are able to. BE especially gentle where there are will remove a boy immediately from any place \ young firis, and never show any rudeness whatever where this is not made possible. j to them. THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT.:
DO NOT USE OTHER PEOPLE'S SWEAR WORDS—BE a Boy—not a Parrot!.1 TEXTS—** Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men," TVo*. 4* 14.
1
Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." Iwiak 26, 4
[ADDRESS. ^OUR, ^TITERS AS FOLLOWS:— n"*~p f«*rvy A r- ~- "*.
^AS^^mJ^^J^Skf^^^f^^^^f^^^f^^
^^Mj^ ; X *' *( :;nO^T6 n''"" i (TeIeplJoW?lElA^^f^0^39rv>
^uu DUulutiu, Horn*. ' *^^*"@twrge-Stfie€tf '
_
^P^f^iferZ^lpt
The text of a code of behaviour given to Dick Wright when he arrived at the Fegan Distributing Homes in Toronto in 1938. Courtesy of Dick Wright.
368
tell 'em much, eh? We were boarded right away; all we had to do was line up two by two; came natural to us lads we had been doing it for years. And so began my journey into the unknown. At four o'clock on Friday, April 8,1938, the tug boats guided the ship out into the river Mersey, and we were on our way, to the cheers of people on the dock who had come to see friends and relatives off. As I stood leaning on the ship's rail, oblivious to those around me, watching the land fading in the evening light, it hit me! I was watching the land of my birth "England's green and pleasant land" disappearing, perhaps forever. I tried to choke back the tears at the realization of the enormity of the decision I had made some months before. Sixteen-year-old boys do not cry, at least they do not let other fellows see them, so I stole a quick look at my buddies, and saw others who were having much the same thoughts as I. However we were soon engulfed in the excitement of being shown to our cabin, deciding who we would bunk with and who would sleep in the top bunk. We were traveling third class, but to us boys it was fit for royalty. We had hardly settled in, when the cabin steward brought around a large bowl of fruit and offered us a choice, then informed us "tea" would be served in the third class dining room at five sharp. Served? That just was not in our vocabulary, but we were quite versatile and soon became used to it. I wonder what first class was like? Friday evening and Saturday were quite uneventful. The Duchess stood off Belfast to take on mail and a few more passengers, then sailed north up the Irish Sea to Greenock in Scotland, and took on more mail and passengers. When we turned in on Saturday night, all was calm, the ship was steaming along on an even keel and sleep came so easy. Sunday morning? Something was wrong; the bunk was moving. Our cabin was right on the waterline and when I looked through the porthole glass, one moment I could see across the waves, and next there was just a wall of water. I had to investigate, so out of my bunk I jumped, ready to run up on deck and see the great Atlantic Ocean. I got as far as the companion way and "died." Everything I had eaten for the last week was deposited on the lower deck! I did not see the great Atlantic for two days. I still am absolutely paranoid if I think I may throw up. It was two days before I was able to go up on deck and play shuffleboard, stare at the ocean as it hurried past the ship, or make acquaintance with some of the other passengers, including a couple of lovely young ladies about my own age. Somehow I seemed to enjoy their company more than some of my chums, but all good things come to an end when a fatherly voice says "come along girls, it's time to ...." Finally, when most of us had recovered from our rude introduction to the ocean, somebody discovered a football, and we found a wonderful place to play the game as only English kids can. The stern deck, reserved for third class passengers, was ideal until some kid kicked the ball overboard. The skipper refused to "heave to" to allow us to rescue the ball. That would be our fourth day out and we were probably half way across the Atlantic when one of the crew told us Mr. Smith would like us to gather where we had lifeboat drill, so we all hurried for this impromptu meeting wondering what it was all about. When we were all assembled, we were told Captain Meikle would like us to visit him in the lounge. This was an honour, so we could not wait to meet him. Captain Meikle was held in very high esteem by the members of the crew as he had fought in the Battle of Jutland in 369
the Great War [First World War]. He was known as a man who skippered his ship with a firm eye to perfection, and was quite aristocratic. It was a pleasant surprise to find a man with a wonderful sense of humour, who obviously enjoyed talking to us young men. He also spoke with an engaging Scottish brogue, which put us even more at ease. He then commenced a tour of the ship taking us to places most passengers would never see. He took us on the bridge and even let a couple of us take the helm for a couple of minutes, explained the purpose of the gyroscopes that give the ship stability (how come I nearly died from seasickness!). We visited the engine room that powered this great liner; the engines were steam turbines and the noise was deafening, no stokehold a la Titanic, as the ship was powered with bunker oil the same as most of our great lakes steamers. He also showed us the spotless kitchens and, believe it or not, the freezers that were kept at zero degrees R Now I knew why the menu was so varied. They even had corn on the cob. One of our guys actually ordered a cob and tried to eat it with a knife and fork, as you would roast beef, until a kindly Canadian passenger explained it was not bad manners to hold it in your hands and just eat the outside. As the ship drew nearer to the east coast of Canada, we sighted the odd iceberg. They looked so close and yet we were told they were over a mile away. It was less than thirty years since the Titanic disaster. The year before a lady visited the home who was on the Titanic and told us of her experiences, so icebergs were a reality to me. We saw whales coming quite close to the ship, no doubt out of curiosity. Before we sighted land the sea became quite calm, and we all wondered why until a member of the crew explained how the current from the mighty St. Lawrence can affect the ocean six hundred miles offshore. Finally we sighted land and then the inevitable ice floes grinding along the sides of the ship, all one could see, as far as the eye could see, was ice. We knew we would soon be in Canada, the land of eternal ice and snow. A few days later we would be in Toronto, and receive a rude awakening, I was in the tropics I thought, perhaps Fegans had sent me to Tahiti by mistake! Now I know why I nearly freeze to death when I visit the Old Country. [Dick is referring to the fact that it was an unusually warm spring day when he arrived in Toronto - but that soon changed!] Now came the most interesting segment of the journey, the trip up the river to Montreal, Newfoundland a ghostly grey to the north, Cape Breton a faint smudge on the horizon to the south. Gradually the land became clearer as the Duchess passed very close to Anticosti Island - a truly beautiful sight to behold, and completely uninhabited by humans. So we travelled upriver to Quebec, no more sickness, just a lovely holiday for a party of fifteen young teenage boys, who had been used to strict military discipline and a very structured life. At last our first look at Canada, the beautiful City of Quebec, but from our viewpoint, anchored in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, it did not look so great. What appeared as a somewhat poverty stricken village perched on top of a cliff was the historic city of old Quebec, built by early settlers three hundred years ago, as I was to discover when visiting some fifty years later. It was here that Mr. WJ. Hutchinson, Fegan's representative in Canada, came on board to escort us on to Montreal, and also with the help of some Canadian Immigration officials facilitate our landed immigrant status. The next day, a Sunday, we started for Montreal, a long journey as we ran into fog and had to drop anchor and blow the fog horn every two minutes, a nerve-racking experience to say the least. Being Sunday, there was a church service in the dining room and, as the Bishop 370
Richard (Dick) Wright and his 1938 sailing group of young men at their "having-off" party per the S.S. Duchess of Bedford, dated April 8,1938. Back row (l-r): William J. Bentley, Ronald S. Warren, Louis W. Etchell, James R.K. Kirk, Ted Leach; middle row (l-r): Harold R.C. (Dick) Wright, Ernest G. Topple, James W. Jay, Ronald C.G. Wilson, Leonard J. Fitzgerald, Leonard R. Knight; front row (l-r): Walter W. Buttle, Ronald Dray, Peter Rogers, John H. Mills. Courtesy of Dick Wright. of Athabasca was travelling to Canada, he was engaged to hold the service. He knew there was a group of boys on board, so we were asked to sing at the service. Now when it came to music we were well trained. I will ever be indebted to the Fegan Home for my love of music, good music, not the cacophony of juvenile clatter that is generating millions for many socalled artists who wouldn't know a bar from a crowbar. I well remember the passengers' applause after singing a number of the old hymns, especially when applause was a "no-no" in church in those days. The third class lounge was another place where people enjoyed congregating to sit and play cards, drink from the bar, and of course smoke, everyone smoked in those days. There was a very nice organ in the lounge and Uncle Hutch, as we called him, soon spotted it. He was the organist in Jarvis Street Baptist Church in Toronto. He rounded up as many of us as he could find, gathered us around the organ, gave us a hymnal, and played the first chord of a hymn. Well, I can assure you we were not very enthused about singing gospel songs in that atmosphere, but nevertheless we continued to sing. Slowly the cards lay still on the tables, the liquor stayed in the glasses and the dice ceased to roll, as everyone gave us their undivided attention. An elderly gentleman with a large cigar put his head in his hands and started to sob, as we sang "When the roll is called up yonder." It was a surprise to a group of teenagers to see that sort of reaction from a room full of strangers. We left the room that evening quite subdued. I later saw Uncle Hutch sitting with the man, having a somewhat intimate conversation. 37i
At last, Montreal, soon we would set foot on Canadian soil and the great adventure would begin. Slowly with the help of those little tugs our ship was docked, the gangway was lowered, and passengers started to disembark, any pangs of homesickness were gone, as with suitcase in hand we hurried off the boat to gather on the dock to wait for further instructions. Uncle Hutch was in charge now, he had done this many times before, so we were quickly loaded into taxis and taken to the railway station. At the station our trunks suddenly appeared, we had not seen them since packing them in England, and Uncle Hutch gave us strict orders that we should allow no one to carry our trunk for us. The reason for this soon became evident when a porter asked if I would like him to carry my trunk to the train. When I declined, he said, "Sonny, you are like an elephant, you carry your own trunk," then he picked it up and carried it to the baggage car. One of my colleagues said, "You have to pay him." The porter, who was a kindly black man, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Welcome to Canada." I remember walking past one of those huge steam locomotives, and marvelling at the tremendous size. This was symbolic of how I would continue to become awestruck with the size of my adopted land, since arriving in Canada I have travelled much of this land and still marvel at its size and complexity. Soon the train pulled out from Montreal, and through the towns and cities of eastern Ontario, following the St. Lawrence River and then Lake Ontario, a part of the world I had only studied in school. I was very surprised to see the desolate landscape, not a blade of green grass, not an animal anywhere, was this a part of Ontario where there was no rain? Everything was brown, it must be very dry, or perhaps there was a serious drought. What I had not realized was that this was not April in "England's green and pleasant land" but the result of Canada's harsh and frigid winter. In a couple of weeks I would see the result of our later but still beautiful spring. "Toronto the good?" I have lived almost within sight of this wonderful city, courted my wife (she worked in a munitions plant during the Second World War) sold some of my produce there. My first child was born in Toronto, and I have watched the city grow to the world class city it is today. On our arrival we were housed at Fegan Lodge, 647 Broadview Avenue, for three glorious days, where Uncle Hutch and his wife cared for us. Arrangements were made for a number of limousines to drive us fifteen boys on a tour of the city, and I well remember how pristine and clean the city appeared compared to English cities like London. We went swimming at the Broadview YMCA (in the nude) swimsuits were not allowed - for sanitary reasons we were told. Uncle Hutch sat us down and gave us a long lecture on how we should behave when we went to our new job, including our behaviour toward the ladies, in other words a lesson about sex, a rather taboo subject in those days. So ended what to me was an epic journey into the unknown. Sixty-one years later I can look back and realize what a wise decision I have made, Canada is truly a land of opportunity. These are the contents of my trunk given to me by Fegan when I came to Canada: One trunk of excellent quality. One overcoat Garters, laces, studs and cufflinks 37*
Two suits of excellent quality, one was blue-striped, the other was brown with a very fine pin-stripe. (Unfortunately I grew out of them very quickly.) Two suits of underwear Two nightshirts Four pairs of socks One pair of braces Two ties Two pairs of work trousers Two pairs of boots Four handkerchiefs One hairbrush One pair of plimsolls (running shoes) One clothes brush Two pairs of overalls Two shoe brushes One work jacket (I still have them.) One Jersey (sweater) One toothbrush One comb One Sunday cap One work cap One razor (I still have it.) One ear flap cap (I never wore it, it looked so funny.) Books: Bible, Traveler's Guide, Pilgrims Progress. Daily Light on our Daily Path One scarf Three dress shirts Stationery (We were encouraged to write home often.) Three shirt collars Richard (Dick) Wright
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APPENDIX E
Text of a 1903 Barnardo Advertisement1 NATIONAL WAIFS' ASSOCIATION
(Dr. Barnardo's Homes) Patron - Her Majesty the Queen. Is the UNOFFICIAL Waifs' Society of the NATION, and of ALL the Churches. The children are placed either in the Church of England Section or in the Nonconformist section, according to the religion of their parents. Has a Branch or Branches in almost every County. Has to-day OVER 7,000 BOYS and GIRLS under its care. Freely ADMITTED, 3,501 FRESH CASES in 1902, and maintained during the year 9,785 children. NEVER DECLINES a Destitute Child, even if Sick, Afflicted, Incurable or a Helpless Infant. Admits Waifs and Strays who have been rejected by every other Society. Is FREELY ADMITTING Seventy new cases every week from all over the Kingdom. SEARCHES FOR AND SEEKS OUT Necessitous Children in the Slums of all our great Towns. NO ELECTION; NO WAITING LIST; No Money Promise needful; No Barriers on account of age, Sex, Creed, Nationality, or Physical Health. Destitution is the only and essential qualification. To all capable of LEARNING TRADES, careful Technical Instruction is imparted. Twenty different Industries being taught daily to OVER 800 YOUNG PEOPLE in the various workshops, &c. An organized system of EMIGRATION to our Colonies has been in active operation for 21 years, OVER 1,200 BOYS and GIRLS were emigrated during this year. Has already rescued, trained, and placed out in life 52,453 Orphan Waifs. AT LEAST £200 PER DAY is required for Food alone. £16 will support one child for a year. £10 will cover all Cost of Emigrating one boy or girl. BRASSEY, President. WILLIAM FOWLER, Treasurer. HOWARD WILLIAMS, Chairman of Council. THOS. j. BARNARDO, Founder and Director. GEORGE CODE, Hon. Secretary. Bankers: London and South-Western Bank, Union of London, and Smith's Bank, Limited. Head Offices: 18 tO 26 STEPNEY-CAUSEWAY, LONDON E.
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APPENDIX F
Smyly Home Boys From Canada Who Enlisted in World War I, October 8,1915' Robert Westa Abraham Vauleau? William Hyut (wounded) James Guilfoylea John? Binns Arthur O'Connor5 David Blackb James Burkeb (*Sept. 1916, Somme) William Chillen? Thomas Conway Henry Elston Neville Oldfield (*died) Joe Snodgrassc Albert Gravesd Fred Johnsond Charlie Webbe Alexander Walters" Arthur Hodginse James Beattiee
John Simse (*Sept. 19,1916) Pat Bradner6 Monell? Anlisell? Evans Antisell? Sam Kenderick James Clemens Sam McEnnery Cecil Duffy Perry White? (wounded) William Clarke James Shipp? Joseph Smiler [Smiles]f Willie Gilla Charlie GilT A. McNabbf John Shanks Tom Waferf George Bakera Dick Williams6 (killed at Festubert)
Some who came before we had Hespeler [referring to the fact that Smyly children came in Macpherson parties before the Hespeler home was open]: Tom Lambert Bobbie Low
Tom Newton Walter Shipp8
Ships the boys arrived on (as known): a. Tunisian May 12,1906 c. Tunisian June 12,1909 e. Tunisian May 15,1910 g. Virginian May 21,1914
b. Tunisian May 11,1907 d. Tunisian August 6,1909 f. Corsican May 13,1912
* Indicates those known to have died in the war.
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APPENDIX G
Number of Children Immigrated as Recorded by G. Bogue Smart1, 1900-24 Fiscal Year 1900-1 1901-2 1902-3
977
1903-4 1904-5 1905-6 1906-7 1907-8 1908-9 1909-10 1910-11 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14 1914-15 1915-16 1916-17 1917-18 1918-19 1919-20 1920-21 1921-22 1922-23
2212
1923-24
376
Children Emigrated
1540 1979 2808 3264
1455 2375 2424 2422 2524 2689 2642
2318 1799 821 251 --155
1426 1211 1184 2O8O
APPENDIX H Circular of 1895 Sent to Agencies Involved with Immigrant Children In June 1895, the government of Canada sent a circular to the agencies it believed were involved in child migration. The questionnaire contained eight questions and each agency was asked to complete the form and return it to the government.1 The questions were: 1. On what terms are they placed out, & are these terms set forth in any duly signed documents? 2. What measures do you take to ascertain that the applicants for Children are able to sustain the responsibility? 3. Do you keep in communication with the children until they attain some particular age? 4. Do you make an inspection of the children after they have been placed? 5. Do you keep records of the children? 6. Are you placed in possession of any of the past history of a child before it reached Canada? 7. If you learn that a child is ill-treated, what action do you take? 8. If the employer makes complaint against a child, what action do you take? Remarks. With the exception of one agency, the Sisters of the Church, which stated it was not involved in child migration, the agencies returned the forms to the government. Some of the answers to these question are very informative and question number five, almost without exception, was a resounding yes; all agencies did keep records, how good or bad they were is not specified. The circular was sent to the following agencies (shown in order of appearance on official documents): • Frank Hills, Manager, Dr. Stephenson's Children's Home, Hamilton, Ont. • Miss Stirling, Hillfoot Farm, Aylesford, N.S. • Miss Rye, Our Western Home, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. • Dr. Barnardo's Home, A.B. Owens, 214 Farley Ave., Toronto, Ont. • Rev. R. Wallace, Marchmont Home, Belleville, Ont. • Wm. Quarrier, Fairknowe Home, Brockville, Ont. • Miss Macpherson, Boys Home, Stratford, Ont. • J.T. Middlemore, Children's Emigration Homes, St. Luke's Rd., Birmingham • The Sister-in-Charge, Sisters of the Church, 90 York St., Toronto, Ont. • Church of E., Waifs & Strays Society, Jno. P. Wells, Sec., Sherbrooke, P.Q. • Liverpool Catholic Children's Protective Soc., c/o Miss Brennan's Home, 11. St. Thomas St., Montreal & c/o Rev. G.M. Godts, St. Ann's Church, Montreal 377
• Catholic Ch. Protective Soc., Salford, c/o St. Ann's Home, 195 Ottawa St., Montreal • Fegan Home, W.H. Brace, 295 George St., Toronto, Ont. • Mrs. Birt, Knowlton, P.Q. • Can. Cath. Em. Com., c/o Mr. A. Robert, Archbishop's Place, Montreal • Mark Whitwell & Mrs. Forster, c/o S. Gardner, D. Imm. Agt. St. John, N.B. • Bristol Emigration Society, c/o S. Gardner, D. Imm. Agt. St. John, N.B. • Stanley Boys' Home, Mr. Shuttleworth, Brantford, Ont. • Self Help Em. Soc., Secy, 813 Craig St., Montreal, P.Q. • Gordon Boys' Home, Rev. Stearne Tighe, Emerald P.O., Amherst Island, Ont. • Croydon Union, (Eng.) Supt., Finley Home, Quebec, P.Q. • Childrens Aid Soc., c/o Comm. Dom. Lands, Winnipeg, Man. • Manchester Homes, Norman T. Lee, Agt., Grenfell, Assa., N.W.T. • Com. Park Row Industrial School, E. Walters, Agt., New Glasgow, P.Q. • Secy, Southwark Dio. Education Council & Rescue Socy (354 Sussex St., Ottawa) [the word cSecy.' is crossed out and 'Rev. Lord Archibald Douglas' is written in.] • Wellington Farm School, Penwick, Scotland, S. Gardner, St. John, N.B.
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APPENDIX I List of Institutions: Reformatories, Farm Schools, Industrial Schools, Ragged Schools To compile the following list of institutions, sources, including records at the National Archives of Canada, the Federal government of Canada's Sessional Papers and the British government's Parliamentary Papers, were used. Data was also collected from the British government's Report of the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the Departmental Committee on Reformatory and Industrial Schools, 1896 and other such reports. A brief description follows each institution for which information could be found. Destinations and number of children are given when they were available but this list is probably incomplete. The names of some of the institutions may be in error but they are given as they were found in the records. It is also possible that some of these institutions were neither industrial schools nor reformatories. It should also be noted that many children from Industrial Schools came in parties of various other organizations, such as the Roman Catholic Church and the National Children's Home. Acton Reformatory: Located in Essex. Only a few boys are listed from this institution. Allesby Farm Reformatory (Allesley): Located near Coventry, was certified in 1856, Girls were sent to Canada in 1862. Alloe Reformatory: Located in Essex. Records show that boys were sent to Canada from this institution in 1877. Almond Rock Farm School: Located in Birmingham and sent two boys to Richmond, Quebec, in 1894. Ballinasloe: Located in Ireland; was a Reformatory and Industrial School for girls. Barnes* Home Industrial School: Founded in 1871 and was located near Stockport, Lancashire. Some boys from this home were sent to Qu'Appelle (in present day Saskatchewan). Eleven were sent in 1887. Bedfordshire Reformatory School: A reformatory for boys located near Bedford at Carlton and was certified in 1857. Records show boys from this institution were sent to Melbourne, Quebec. Six boys were sent in 1886. Beesdale Reformatory: (Sometimes listed as Lancashire Reformatory or Bleasdale.) See North Lancashire Reformatory. Birkdale Farm Reformatory: Located at Southport, run by the Roman Catholic Church; was founded near Liverpool about 1854. The farm could house up to 200 boys. An agent was found in Toronto to help the boys find work in Canada, while some were sent into the United States. Later the boys were sent to Canada through the Catholic Church agencies, such as the Catholic Emigration Society, Southwark Catholic Emigration Society, and the Catholic Children's Protective Society. Between 1854 and 1894, about 193 boys were sent to Canada of whom about 25% returned to England. Some, however, made Canada their home and sent for parents and other family members to join them. It was said that some boys "emigrated 379
from Liverpool to Rootle (a town located just a few miles north of Liverpool) by way of Canada."1 Records list 12 boys in 1886 and four in 1894, this latter group going to Toronto. Blandford Reformatory: Located in Dorsetshire; six boys arrived on the Thames on September 11,1871. Boys' Agricultural School: Listed as being in London, this institution sent six boys to Canada in 1881. Boys Farm School: This institution is listed as being in Birmingham. Two boys were sent on the Nova Scotian, arriving on May 23,1882. Boys Home: This institution is listed as being in Kent and sending boys. Boys' Home/Boys' Refuge: This institution was listed on (Great) Queen Street, Whitechapel, London, and run by Mr. W. Williams. It sent five boys on the Ganges, May 19,1870. The agent at London, however, reported: On the 4th May, Mr. W. Williams of the Boys' Refuge, Great Queen Street, sent forward 65 stout, fine-looking lads from the Society's farm at Risley, each supplied with an excellent outfit, consisting of working and Sunday clothes; they were consigned to gentlemen in Hamilton and Paris, [Ontario] who had kindly arranged for their reception and service. A further shipment of 17 was made in the middle of June.2 Four boys came in 1871 on the Austrian arriving on June 19, then 20 on the Severn arriving on June 22, with 13 more on the Medway, arriving on June 30, and 10 on the Prussian arriving on August 7. There was a much larger party of 65 boys who were placed in the Hamilton and Paris, Ontario, area. A party of 40 boys is listed in 1884. Boys' Home: Listed on Southampton Street, London. There were 62 boys sent on board the Scandinavian arriving on May 17,1870. Boys' Home: Listed at Hampstead. A party of 24 is recorded in 1873; five on the Polynesian on May 25, and 19 on the Prussian on June 9. Brighton Emigration Society: The Brighton Emigration Society, although neither a reformatory nor an industrial school, was actively involved in the emigration of both boys and girls from many of the local industrial schools starting about 1872. Brighton Industrial School: Located at Brighton. It is listed in the 1873 immigration report as sending 24 children to Canada. There were 14 boys and 10 girls in the party which arrived on May 20, on the Nestorian. Brighton and London Ragged Schools: Norman Hamilton placed these children in Brant County, Ontario. The children came from the Brighton and London Ragged Schools. He had no British or Canadian home. Hamilton, a resident of Paris, Ontario, seems to have operated between 1863 and 1876. Bristol Emigration Society: The Bristol Emigration Society, although neither a reformatory nor an industrial school, was actively involved in the emigration of both boys and girls from local institutions. Park Row Industrial School for boys and Carlton House Industrial School for girls were two of the institutions which used this agency. It placed children mostly in 380
New Brunswick and worked out an arrangement for use of the Sailors' Home in Saint John if a child was returned or was in need of assistance. (See also Chapter 6.) Bristol Industrial School: This institution, listed at Bristol, sent boys to Annapolis, Nova Scotia. Brixton Metropolitan Industrial Reformatory: Located in London. Buxton Reformatory: Located at Norwich, Norfolk, a reformatory for boys. The institution was certified in 1855. Boys were sent to Richmond and Melbourne, Quebec. One report lists six boys arriving in 1888. Byfleet Industrial School (or By-Fleet School): Located in Surrey and sent boys to Canada in 1875. Carlton House Industrial School: Located in Bristol. This institution sent girls to New Brunswick with the aid of the Bristol Emigration Society. The Saint John, New Brunswick, agent, Samuel Gardner, also claimed to have placed about 50 boys and girls a year from this and other institutions in the Bristol area. Child Home: The Child Home is listed as being in London & Lancashire and at least 26 children were sent to Canada. Children's Aid Society: Although neither a reformatory nor an industrial school, the Children's Aid Society of London, England - Canadian Branch, Shaftesbury Home, was actively involved in the emigration of children from various reformatories and industrial schools. Many of these children were taken to the society's Winnipeg home. Records show Reverend John Bridger and Arthur L.S. Maddison brought children to Winnipeg in 1893. Church of England Church Farm: An Industrial School located in Staffordshire. It sent many of its children to Canada through the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society; usually boys to Sherbrooke, Quebec, and girls to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Cumberland Industrial School: Located at Cockermouth, Cumberland; opened in October 1881. About 150 boys could be housed in the institution which first took Cumberland boys but later the intake encompassed a wider area. Trades were taught at the institution, including shoemaking, tailoring, blacksmithing, painting and decorating, carpentry, bricklaying and plastering. There was a band which was in demand for concerts and processions. As well, the boys built their own swimming pool. Cumberland sent a few boys to Huntingdon, Quebec.3 Two other boys, Christopher and John Greenhoy, were sent to Toronto. East Birnet Industrial School: Located in Hertfordshire. It is listed as sending three boys to Indian Head (in present-day Saskatchewan) in 1894. East Chapelton Reformatory: Located in Glasgow, Scotland. Placed girls in cooperation with the Maryhill Industrial School of Scotland, mostly into New Brunswick. East End London Industrial School: Sent four boys to Lynn, Ontario, in 1894. Everton Terrace Industrial School: Also called the Liverpool Industrial Ragged School; located in Liverpool. Boys are recorded as coming from this institution in 1885,1886, and 1888, to a total of 18. Fechney Industrial School: Located near Perth, Scotland; placed boys with neighbouring farmers for training prior to emigration to Canada.
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Feltham Industrial School, Middlesex: Feltham, (sometimes referred to as Middlesex Industrial School at Feltham, sometimes as London Reformatory and sometimes as Feltham Reformatory) was founded in 1854 by the London County Council. Feltham could house 750 boys, making it one of the largest, if not the largest, institution of its kind in Britain. It was intended to receive boys aged seven to 14 years of age under the same conditions as other industrial schools. However, the London County Council sent boys who should have been in a reformatory to Feltham as well. This made the job of the staff very difficult because first time offenders were now consorting with hardened criminals. In 1866, the Ottawa immigration agent reported: In the early part of the year, three boys from the Middlesex Reformatory arrived here and were provided with situations; but, I am sorry to add, they proved worthless characters, and refused to work and left their places; it is to be feared that they may ere long, if not already, be found to be inmates of our Canadian Prisons.4 The note from the immigration agent stated that all expenses incurred by the boys were reimbursed by the institution. James Macpherson, immigration agent at Kingston, reported on the following boys: Samuel and William Fox were sent to Adolphustown arriving at Kingston on May 10,1865; on May 30, W. Pretty and two others were sent to Camden by stage; May 29, C. Blake was sent to Fredericksburgh and bread was supplied and passage on the steamer was paid for by the agent; George Diden arrived on July 3, and was sent to Fredericksburgh with a ticket and bread being supplied; on September 21, G. Percy was sent to Portland for work. Macpherson stated: Twelve boys came to me this year from Feltham, Middlesex, Industrial School; these boys, taking them together, have turned out better than any boys of that class that have hitherto been sent to my agency; and yet only about one-half of them are now in the same situations they were first placed in, and some of them have left this part of the country altogether, but so far I have heard of but one acting dishonestly.5 He continued, "including in the average the boys from Feltham Industrial School who received assistance from me when they first arrived, but the amount expended by me on their account was refunded by the Rev. Mr. Pilkington, Chaplain to the Institution."6 Twenty boys are listed in 1873: two on the Circassian, May 7; two on the Sarmatian, May 12; two on the Scandinavian on May 19; three on the Polynesian on May 25; three on the Prussian on June 9; three on the Sarmatian, June 23; two on the Circassian on June 30; and three on the Scandinavian on July 16. Only two parties are listed for 1874; May 10, the Manitoban with one boy and the Prussian of May 11 with six boys. Records show 25 boys in 1885,18 in 1886, and another 42 in 1888. In 1893, there were 27 boys sent to Canada. Feltham sent over 100 boys to Canada before the 18908. The boys were
^
sent to Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec. Then, because of the costs involved in emigration, the boys were sent to farms and other employers in Wales.7 Fish Reformatory: Located in Hertfordshire; sent one boy to Richmond, Quebec in 1894. Girls' Industrial School: (probably Maryhill Industrial School) This institution sent girls from Glasgow to Kingston and Toronto, Ontario. Some girls arrived in 1862. Glansmorganshire Reformatory: Located in South Wales; sent two boys to Richmond, Quebec, in 1894. Glasgow Industrial School: Recorded as sending 10 girls to Canada in 1863. Glencree Industrial School: Located in Ireland; was for boys and was run by the Roman Catholic Church. Records list two boys in 1863. Grotto Passage Ragged School, Marylebone: "Six lads, from 16 to 19 years of age, were sent out from the Grotto Passage Ragged School, Marylebone. They received £1 each on landing here. Two were engaged in this city at £1 per month wages, and the other four have been employed in the neighbourhood of Montreal."8 These boys are listed arriving at Quebec on May 27, on the John Bull. Hampstead Reformatory: The Hampstead Reformatory at Church Row, Hampstead, was certified in 1860. They sent girls to Canada in 1862. Hants Reformatory (Hampshire Reformatory): Located near Hants in Hampshire and housed about 90 boys. It was established in 1855. By 1894, emigration had ceased, but 41 boys had been sent to Canada by that time. A party of four was recorded arriving in Canada on September 6,1862. Another group of three arrived on the Moravian on May 2,1871. Hazlewood Reformatory: Located near Birmingham. Herts Reformatory (Hertfordshire): Herts Reformatory for boys was certified in 1857. In 1862, the following arrivals were recorded: five boys on July 11, and one on July 14. On May 3, 1869, on board the Nova Scotian, four boys arrived and others came in 1875. Homeless Boys' Institution: This institution was located in London and in 1869 it is listed as sending one boy to Canada on the ship Elizabeth Bright. Ipswich Industrial School: Girls were sent from this institution in 1862. Kibble Institute: Certified in 1859; and located in Paisley, Scotland. The institution placed through the immigration agent at Saint John, New Brunswick; three boys are listed in the 1901 immigration report. Kilkenny Industrial School: Located in Ireland; for Roman Catholic boys. It was certified December 13,1879, and could house about 150 boys. Kingswood Reformatory: Located in the village of Kingswood near Bristol, it was founded in 1852 by Mary Carpenter on the premises of a former Wesleyan school. The buildings could accommodate over 1,000 children and there were several acres of land attached to the property. Four boys are listed in the immigration records of 1863. Records also show that boys were sent from this institution in 1876 and 11 boys came in 1880. Twelve more arrived in 1887 and two in 1888. Kirkdale Industrial School: Opened in 1862 in the Kirkdale district of Liverpool. "The building stands upon an oblong piece of land It is fronted by Kirkdale-road, and bounded on the remaining three sides by Boundary-street, Major-street, and Gore-street North."9 The Illustrated London News of January 18,1862, stated that the institution was to
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be used as an "industrial ragged-school where children of the very poorest class of the population shall receive the usual elementary instruction, but where boys shall also be taught the rudiments of some useful occupation for their after life."10 Many young girls from this institution came with Maria Rye to her home in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Leeds Reformatory: Certified in 1857, the reformatory was located at Adel, Leeds. In 1860, boys were sent to Canada from this institution. They each received 305. and were then sent on to Ottawa where they found employment.11 Four boys came on July 11,1862. Liverpool Industrial School: Also called the Liverpool Farm School. It sent three boys to Canada on August 6,1862, and two boys in 1863. London Ragged School: Nine boys arrived at Quebec on the Wisconsin on September 19,1856 from this institution. Although in one part of the 1856 immigration report these boys are listed as being from the London Reformatory Schools, in another they are recorded as being from the London Ragged School. Mr. Buchanan stated, "[n]ine boys sent out from the London Ragged School applied, stating that they were to have received a sovereign each on landing, but no advice had reached this office respecting them; they were forwarded up the Ottawa, with letters of recommendation, and as they are active stout lads, they will readily find employment."12 In 1859, "21 youths, from fifteen to eighteen years of age, from the London Ragged Schools" arrived in Quebec. Buchanan stated that the boys readily found employment, some in Quebec City, "but the chief part in the country settlements, where their services were eagerly sought for, as they are generally stout, active lads, willing and anxious to make themselves useful."13 Nine of these boys arrived on the Culloden on June 14,1859. There were 19 boys and 13 girls sent from the London Ragged School in 1870. They arrived on board the Moravian on May 30. Another party of 18 boys soon followed on the Peruvian, arriving on July 4. The London agent reported that the "Ragged School Union under the patronage of Earl of Shaftesbury, shipped by the Steamship Moravian, on 19* May, a party consisting of 12 girls and 20 boys, averaging about 15 years of age. Great care was taken in their selection, and each provided with an ample outfit. The squad was consigned to a gentleman in Hamilton for settlement."14 The numbers given by the London agent differ slightly from those given by the Quebec agent. Drury Lane School, London, is listed in the 1871 immigration report sending 12 boys on the Niger, arriving on May 29. London Reformatory and Refuge Union: In the immigration report of 1856 Mr. Buchanan reported the arrival of "21 boys from the London Reformatory Schools; they appeared to be quiet and well-conducted lads; 12 proceeded to Toronto, and nine to Ottawa City, where they all found immediate employment."15 Twelve boys are listed as arriving on the Shepherdess on July 12, and another nine on the Wisconsin on September 19. However, these last nine boys are then noted as being from the Ragged School. Only one boy arrived on the North Briton on November 7,1859. In 1893, the organization sent 27 boys to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Market Weighton Reformatory: This institution, sometimes called the Yorkshire Catholic Reformatory, was certified in 1856. In 1870, four boys arrived on board the Moravian, on May 30. A second party of six boys arrived on the Scandinavian on August 7. The following year, seven boys arrived on the Pomona on May i.
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Maryhill Industrial School, Scotland (Girls' Industrial School of Glasgow): Located near Glasgow and placed girls in cooperation with East Chapelton Reformatory, mostly into Saint John, New Brunswick, and some into Nova Scotia. Mrs. E. Cameron was responsible for the placement of the girls. The matron of Maryhill tried to persuade girls, whom she believed were in danger of returning to crime if they returned to family and friends, to go to Canada to start a new life. In 1864, James McPherson, Kingston agent, reported that 10 girls came from the Glasgow School and were placed at once in Marysburgh and Adolphustown townships. However, most left their situations within a month and went to the city. This, he said, was the fault of the matron who had come with them. It appears that the matron, after placing the girls in their places, proceeded to Toronto on pleasure, and while there ascertained that she could get places for several of the girls in that city; she then returned to Adolphustown and took one or two of the girls from their places, and sent them to Toronto (and the rest, as a matter of course, soon followed), which I consider was very unjust and unfair to the parties who first hired them, as also to those gentlemen (Mr. Watson and Mr. Hill) who spent a great deal of their time in procuring good places for them; and as for the welfare of the girls, I feel confident that in time the country would prove the better place for them, as in the cities they will be exposed to all sorts of temptations, which in the country they would not; and I regret to have to say that not only the girls that came out this year left their places, but also those who came from the same school last year, and who were perfectly happy and contented with their place (until this matron made her appearance), also left their places and proceeded to Toronto and other cities.16 Mr. McPherson claims he only mentions this in his report because he fears that conduct such as this may cause local farmers to stop employing these girls.17 The Maryhill Industrial School of Glasgow also used the services of the Saint John, New Brunswick, agent. The 1893 immigration report states that 22 girls came from this institution in that year and all went to Saint John, New Brunswick. Meath Industrial School: Located in Dublin, Ireland; sent three boys to Canada in 1886. Middlesex Reformatory: See Feltham. Model Farm: See Redhill. Mount St. Bernard Reformatory: This institution was located at Whitwick, Leicestershire, and was established in 1856. On August 7,1870, a party of two boys arrived at Quebec on board the Scandinavian. They were followed on October 26 by a party of three more boys on the Nestorian. Two boys came on the Pomona, May i, 1871, two on the Ottawa, June 7, and five on the Minerva on July 29. Newton C. William, Reformatory School: This institution was listed in Liverpool and two of its boys arrived on the Minerva on July 29,1871. North Lancashire Reformatory: This institution, established in 1857, was located at Bleasdale. For June 26,1862, two boys are recorded and, in 1863, four more arrived.
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North Lincolnshire Reformatory: This institution sent two boys in 1863. Northumberland Village Homes: Founded in 1879 by James Hall, the Northumberland Village Homes was an industrial school for girls. It was built at Whitley-by-the-Sea on land donated by the Duke of Northumberland. The girls lived in houses, each containing about 15 girls with a housemother in charge. Originally the institution was licensed to house up to 100 girls but new houses were added as needed. By 1888, there were ten houses, a school and a hospital wing on the site thus allowing for the housing of 150 girls. The home was originally used for local girls but by 1896, when the number of locals dropped, girls from as far away as Liverpool were sent to the home. The home continued in the early 19008 to take in girls sent there by the courts. However, the Board of Guardians also used the home to "board out" some of its wards. The home took on new uses over the years until it was closed in 1937. In 1884, the institution made arrangements with the Canadian government to send some of its wards to Canada. Mrs. H.B. Richardson, at Quebec, helped with the arrangements. The Home Office granted permission for girls with no parents, or those with parents who were untraceable, to be sent to Canada. The school sent girls, escorted by Mrs. Craig, to Canada for many years. Mrs. Craig remained for some weeks visiting some of the girls who had come out in previous years. John Smith, immigration agent at Hamilton, Ontario, wrote to John Lowe on July 5, 1886, stating: I have a communication from Mrs. Craig informing me that she is bringing about a dozen girls to Hamilton. They have been trained in the Northumberland Village Home -Whitley-by-the-Sea. Their ages being about fifteen and sixteen - These girls are without exception the best class ever sent out to Canada. Mrs. Craig was here about two years ago with some of their girls all of which turned out well. Mr. Hall, New Castle [sic] on Tyne is the chairman of the Homes and sends the girls out by his own Steamer to Quebec at his own expense so I am informed. Those brought out previously were passed by Mr. Stafford on to Hamilton and I should be glad if you can extend the privilege to the party now coming.18 A.G. Smyth, the Dominion Agent at London, Ontario, stated in 1888 that a "number of young girls from the Northumberland Village Homes, sent out by James Hall, Esq., in charge of Mrs. Craig, matron, came out last season. They have secured good places and at present appear to be doing well."19 A letter from James Hall appeared in the Newcastle Chronicle of April 2,1889. He stated that the agents, John Smith of Hamilton, and A.G. Smyth, of London, Ontario, "watch over with parental care the children whom I have sent out from the Northumberland Village Homes ..." Hall was enthusiastic about the opportunities Canada had to offer the emigrant. In another article appearing in the same paper, entitled "Street Arabs As Emigrants," the writer states that the Northumberland Homes had received praise for the way it trained the girls. He writes,"... that the young women sent from the homes at Whitley were of the very
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sort most appreciated out in the far West, and that further supplies would be welcome."20 He continues: His idea is that the wretched little waifs and strays of the streets, whose existence is at best one of intense misery, and who are exposed to the temptations which lead to a career of crime, should be, so far as can be done, rescued, and after a brief period of training shipped out to Canada, where there is need of young and strong arms, and where they could have a chance of developing into honest, hard-working, and useful members of communities ... the testimony seems to be unanimous that there is plenty of "elbow room" in the Dominion, and a warm welcome for all comers likely to prove serviceable colonists.21 In 1890, the Immigration Agent at Hamilton, John Smith, stated that most of the "societies engaged in sending out adult emigrants are well organized, more care being taken in the selections before granting assistance, most having made ample provision for the care of their emigrants on arrival until such time as they are placed in a position to provide for themselves."22 He specifically mentioned the Northumberland Village Homes. Canadian records show that some of the girls were sent to London and Hamilton, with a suggestion that some went west as well. But, in the 18905, the emigration work ceased due to government regulations which made the practice more difficult. However, for a short time, this work was resumed after the First World War for a very few girls. Orford Reformatory: This institution sent boys to Canada. Oxford Reformatory: Sent three boys to Canada in 1886. Park Row Certified Industrial School: Located at Bristol. In 1883, there were 42 children sent to Canada and 77 the following year. Seventy-five children came in 1888. Records from 1895 reveal that the agent claimed to have been placing children for 20 years. Some of these children were sent to New Glasgow (thought to be Quebec), and Terrebonne, Quebec, (near Montreal) to Edward Walters, who acted as an agent for the institution.23 Children were sent between 1894-1906 mostly into New Brunswick where the immigration agent at Saint John placed them on area farms. Parkhurst Reformatory: Established in 1836 by an Act of Parliament. It was located on the Isle of Wight, in what had formerly been a military hospital, with room for about 600 boys. This was to be the British government's first venture into child prison reform. On December 26,1838, Parkhurst was opened to receive the first 100 inmates. Almost one third of the first group of boys were under the age of 14 and several were under 10 years of age. Of these boys, 68 had been in custody more than once and some as many as six times. Sentences received by the youths sent to Parkhurst varied from one year transportation sentences up to 15 year transportation sentences.24 Boys were trained for two to three years in agriculture on a farm of some 80 acres attached to the reformatory property. Training was also given in shoemaking and tailoring. Later, when the benefits of a trade were learned by the authorities, classes for carpenters, sawyers, coopers and bricklayers were added. Emphasis was also placed on religious instruction,
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Bible reading and prayers. Schooling was given in reading, writing, ciphering, grammar, geography and Bible history. The schedule for the day was as follows: 6 a.m. 7:30 a.m. 8 a.m. 8:30-9 a.m. 9-9:45 a.m. 10 -12 noon 12-12:45 p.m. i p.m. 1:30 -4 p.m. 4-6 p.m. 6 p.m. 6:30-7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Cells unlocked, washing, cleaning rooms, etc. Instruction drill Inspection by Governor, morning hymn, breakfast Chapel, liturgy, psalm, exposition by chaplain Exercise and parade Farm-work, trade training or school Exercise Dinner Tasks Farm-work, trade training or school Supper School Evening hymn, prayers and to dormitories in silence
Whenever inclement weather prevented the boys from working out-of-doors they were set to work indoors. Knitting was one way of keeping these boys busy and the other was oakum-picking - a major source of income for many prisons of the time. Boys would pick the fibres from rope and this was then used as caulking for ships. Security at Parkhurst was much like a prison. There were walls, guards and leg-irons. Silence was enforced because, as the Governor said, "[t]he system of absolute silence which we adopt whenever possible assists the intellectual and moral progress."25 These strict regulations were soon changed to allow a graded system of freedoms. Boys who had been previously forbidden to write home could now earn the right to communicate with their parents. Badges for good conduct were awarded and more time for recreation could be earned. But the ultimate treat was having pudding on Sundays! One gentleman reporting on his visit to Parkhurst noted that the lads worked under fear instead of kindness. They were guarded in the fields by soldiers with muskets and bayonets. The institution was run along military lines with strict discipline. Consequently, the inmates retaliated for the bad treatment they received by setting fires and committing other acts of vandalism to prison property. On release from Parkhurst, the boys were transported to one of the colonies on a ticket-of-leave, conditional pardon, probationary pass or, for the outstanding, as regular emigrants. In the early years of Parkhurst, from 1842 to 1853, some i,49826 of these lads were sent to Western Australia, New Zealand, Van Diemen's Land and Port Philip (Australia). On the whole, reports from the colonies were good. One reporter wrote of the Parkhurst lads: They appear from close scrutiny to be not only exceedingly well trained, both as regards habits and industry, and of uniformly respectful demeanour, but the greatest pains, it must be evident, must have been taken in their moral and 388
mental culture. Of their conduct in this colony I cannot speak too highly, and in private service it has likewise, as far as I can learn, been most satisfactory.27 The boys were restricted from returning to Britain until the term of their original sentence expired. Reports of the Australian government show that less than three percent of the lads slipped back into their old ways. Many became farmers, teachers and tradesmen. In 1853 and 1857, Acts were passed which brought to an end this system of transportation. Although reformatories could still carry out penal servitude in one of the colonies, it is not clear if any of the lads from Parkhurst were sent to Canada. However, Parkhurst had proved an outstanding success. Education and transportation for many of these boys had given them a new life. Parkhurst was closed in 1863. Queen's Reformatory: Located in Bloomsbury, London; sent boys to Canada, 18 of whom arrived on the St. Lawrence in 1868. Ready Oak School: Located in London; sent boys to Canada in 1875. Red Lodge Reformatory: Located at Bristol and founded by Mary Carpenter. Girls were sent to Canada from this institution. Redhill Reformatory Farm School: (Sometimes called Philanthropic Society Farm School at Redhill or Model Farm) In 1788, the Philanthropic Society was founded by Robert Young and was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1806. The goal of the society was to protect the children of convicts and to give refuge to destitute children. It began its efforts with a school, which accommodated about 150 children, located at Hackney Cottages, St. George's Fields. Children received into the society's home were either newly released from prison or the sons and daughters of imprisoned, transported or executed persons. The children were given an elementary education and the boys were taught tailoring and shoemaking while the girls were trained in the art of homemaking. After a period of training the children were placed in positions in the London area. Unfortunately, once back in their old environment many returned to their former friends and bad influences. The school at St. George's Fields was closed when the society decided to establish a new institution. Inspired by the great success of Parkhurst Reformatory, as well as agricultural farm school efforts in Europe, the society established a reform school. Redhill, opened in 1849 by Albert, the Prince Consort, was a farm of some 150 acres located near Reigate in Surrey. Boys were trained at Redhill in agricultural methods as well as in carpentering, tailoring, shoemaking and blacksmithing. The September 18,1869, issue of the Illustrated London News described the harvest at Redhill: The annual harvest home of the Philanthropic Society took place at their farm, Redhill, on Wednesday week. The attendance of visitors was unusually large. The various buildings were gaily decorated for the occasion, and the whole establishment appeared to the best advantage. Nothing could exceed the cleanliness and good order displayed through the buildings and grounds of the farm, and the appearance of all the rescued "waifs and strays" of
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humanity under the society's charge was highly creditable. A muster of the boys first took place. Then a certain number of them were told off to carry the "last load" to the farmyard, one of the most pleasing features in the days' proceedings. A thanksgiving service in the chapel, with a sermon by the Rev. W.F.C.S. Fraser, followed. After the service in the chapel came races and games, a supper for the boys, the address of the chairman of the day (Mr. J. Gladstone, [treasurer of the society), and distribution of the prizes. Addresses were also delivered by Mr. C. White, J.P.; Mr. P. Hanbury, J.P.; Mr. Onslow, and the Rev. C. Walters, the resident Chaplain, to whose zeal and energy the society owes so much. The latter gentleman gave an interesting account of the progress of the society. He stated that, since the removal of the society's establishment to Redhill, in 1849, up to December, 1868, as many as 2128 have been admitted, and 1837 discharged. Of the latter, 892 have emigrated to various colonies. Since last harvest home seventy-seven boys have been admitted, and sixty-eight discharged. Of the latter number, thirty-eight emigrated, eighteen went to employment, eight to friends, two to sea, and two were unfit for school through disease. Ten of these went on license before term was ended, and all have done well. Of the sixty-six, none are now in prison, and only two are of doubtful conduct. The school is in a flourishing condition in every particular. The general health continues good, and the general conduct satisfactory. No death has occurred in the school for three years. The farming has also been good. There are at present in the school 293 boys, against 280 in 1868,265 in 1867, and 256 in 1866. The cell cases are 111, against 100 in 1868,118 in 1867, and 129 in 1866. The floggings number six, against six in 1868, sixteen in 1867, and eleven in 1866. The desertions show an increase. They number seven, against three in 1868, twelve in 1867, and seven in 1866. The conduct of discharged boys is usually good. Mr. Walters noticed that the usefulness of reformatories in diminishing crime appears from the comparative increase of adult and juvenile crime. Adult convictions increased 9 per cent, whilst juvenile convictions were less than 5 per cent in the year 1868; and in the two last years adult convictions had increased 15 per cent, and juvenile about 7 1/2. In Scotland, while adult convictions in 1868 increased 4 per cent, juvenile convictions increased 10 per cent. This unsatisfactory addition to juvenile crime happened at a time when reformatory work at Glasgow was almost suspended, through the temporary closing of the House of Refuge there. In 1868,554 boys and girls were recognised in prison as having been formerly in reformatory schools, out of a total discharged of 11,402. The known relapses from the reformatory schools of Great Britain are therefore less than 5 per cent (5.1 boys and 3.6 girls). The average percentage doing well in all the reformatory schools in Great Britain in sixty-nine. The average at Redhill has been seventy-six. The average of relapses in the former has been 16 per cent, and in the latter 14 per cent.28
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Two boys from the Cumberland Industrial School Christopher and John Greenhoy, destined for Toronto. Courtesy of Kirkgate Centre Museum.
The Society firmly believed that emigration was the only means of removing these children from the bad influences they grew up with thus giving them a chance for a new life. Reliable agents were sought by the society to act as guardians in Cape Town, Australia and in America. Lads were sent to the colonies and were apprenticed for one to two years. The society kept in touch with the boys through letters and insisted on letters from the employers as well. Redhill, like Parkhurst, received juvenile offenders with transportation sentences. Unlike Parkhurst, however, Redhill did not have walls, much to the dismay of some local residents. Although the boys arrived at Redhill in leg irons this demeaning symbol was immediately removed and the boys worked with very little in the way of guards. Strict discipline was enforced and a rigorous daily schedule was maintained: 5 a.m. 6-8 a.m. 8-9 a.m. 9 a.m.-i2 noon 12-1 p.m. 1-5 p.m. 6-7 p.m. 7-8 p.m.
Reveille Work Pray and breakfast Work or school Dinner Work or school Supper Reading, singing and prayers29
W
Methods used at Redhill were unusually progressive for the time. In 1850, Reverend Sidney Turner, Chaplain of Redhill, stated: The discipline I adopt is dissimilar from that adopted at Parkhurst in this, my boys work with workmen, not under them; they are not under the superintendence of military officers, in fact throughout the whole day, they are led to rely more upon themselves, and to act more upon motives. This system develops the genuine character of the boy; if you can get an ounce of genuine action from the boy, it is worth a whole hundred weight of mere forced action, which will only last while the pressure is upon him."30 By the i86os, Redhill could take 100 conditionally pardoned boys per year. The lads were paid a few pence a week, depending upon their behaviour. They were taught by specially selected Masters and given more freedom than any prison system in Britain. Reunions were held at the school annually and money was donated by the boys to help other "old boys" in distress. Redhill became a tremendous success in British prison reform. Many of the boys who came to Redhill were sent by well-meaning judges. Thus, many boys who had committed minor crimes were sentenced to transportation so that they could be admitted to Redhill or Parkhurst. One judge lamented that a child who had been up before him on many occasions would have to grow four more inches and continue in crime for two more years before the child would be eligible for entry into one of the reformatories. Canadian records reveal that boys from Redhill initially arrived in Canada two at a time. In a letter (a copy of which was sent to the Canadian government in 1887), Marshall George Vine, Warden of Redhill, reported that a total of 874 boys (averaging 18 years of age), came from his institution. This was about one-third of the total number of boys sent from reformatories. For 20 years Redhill had emigrated its boys to several of the colonies and some to the United States. The highest number to emigrate in one year was 62. The society communicated by letter with the boys and their employers for four years. George Vine continued: Our friends in the colonies, especially in Canada, have never been more pressing for our lads than they are now, and the newly-opened North-Western Territory joins in the demand - we have sent 13 there. We make the privilege of Emigration a reward for good conduct and progress in the School; we mostly send out our lads in pairs, and every one who Emigrants from us goes to a situation previously procured for him with a farmer and ready for him on his arrival. We have no difficulty in thus providing, through private agencies for any number whom we can recommend, after undergoing the special training which our lads receive here in farming, care of stock and useful trades.31 Emigration, Vine stated, was the only way to rescue these lads "from crime and home-associations of the worst description, many having absolutely no hope except such as emigration happily affords."32
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Redhill Reformatory sent boys, often only a few in each party, on a regular basis. For example, in 1862, boys arrived on May 10, May 13 (4 boys), May 20, May 29, June 7, July 14, some in August and on October 30. On May 31,1869, however, the Cleopatra arrived with 18 boys on board. This was not usual for this institution. There were two boys on the Nestorian arriving on August 13,1871, and 12 boys are recorded for 1873 arriving on the Circassian, May 7; the Sarmatian, May 12; the Prussian, June 9; and the Prussian on August 31. The Sarmatian, arriving May 4,1874, brought seven boys and the Hibernian, arriving on May 21, brought three. By the late i88os, the boys were sent in groups of about 10 to 12. One group of 12 boys arrived at the port of Quebec City in 1888 and from there made their way to Richmond, Quebec. The following year 19 boys were sent to Waterville, Quebec, and, in 1894, six boys are listed as going to Wapella (in present-day Saskatchewan). Some boys went to Nova Scotia, where they were placed by Colonel James Wimburn Laurie, who, several years before, had helped place Louisa Birfs children. In 1898, Reverend William Leslie took boys to Glenbow Farm, North-West Territories (present-day provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan), to Mr. George. In all, over 1,000 boys were emigrated from this institution but not all of them to Canada. In 1904, John Ennis requested that Redhill receive the same $2 capitation allowance to which other child emigration agencies were entitled. The outcome was not recorded, but a list of boys sent to Canada between 1900-1904, some 82 of them, can be found in the National Archives of Canada.33 Most of the boys sent by Redhill were between 15 and 20 years of age. By the 18905, the destination of the boys was the northwest, with about 82 of them going there between 1900 and 1904. Reformatory Institution: Located in Dublin, Ireland; girls were sent from here to Canada. Reformatory and Refuge Union: See London Reformatory and Refuge Union. St. Conleth's Reformatory: A Roman Catholic institution located in Phillipstown, Ireland. Two boys from this home were sent to Blacklake, Quebec, in 1888. St. John's Reformatory School (Industrial School): A Roman Catholic institution located at Walthamstow. Boys were sent to Canada from this institution. Records in the National Archives of Canada for 1908 contain mostly photographs.34 St. Joseph's Home Reformatory: Located in Sheffield; sent two girls to Canada in 1869. St. Kevin's Reformatory: Located at Wicklow; sent boys to Montreal. One group of three is reported arriving October 10,1862. St. Mary's Reformatory: Located at Islington, England. National Archives of Canada records give names, ages, date of emigration, from where and with which agency the children were sent to Canada.35 St. Swithen's Industrial School: Located in Winchester; sent three boys to Montreal in 1894. Saltley Reformatory(Reformatory Farm): Located at Smallheath, Birmingham. Founded in early 1854 and occupied about eighty-five acres of cultivated land at Little Bromwich, near Birmingham, England. The institution had a special emigration fund which enabled it to send about a dozen boys a year to the colonies. The majority of these boys were sent to Richmond, Quebec, but some went to Melbourne, Quebec. From Richmond the boys were
393
placed out by an agent, who in 1895 was Mr. Gould (sometimes listed as Gold). The agent did not visit the lads but "hears of them from farmers," said the Superintendent of Saltley. Some of the boys were placed in Brandon and other parts of Manitoba. One party is recorded arriving on September 29, i895.36 Often the boys were sent to Canada on their own. They were given their passage and a little extra money to tide them over until they could start earning a living. The Superintendent of Saltley did report to the commission in 1896 that some of these boys had returned to England by working their way back on cattle boats. Sandbach Reformatory: This institution was located in Cheshire and sent boys to Canada. One group of four boys arrived May 29,1862. Shibden Industrial School: Located near Halifax in the Bradford area. It took in Roman Catholic boys from Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle, the West Riding and Halifax. By 1895, about 24 or 25 boys had been sent to Canada. Of this number about five returned to England. Smithfield Ragged School: Little is known of the Smithfield Ragged School but it is mentioned by the emigrant agent at Quebec in his report of 1850. Though emigration from the Poor Law Schools to Australia rose to 150 children in that year and was to continue, the abstinence of Parliament in 1848 may have been lucky for the American colonies. Before two years passed, twelve boys who were given transportation to Canada by the Ragged School of Smithfield found life in the colony so unattractive that their story became a warning for a select committee of Parliament. Landing in Quebec in 1850, two of the boys went "up country" and neglected to report their fate to their benefactors; ten used their landing money to go into lodgings in the port. By August, four had returned to England and the remaining six were awaiting means to do the same.37 In 1851, twelve boys were sent by the Smithfield Ragged School in West-street. The immigration agent reported: On board the "Denham," from London, there were 12 boys sent out by the Ragged School, in West-street, Smithfield. Two of them proceeded, on arrival, up the country; the remainder, on receipt of their landing-money, went to lodgings in this city. Several of them have been employed in discharging and loading the vessel; four have shipped themselves as sailors, and have returned to England, and the remainder are now desirous of making a similar arrangement. In future, the passage of such parties should be secured as far as Toronto, or instructions should be given, authorizing the application of their landing-money to this object, otherwise they will remain in idleness about the city as long as their money lasts, and then endeavour to secure a passage back to England, defeating altogether the object for which they were sent out.38 Stapleton Reformatory: Sent boys to Canada with three arriving on the Damascus in 1868. 394
Stonebridge Reformatory: Located in Staffordshire. In 1894, one boy was sent to Thorold, Ontario. Sytley Industrial School: Located in Birmingham; sent one boy to Richmond, Quebec, in 1894. Suffolk Reformatory: Sent five boys to Canada in 1886. Tiffield Reformatory: Located at Towcester, Northamptonshire. Three boys are listed arriving on the Scandinavian on August 21,1871. Boys are also listed going to Melbourne, Quebec, in 1897. Upton Reformatory: A Roman Catholic reformatory located in Ireland. Wakefield Industrial Home: Founded in 1856 in the West Riding. Walton-on-the-Hill Reformatory: This institution sent one girl on the Prussian, arriving on September 18,1871. Wandsworth Industrial School: Located in London, England. Nine youths arrived from this institution in 1860, with each boy receiving 308. and then they were sent on to the Ottawa immigration agent for placement.39 The agent reported that "they were healthy and robust lads, and from what I can learn, they have acquitted themselves in a creditable manner in their respective situations."40 Wandsworth sent eight more boys on July 14,1862, and ten boys in 1863. On May 2,1871, one boy arrived on board the Moravian and another one on May 8, on the Medway. There were eight boys listed in 1873, arriving on August 17, on the Polynesian. Warminster Reformatory: Located in Wiltshire and sometimes referred to as the Wiltshire Reformatory. Certified in 1856. Five boys were sent to Canada from this institution on August 21,1871, on the Scandinavian. Warwick Asylum: Located at Coventry; sent girls to Canada. Warwickshire Industrial School (Reformatory): Certified in 1856; located at Weston, Leamington. One boy was sent to Canada in 1863 and three were sent in 1886. Wellington Reformatory Farm: Certified in 1859, the farm was located at Penicuik, Scotland. The old Wellington Inn was purchased and turned into a reformatory which could house no lads. John Craster was the manager of the home. In Canada, Samuel Gardner who was the immigration agent at Saint John, New Brunswick, acted as agent for the institution. Wellington sent about two or three boys a year to Canada, usually in May. The spring of the year was seen as an ideal time for the boys to obtain work on the farms. These boys were about 17 years of age when they were sent to Canada. Most of them came from the Edinburgh area. In 1869, the New Brunswick Immigration Agent, Mr. Shires, reported that a "number of lads sent out from the Wellington Farm School, near Edinburgh, and a few from Devonshire, were sent to good places in the country."41 Two of the boys arrived on the Moravian. In 1871, two boys came on the Ottawa arriving June 7. Three boys went to Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1894, and two more in 1895.42 Emigration funds were provided by the "old boys" and one such "old boy" later became a director of the school. There is a mention of Mr. Millington's Farm School but it is not clear how these institutions are connected. West Leamington Reformatory School: Located in Warwickshire; sent boys to Melbourne, Quebec in 1897.
395
APPENDIX J Home Children Canada Marjorie Kohli's book could not have been written a half century ago. People did not really talk about Home Children then and the data was not easily accessible. Besides, the child migrants certainly felt they had no reason to come forward, and their families often did not even know what a home child was, let alone whom to contact for information. Harrison, Parr and Bagnell, in their own way, paved the way by bringing the story to the attention of the Canadian public. It was out of this background that Home Children Canada was born when its founders set out to achieve four simple aims: • to help home boys and girls locate their records, family and roots, • to tell their story and have it recognized as part of our history, • to identify and erase the stigma that caused the home children's silent shame, • to erase that stigma and replace it with justifiable pride in the accomplishments of our little pioneers. Home Children Canada (HCC) became unique in this country for several reasons. With the aid of volunteers across the country five plaques have been erected and as many as eight reunions a year have been held from Halifax to Victoria to give home children a forum in which they could speak for themselves with pride. We were also pro-active in liaising with the UK'S major former sending agencies who actually had the personal files the home children wanted. And we invited After Care workers who actually released the records and social workers from those agencies to come to Canada (at their own or agency expense) to meet with home children and their descendants. We have identified at least some of the several reasons home children, including those placed in happy homes, suffered a silent shame that prevented them from even telling their own families of their past. We have enlisted the aid of people in high places, Governors General, Prime Ministers Chretien and Blair, and others, including Princess Diana, to write open letters to our gatherings to help erase the unjust stigma and ease not only the home child's pain, but also the inherited or trans-generational effect suffered by descendants. Our contacts began to make lists available. The UK'S Catholic Dioceses of Liverpool, Birmingham, Southwark and Westminster were the first to send us the names of thousands of children whose files they had located. Inquirers told us where we might expect to find in Canada lost data re those sent over by the Church of England's Waifs and Strays Society. Doug Fry made available to us and to the public the list of records of all children sent by Fegan. The NCH (National Children's Homes) sent the National Archives a list of the children sent to Canada by Dr. T. Bowman Stephenson. A dedicated pair (Gail Collins and Chris Sanham), one living in Canada and the other in the UK, are even now compiling a list of the children Maria Rye brought to Canada. We have already mentioned the lists Marj Kohli has put on her web site. 396
Almost a decade ago John Sayers was inspired to round up a group of about 30 volunteers from the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) to index for the National Archives web site (www.archives.ca) all ship manifest data for everyone 18 years of age and under who entered the country starting in 1869. Thanks to those dedicated volunteers, Canada now has the most complete on-line list of child migrants available anywhere in the world. When the project was winding down, John and some of his help, rather than fade quietly into the night, decided to use their expertise and easy access to the capital's national record repositories, to better help inquirers. On i January 2002, the Home Children Canada BIFHSGO committee assumed from the founders in Renfrew the responsibility of answering requests re locating home children records. And now Marj has put the icing on the cake. Thanks to The Golden Bridge the BIFHSGO committee's work will be much easier once inquirers learn about her excellent compendium and are able to consult it before asking for help. J.A. David Lorente, founder Home Children Canada Renfrew, Ontario
397
NOTES Dedication i. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Human Life's Mystery" in The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 1887) 395. Preface i. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For 1915-16 (Ottawa: 1917), 12, NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. Chapter i: Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration 1. Edwin Hodder, The Life and Work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G. (London: Cassell, 1887) 347. 2. Throughout the remainder of the text, Anthony Ashley Cooper, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, will be referred to as Shaftesbury. 3. Ivy Pinchbeck and Margaret Hewitt, Children In English Society (London: Rutledge & K. Paul, 1973) Vol. II, 170. 4.
Hodder, 354.
5.
Ibid, 127.
6. Daniel Joseph Kirwan, Palace and Hovel, edited by A. Allan (Hartford: 1870, reprinted Toronto: Abelard-Schuman, 1963) 41. 7.
Ibid, 40.
8.
Ibid, 123.
9.
Ibid, 119.
10. Pinchbeck and Hewitt, 406. 11. L.N.R., Missing Link or Bible-Women in the Homes of the London Poor (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860) 12. 12. Ibid, 27. 13. Lilian M. Birt, The Children's Home-Finder (London: J. Nisbet, 1913) 106-107. 14. Ibid, 108. 15. Hodder, 76. 16. Jean S. Heywood, Children in Care (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1959, reprinted 1966) 19. Taken from George Crabbe, The Borough, Peter Grimes, 1810 17. Heywood, 19. Heywood suggests Dorothy George, London Life in the Eighteenth Century, Kegan Paul Trench, Trubner and Co. Ltd., 1925, for further insights into the evils of this practice.
398
18. Name commonly used to describe the children who lived by their wits on the streets. See W.Y. Fullerton, /. W.C. Fegan: A Tribute (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, no date) 19. John Urquhart, The Life-Story of William Quarrier (London: S.W. Partridge, 1900) 41. 20. E. Pease, The Abolition of Poor Law Guardians, Fabian Tract #126 (London: Fabian Society, 1906) 4. 21. John O'Connor, The Workhouses of Ireland (Dublin: Anvil Books, 1995) 39. 22. Ibid, 81 and 84. 23. Pease, 4. 24. Kirwan, 14. 25. Ibid, 41. 26. O'Connor, 66. 27. W.A. Carrothers, Emigration From The British Isles (London: F. Cass, 1965) 177. 28. Kirwan, 14. 29. Birt,30-32. 30. Heywood,34. 31. Emigration from Ireland; being the Report of the Committee of "Mr. Tuke's Fund," together with Statements by Mr. Tuke and Major Gaskell, June 1882,25, CIHM #57135. (This was a quote from Major W.P. Gaskell who was reporting to Tuke's Committee, on assisted emigration, that their work in Ireland was not getting to those most in need.) 32. Birt,52. Chapter 2: Canada: Promise of a New Beginning 1. Wm. Catermole, Emigration. The Advantages of Emigration to Canada (London: Simpkin & Marshall, 1831, reprinted Toronto: Coles, 1970) 17. 2.
Ibid, 31.
3. Samuel Strickland, Twenty-seven Years in Canada West (1853, reprinted Edmonton: Hurtig, 1970) Vol. I, 80-81. 4.
BPP, 1854 XLVI, (1763), 52.
5. Alexander Carlisle Buchanan, Canada For The Information of Intending Emigrants (Quebec: 1864) 18-19, CIHM #64018. 6.
BPP, 1852 XXXIII, (1474), 44.
7.
BPP, 1852 XXXIII, (1474), 44-45-
8.
Strickland, Vol. II, 312.
9.
#7^,312-313.
10. JfoW, 315-316. 11. Ibid, 316. 12. Neil Sutherland, Children in English-Canadian Society (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976) 6-7. 399
13. G.R de T. Glazebrook, Life in Ontario: A Social History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968, reprinted 1975) 161. 14. Buchanan, 2. 15. Letter from William Dixon to John Ennis, October 12,1869, NAG, RG17, Vol 32, File 2933. 16. Gait Reporter, Friday, October 27,1871. 17. Ibid, May 3,1872. 18. SP, 38 Victoria (40) 1875,95. 19. Andrew Doyle, Pauper Children (Canada), in BPP, 1875 (9) LXII, 255,19-20. 20. First Report of the Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization (Ottawa: 1875) 12> NAG, JV 7204 A21875. 21. Ibid, 13. 22. Billa Flint (1805-1894) was an entrepreneur and politician in the Belleville area. His many political roles culminated in his being appointed to the Canadian Senate in 1867. Lumber baron and mining promoter, he owned practically the entire towns of Bridgewater and Flinton as well as extensive mills and stores in Belleville. 23. First Report of the Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization (Ottawa: 1875) 15. 24. Ibid. 25. Ibid, 16 26. Ibid. 27. Ibid, 9. 28. Ibid,w. 29. Ibid, u. 30. Ibid. 31. Ibid. 32. The Times, April 23,1875. 33. Janet Hitchman, They Carried The Sword (London: Gollancz, 1966) 67. 34. Ibid, 64. 35. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For The Year Ending June 30,1903 (Ottawa: 1904) 90, NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 36. Ibid, $9. 37. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For The Year Ended June 30,1906 (Ottawa: 1907) 3, NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 38. Ibid, 4. 39. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For The Year Ended March 31,1913 (Ottawa: 1914) 8, NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 40. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For The Year Ended March 31,1915 (Ottawa: 1916) 19-20, NAC, PAAPJV 7282 €403. 400
41. P.T. Rooke and R.L. Schnell, No Bleeding Heart: Charlotte Whitton, A Feminist on the Right (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1987) 22. 42. Ibid, 52. 43. Gwynth Joy Parr, "The Home Children: British Juvenile Immigration to Canada, 18681924" (Unpublished PhD thesis, Yale University, 1977) 102. 44. Ibid, 104. 45. James Ross, The Power I Pledge (Glasgow: Quarrier Homes, 1897) 60. 46. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,158. 47. NAG, RG 76, Vol 495, File 768363, Part 4. 48. Social Services Council of Canada, Canada's Child Migrants (1925) 5.
49. Ibid, 67. 50. 51. 52. 53.
Ibid, 74-75Ibid, 72. Ibid. Ibid, 71.
Chapter 3: The Voyage Over 1. W.A. Carrothers, Emigration From The British Isles (London: 1929, reprinted R Cass, 1965) 157. 2.
Ibid, 87, taken from Huskinson in Hansard, New Series, Vol. 18,1828,1212.
3.
Ibid, 154.
4.
Geoff Blackburn, The Children's Friend Society (Northbridge: Access Press, 1993) 249.
5.
Edwin C. Guillet, The Great Migration (New York: T. Nelson and Sons, 1937) 16-17.
6.
Ibid, 16.
7.
Ibid, 96.
8.
SP, 24 Victoria (14) 1861, Report of Mr. Daley, npn.
9. BPP, 1863, XV (3199), 3410. SP, 34 Victoria (64) 1871,4. 11. Clara Lowe, God's Answer (London: J. Nisbet, 1882) 132-133. 12. Ibid, 134-135. 13. Annie Macpherson, Canadian Homes for London Wanderers (London: Morgan, Chase & Scott, undated) 20-21. 14. Thomas E. Appleton, Ravenscrag The Allan Royal Mail Line (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1974) 132. 15. Lowe, 94. 16. Further Letters, Furnished to the Department of Agriculture by Miss Rye, in Rebuttal of Mr. Doyle's Report, Letters from the Province of New Brunswick, CIHM #23997. 401
i/. A bilge keel is a projection fastened along the side of a ship to control the rolling of the vessel. 18. Children's Emigration Homes, Nineteenth Report, 1891,8-9, NAG, Reel A-1994, Middlemore Papers (hereinafter Middlemore). 19. Ishbel Gordon, Countess of Aberdeen, Through Canada with a Kodak (Edinburgh: White, 1893) 5. 20. Ibid, 135. 21. Emigration to Canada and the United States (Liverpool: J.R. Williams, 1871) 15, CIHM #62864. 22. Gillian Wagner, Children of the Empire (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982) 62. 23. Ibid. 24. Andrew Doyle, Pauper Children (Canada), in BPP, 1875 (9) LXII, 255,7. 25. James Croil, Steam Navigation (Toronto: William Briggs, 1898, reprinted Coles, 1973) 218. 26. Ibid,i2S. 27. The Times, May 14,1878. 28. Lowe, 154-155. 29. Appleton, 199. 30. Ups & Downs, January, Vol VII, #2, published by Barnardo Homes, 1902,21-25. 31. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,157. 32. Annie (Mrs. J.W.) Smith, The Last Voyage and Wreck of the S.S. Labrador (Hamilton: Tresidder & Parker, 1900) 26. 33. Phyllis Harrison, The Home Children (Winnipeg: Watson & Dwyer, 1979, reprinted 1985) 113-114. 34. Ibidy 125-126. 35. Ibid, 175. 36. Ibid, 235. 37. Interview with H. Richard Wright, June 10,1999. 38. Harrison, 259. 39. Letter from Edwin Clay to Small, March 14,1891, NAG, RG17, Vol 680, File 77701. 40. Doyle, 8. 41. Middlemore, 8-10. 42. Harrison, 192. 43. Ibid, 94. 44. Ibid, 131. 45. Ibid, 219.
402
Chapter 4: The Work Begins 1.
Geoff Blackburn, The Children's Friend Society (Northbridge: Access Press, 1993) 2.
2. In the report of the Select Committee on Education in 1834,201, Captain Brenton testified saying he and his colleagues were not satisfied with the arrangements at West Ham Abbey. 3.
BPP, 1835 XII (441), Appendix #3,404.
4.
Ibid, 400.
5.
Ibid.
6. Edna Bradlow, "The Children's Friend Society at the Cape of Good Hope," in Victorian Studies, Vol. 27, #2, Winter, 1984,156. 7. Alex. G. Scholes, Education for Empire Settlement (London: Longmans, Green, 1932) 312 and BPP, 1835 XII (441), Appendix #3. 8. Gwynth Joy Parr, "The Home Children: British Juvenile Immigrants to Canada, 18681924" (Unpublished PhD thesis Yale University, 1977) 2. 9.
BPP, 1835 XII (441), Appendix #3,399-
10. BPP, 1835 XXXIX (765) 1411. BPP, 1836 XL (461) 14.
12. Ibid. 13. Ibid, 12. 14. Ibid, 15. 15. Blackburn, 249. 16. Ibid. 17. Bradlow, 159. 18. Blackburn, 250. 19. This document is at the Lennox and Addington County Museum in Napanee in the John Benson Papers, 3831-2,3221-4. 20. Ibid. 21. Emigration. Papers Relative to Emigration to the British Provinces in North America, Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of her Majesty, April 1849, !> CIHM #63351. 22. Ibid, 45. 23. BPP, 1833 XXVI (299) 8. 24. Quebec Gazette, October 21,1868. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. Annual report of Miss Rye's Emigration Home for Destitute Little Girls, Avenue House, High Street, Peckham (circa 1879); NAC, RG 25, A-i, Volume 4.
403
28. Gillian Wagner, Children of the Empire (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982) 40. 29. Ibid, 41. 30. Ibid, 41-42. 31. Archibald Bremner, Illustrated London (London, ON, 1900) 38. 32. Illustrated London News, August 25,1877. 33. M. Burholder, "Child Training Centres Of Past And Present," Hamilton Spectator, April 25,1959,32. 34. SP, 33 Victoria 1870 (80) 7. 35. Illustrated London News, November 6,1869,466. 36. Ivy Pinchbeck and Margaret Hewitt, Children In English Society, Vol. II (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1973) 565. 37. Kathleen Heasman, Evangelicals in Action (London: G. Bles, 1962) 102. 38. Wagner, 41.
39. Further letters Furnished to the Department of Agriculture by Miss Rye, in Rebuttal of Mr. Doyle's Report, letter of Mr. James Boyd, CIHM #23997,2. (Hereinafter Letters.) 40. Emigration to Canada and the United States (Liverpool: J.R. Williams, 1871) 15, CIHM #62864. 41. SP, 33 Victoria (64) 1870,26. 42. SP, 35 Victoria (2A) 1872,64. 43. Ibid, 66. 44. Hon. B.R. Stevenson, Report on Immigration to New Brunswick in 1872 (Saint John: 1873) 1445. SP, 36 Victoria (26), 1873, 66. 46. Copy of a letter in the private collection of F. Bruce McClure of Mississauga, Ontario. 47. Charges made against Miss M. Rye, before the Poor Law Board at Islington, and Her Reply Thereto, 1874, CIHM #07098. (Hereinafter Charges.) 48. Ibid, 8. 49. Ibid, 9. 50. Mesenteric vessels are arteries that carry blood to the stomach and small and large intestine. They are located at the back of the abdomen. 51. Charges, 11. 52. Letters, letter of Mr. James Boyd, i. 53. Ibid. 54. Wagner, 92. 55. Ibid, 96. 56. Letter from W.J. Wills to John Lowe, June 11,1878; NAG, RG17, Vol. 253, File 23232. 57. Letter from M. Rye to Sir A. Gait, July 12,1881, NAG, RG 25, Vol. 4.) 58. Illustrated London News, May 20,1882,495. 404
59- NAG, RG17, Vol. 598, File 61710. 60. Buffalo Express, 1894, undated clipping, from the private collection of R. Kane, Rochester, NY.
61. Ibid. 62. Ibid. 63. Ibid. 64. The Times, November 17,1903,10. 65. Coprolite is fossil dung used in the making of fertilizer. 66. Lillian M. Birt, The Children's Home-Finder (London: J. Nisbet, 1913) 11-12.
67. Ibid, 19-20. 68. Ibid, 25. 69. Ibid, 32-35. 70. Ibid, 46. 71. Clara M.S. Lowe, God's Answer (London: J. Nisbet, 1882) 27. 72. Birt, 60. 73. Lowe, 29. 74. Annie Macpherson, Canadian Homes for London Wanderers (London: Morgan, Chase & Scott, undated) 22-23. 75. Birt, 67. 76. Ellen Agnes Bilbrough, British Children in Canadian Homes (Belleville: A. Beveridge, 1879) 3. According to Miss Bilbrough, this third party was made up of girls, widows and their children. 77. Birt, 69-70. 78. Ibid, 65. 79. Lowe, 95.
80. Ibid,ioo. 81. John Urquhart, The Life-Story of William Quarrier (London: S.W. Partridge, 1900) 108. 82. Lowe, 104-105. 83. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 131, File 13772. 84. Lowe, 72.
85. Ibid, 85-S6. 86. Urquhart, no. 87. Andrew Doyle, Pauper Children (Canada), BPP, (9) 1875 LXIII, 10. 88. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 131, File 13772. 89. Bilbrough, 4. 90. Lowe, no.
4°5
91. Ibid, 126-12?. 92. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 160, File 16688. 93. Lowe, 138-139. 94. Ibid, 159-161. 95. Ibid,i68. 96. Ibid, 168-170. 97. Report of G. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1904 (Ottawa: 1905) npn, NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 98. Birt,86. 99. Ibid, 235. 100. From Lilian Birt, The Children s Home-Finder (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1913) op 234. Chapter 5: The Work Grows: Major Agencies 1.
SP, 47 Victoria (14) 1884,59.
2.
NAG, RG 17, Vol. 530, File 58860.
3.
NAG, RG 17, Vol. 532, File 59065.
4.
NAG, RG 17, Vol. 530, File 58860.
5.
Andrew Doyle, Pauper Children (Canada), in BPP, 1875 (9) LXIII, 37-38.
6.
SP, 8-9 Edward VII (25) 1909,99.
7.
SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,71.
8.
Gillian Wagner, Children of the Empire (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982) 138.
9. Letter from Mark Whitwell to S. Gardiner, December 18,1889; NAG, RG 17, Vol. 628, File 71276. 10. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,93. 11. Ibid. 12. Richard B. Splane, Social Welfare In Ontario: 1791-1893 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965, reprinted 1971) 262-263. 13. SP, 8-9 Edward VII (25) 1909,100. 14. NAG, RG 76, Vol. 495, File 768363, Part 4. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid. 17. Ellen Agnes Bilbrough, British Children in Canadian Homes (Belleville: A. Beveridge, 1879) 2. 18. Ibid. Although Miss Bilbrough states they sailed on the Prussian, the Sessional Papers of the Government of Canada, 35 Victoria, 1871, state they came on the ship Peruvian and the passenger list bears this out. 19. Ibid, 22-23. 406
20. Ibid, 2O. 21. Ibid, 6-7. 22. Ibidy 19. 23. SP, 46 Victoria (14) 1883,114. 24. Ibidy 116. 25. Ibid, 31. 26. NAG, RG17, Vol. 626, File 71013. 27. SP,i-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,101-102. 28. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children And Receiving Homes For The Year Ended June 30,1904 (Ottawa: 1905) 6; NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 29. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children And Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1913 (Ottawa: 1914) 19; NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 30. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1914 (Ottawa: 1915) 21; NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 31. Denis Crane, John Bull's Surplus Children (London: H. Marshall, 1915) 58. Denis Crane is the pen name of Walter Cranfield. 32. Barnardo Homes now maintains the records for this institution. The Belleville Public Library also has some material on this home and they have started a card index of children from the home. Material is also available in the National Archives of Canada and at the Social Work Archives at the University of Liverpool, England. 33. Lilian M. Birt, The Children's Home-Finder (London: J. Nisbet, 1913) 106. 34. Ibid. 35. Ibidy 109. 36. Gwynth Joy Parr, "The Home Children: British Juvenile Immigrants to Canada, 18681924" (Unpublished PhD thesis, Yale University, 1977) 76. 37. Birt, 114. 38. Acadian Recorder, Thursday, August 7,1873. 39. Birt, 130-132. 40. SP, 37 Victoria (9) 1873, Report of the Halifax Agent. 41. Birt, 133. 42. Ibidy 140. 43. Ibidy 134-136. 44. Ibid, 141. 45. Lilian Birt, The Children's Home-Finder (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1913) op 134. 46. Merseyside Maritime Museum, The Leaving of Liverpool: The Story ofiyth Century Emigration, Liverpool: 1986. 47. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,160. 48. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,109. 407
49- Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended June 30,1903 (Ottawa: 1904) 93; NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 50. Smart Report, 1904,7. 51. SP, 2 George V (25) 1912,111. 52. Ibid, 242-244. 53. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1915 (Ottawa: 1916) 18; NAG, PAAP JV 7282 C4C3. 54. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1916 (Ottawa: 1917) 20; NAG, PAAP JV 7282 C4C3. 55. Letter Robert Burnett to Miss L. Birt, March 17,1918. In private collection of M. Baldwin & J. Colclough. 56. Letter from Robert Burnett to Miss L. Birt, December 5,1918, private collection of M. Baldwin & J. Colclough. 57. Birt, 246. 58. Wagner, 70-71. 59. Children's Emigration Homes, Nineteenth Report, 1891,9; NAC, Reel A-1994, Middlemore Papers (hereinafter Middlemore). 6o.Wagner, 72. 61. Middlemore, 12. 62. SP 38 Victoria 1874 (40), 14. 63. London Advertiser, May 14,1875,3. 64. Middlemore, 13. 65. Letter from Middlemore to Department of Agriculture, December 10,1878; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 236, File 24295. 66. London Free Press, November 27,1943, "Swartz Tavern Played Colorful Part In London History," 30. 67. SP, 38 Victoria (40), 1875,73. 68. Archibald Bremner, Illustrated London (London: 1900) 38. 69. Middlemore, 5. 70. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,101. 71. Smart Report, 1913,20. 72. One Hundred Years of Child Care: The Story of Middlemore Homes 1872-1972, published by the Middlemore Homes Committee, 1972,7. 73. Rev. W. Morley Punshon, Songs of Christian Life and Work (Toronto: S. Rose, 1877) 8. 74. Ibid. 75. Jean S. Heywood, Children in Care (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1959, reprinted in 1966) 56. Quoted in The Silver Stream by Cecil F. Walpole, 1947,39-40.
408
76. The address was given as Main Street E., Hamilton, Ontario, Box 46. 77. Punshon, 19. 78. SP, 1-2 Edward VIII (25) 1902,103. 79. Crane, 20. 80. Ibid, 41. 81. Punshon, 19-22. 82. SP, 52 Victoria (5) 1889,70-71. 83. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,54. 84. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,57. 85. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,103. 86. SP, 7-8 Edward VII (25) 1908,118. 87. Crane, 53-54. 88. Smart Report, 1915,27. 89. NAG, Reel €-4708, RG 76, Vol. 46, File 1381, Part 4. 90. NAG, Reel C-47O8-9, covers the period from 1892 to 1934. 91. Gail H. Corbett, Barnardo Children In Canada (Peterborough: Woodland, 1981) 25. 92. SP, 48 Victoria (8) 1885,42. 93. Corbett, 28. 94. Ibid, 29-30. 95. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 550, File 61591. 96. Russell Women's Institute, Banner County History of Russell & District 1879-1967,103. 97. John Herridge Batt, Dr. Barnardo: The Foster-Father of "Nobody's Children" (London: S.W. Partridge, 1904) 135. 98. Letter from Alfred Owen to Small, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, dated Oct 30,1888; NAG, RG 17, Vol. 596, File 67396. 99. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 625, File 70871. 100. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 624, File 70792. 101. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 349, File 37236. 102. Clipping found in NAC, RG 17, Vol. 610, File 69101. 103. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,17. 104. SP, 58 Victoria (13) 1895,133. 105. Ibid, 133-134106. SP, 59 Victoria (13) 1896,98. 107. Ibid. 108. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,157. 109. Ibid, 157-158.
409
no. Ibid, 157. 111. Ibid. 112. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,94. 113. Ibid. 114. Ibid, 93. 115. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,105. 116. Smart Report, 1903,91. 117. Smart Report, 1904,8. 118. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector Of British Immigrant Children And Receiving Homes For The Year Ended June 30,1905 (Ottawa: 1906) 6; NAG, PAAPJV 7282 C4C3. 119. Ibid, 8. 120. Illustrated London News, Saturday, September 30,1905, cover. 121. Ibid, 458. 122. SP, 7-8 Edward VII (25), 1908,115. 123. SP, 2 George V (25) 1912,99. 124. Ibid, 112. 125. Smart Report, 1915,25. 126. Heywood, 60. 127. Ibid. 128. Ibid, 60-61. 129. NAG, RG17, Vol. 508, File 55847. 130. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 557, File 62514. 131. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 614, File 69559132. NAG, Reel C-4731. 133. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,108. 134. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,97. 135. Smart Report, 1914,24. 136. Ibid. 137. NAG, Reel C-4731 holds the Department of the Interior records for this organization. 138. Edgar Rowan, Wilson Carlile and the Church Army (London: The Church Army Bookroom, 1928) 63. 139. Ibid, 75-76. 140. Ibid, 128. 141. Ibid, 135. 142. Parr, 79. 143. Syd Sharp, Black Boots and Short Trousers (London: Create Publishing, 1995) 21.
410
144- SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,102-103. 145. Smart Report, 1904,6. 146. SP, 7-8 Edward VII (25) 1908,117. 147. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For 1921-1922 (Ottawa: 1922) 16; NAG, PAAPJV 7282 €403. 148. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,102. 149. Smart Report, 1914,25. 150. Smart Report, 1915, 25. 151. Ibid. 152. James Ross, The Power I Pledge (Glasgow: Quarrier Homes, 1971) 18. 153. Ibid, 45. 154. Birt, 72. 155. Ross, 59. 156. James Ross gives this number as 35 children, but John Urquhart records it as 64, of whom 35 were from Quarrier's home, 10 from Maryhill and 19 from Edinburgh. In Ross' book, however, he quotes Quarrier on page 73 as saying there were 60 children ready to go to Canada. 157. OSP, 36 Victoria (12) 1873,33-34. 158. Ibid, 19. 159. John Urquhart, The Life-Story of William Quarrier (London: S.W. Partridge, 1900) 217. 160. John Climie, William Quarrier, The Orphans' Friend (Glasgow: Pickering & Inglis, c. 1900) 45161. Ross, 40. 162. Ibid, 68-69. 163. Bilbrough, 28-29. 164. Ibid, 30. 165. Ross, 51. 166. Urquhart, 85. 167. Anna Magnusson, The Village: A History of'Quarrier's (Bridge-of-Weir: Quarrier Homes, 1984) 59. 168. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,102. 169. Smart Report, 1905,5. 170. SP, 2 George V (25) 1912,113. 171. Ibid 172. Crane, 59. 173. Smart Report, 1915,16. 174. Urquhart, 392-393.
411
Chapter 6: Latecomers and Smaller Organizations 1.
SP, 57 Victoria (13)1894,27.
2.
SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,5-8.
3.
Newspaper clipping in the NAC, RG 76, Vol. 46, File 1381, Part 4, undated.
4.
SP, 11 George V (18) 1921,50-51.
5. Kathryn Hansuld Lamb, "Victoria Cross Winners Honored In Cambridge," Waterloo Historical Society, Volume 83 (1995), 14. 6.
SP, 10 George V (18) 1920,32.
7.
Ibid, 33.
8.
Ibid, 34.
9.
SP, 11 George V (18) 1921,46.
10. Ibid. 11. Ibid, 49. 12. Ibid. 13. SP, 12 George V (12) 1922,47. 14. Ibid, 48. 15. Ibid. 16. SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,40. 17. Ibid, 4918. SP, 13 George V (13) 1923,65. 19. SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,54. 20. G.F. Plant, Oversea Settlement (London: Oxford University Press, 1951) 132-133. 21. Ibid, 133-13422. SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,27. 23. NAC, MG 29-C58. 24. Ellen Agnes Bilbrough, British Children in Canadian Homes (Belleville: A. Beveridge, 1879) 29. 25. Denis Crane, John Bull's Surplus Children (London: H. Marshall, 1915) 195-196. 26. Interview with Mrs. Beddoe in Women's Penny Paper, 25 January 1890,157-8. From http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/corehistorians/women/hannam/text/han3iia.htm, September 20,2000. 27. SP, 53 Victoria (6) 1890,164. 28. Statistics for the number of children placed in New Brunswick by the Bristol Emigration Society taken from G. Bogue Smart's report of 1901. 29. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1903 (Ottawa: 1904), 92; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3.
412
30. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1906 (Ottawa: 1907), 7; NAG, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3. 31. SP, i George V (25) 1911,112-113. 32. NAG, Reel C-4764, Vol. 99, File 13204, Part 1-3 which cover the period 1894 to 1906. 33. Letter from G. Bogue Smart to Edwin Davey, April 21,1908; NAG, Reel C-io6i2. 34. SP, 8-9 Edward VII (25) 1909,106. 35. Crane, 99. 36. Ibid. 37. Letter from George Carter Cossar to Minister of Agriculture, August 31,1909; NAC, Reel C-10646, RG 76, Vol. 567, File 811810. 38. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended March 31,1913 (Ottawa: 1914), 20; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3. 39. NAC Reel C-io646, RG 76, Vol. 567, File 811910. 40. Letter from Dr. Marjory Harper to Bill Dunbar, Quarrier Homes, dated March 14,1994. 41. Crane, 109-110. 42. Ibid, in. 43. NAC, Reel C-7819, RG 76, Vol. 271, File 229574. 44. SP, 52 Victoria (5) 1889, xxvii. 45. Letter from Rev. Ward to L. Stafford, July 11,1887; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 555, File 60573. 46. SP, 52 Victoria (5) 1889,71. 47. SP, 2 George V (25) 1912,112-113. 48. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1914 (Ottawa: 1915), 25; NAC, PAAP JV 7282 C4C3. 49. Crane, 55. 50. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,107. 51. Ibid. 52. SP, 57 Victoria (13) 1894,24-25. 53. Ibid, 25. 54. Women of Canada: their life and work, compiled by the National Council of Women of Canada, circa 1900,429, CIHM #11965. 55. NAC, Reel C-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22857. 56. Crane, 56. 57. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,99. 58. Smart Report, 1913,21. 59. SP 57 Victoria (13) 1894,26. 60. Gwynth Joy Parr, "The Home Children: British Juvenile Immigrants to Canada, 18681924" (Unpublished PhD thesis, Yale University, 1977) no. 4*3
61. NAG, Reel 0-4732, RG 76, Vol. 64, File 32932, Part I. 62. Ibid, lists many of the names of these children. The file also contains information on Bertha Pady's correspondence with the government. 63. William Booth, In Darkest England and the Way Out (London: International Headquarters of the Salvation Army, 1890) 144. 64. Smart Report, 1913,21. 65. Ibid, 13. 66. Crane, 64-65. 67. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1915 (Ottawa: 1916), 18; NAC, PAAP JV 7282 €403. 68. Nicholas Stephen Mew, "The Miration of Domestics from the United Kingdom to Canada through the Salvation Army, 1925-1931" (Unpublished MA thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1994) 33. 69. Ibid,6S. 70. Ibid. 71. JHd,Table9, 72. NAC, RG 76, Vol. 495, File 768363, Part 4. 73- Ibid. 74. Ibid, letter from Brigadeer Trudge to Smart, May 30,1923. 75. Ibid, letter from G. Bogue Smart to Obed Smith, May 12,1923.
76. Mew, 25. 77. Kathleen Heasman, Evangelicals in Action (London: G. Bles, 1962) 94. 78. Grenfell, Saskatchewan, is just east of Regina. 79. NAC, Reel C-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22857. 80. Smart Report, 1906, 6-7. 81. Vivienne Smyly, The Early History of Mrs. Smyly's Homes and Schools (Dublin: 1977) 8. 82. Thorn's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: for the year 1906. Dublin: 1906. 83. Letter from Ellen Smyly to G. Bogue Smart, May i, 1905; NAC, Reel C-1O258, RG 76, Vol. 3, File 383725. 84. Ibid, letter from G. Bogue Smart to Ellen Smyly, May 9,1905. 85. Ibid, letter Smyly to Smart, August 14,1905. 86. Ibid, letter from G. Bogue Smart to George Tebbs, July 19,1905. 87. Ibid, Brochure entitled A Realized Dream. 88. Ibid, letter from George Tebbs to Smart, July 4,1905. 89. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the year ended ]une 30,1905 (Ottawa: 1906), 5; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3.
414
90. Pamphlet entitled A Realized Dream: The Coombe Home, 12; NAC, Reel €-10258, RG 76, Vol. 3, File 383725. 91. Jacob Hespeler was not the founder of the town. The hamlet was first called Bergytown and was then renamed New Hope. It was later renamed for Hespeler who was a local businessman and politician. 92. Smart Report, 1906,8-9. 93. Busy Town of Hespeler, 1906,55. 94. NAC, Reel €-10258, RG 76, Vol. 3, File 383725, pamphlet entitled General Information for those Making Application for Children. 95. Crane, 58-59. 96. Vivienne Smyly, 10-11. 97. Letter from G. Bogue Smart to Arthur Pullam; NAC, Reel €-10258, RG 76, Vol. 3, File 383725. 98. Waterloo Historical Society, Volume 3 (1923), 33. 99. NAC, Reel €-10258, RG 76, Vol. 3, File 383725. 100. Vivienne Smyly, 11. 101. NAC, Reel €-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22857.NAC, Reel €-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22857. 102. Emma M. Stirling, Our Children In Old Scotland and Nova Scotia (Coatesville, PA: C.N. Speakman, 1896) 72. 103. Ibid, 78-80. 104. Letter from Edwin Clay to H.B. Small, Secretary to Minister of Argriculture, June 23, 1887; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 540, File 60268. 105. SP, 52 Victoria (5) 1889,40. 106. Mary Louise Rippey and Leland Harvie, "Emma M. Stirling and Hillfoot Farm," Nova Scotian Genealogist, Vol. XVII/i, Spring 1999, n. 107. Heasman, 157. 108. Information received from Mr. Steve Griffiths, Archivist, Croydon Council, July 12,2000. 109. SP, 8-9 Edward VII (25) 1909,104. no. Smart Report, 1913,19-20. in. Letters in the NAC gives the address as RR #7 Woodstock, Ontario. 112. H.G. Benfield is listed as a tenant on the land in the Oxford County Directory of 1902. 113. Plant, 76. 114. Ibid. 115. NAC, Reel €-7819, RG 76, Vol. 271, File 229574. 116. NAC, RG 76, Vol. 495, File 768363, Part 4. 117. Plant, 90.
4*5
n8. SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,26. 119.
Angela G. Burdett-Coutts (ed.), Woman's Mission (London: S. Low, 1893) 372.
120. 121. 122. 123. 124.
Ibid, 373. Ibid, 379. Ibid, 383. Ibid, 385. Ibid, 445.
125. J. Apramian, The Georgetown Boys (Winona, Ont: Georgetown Armenian Boys' Association, 1976) 7. 126. Ibid, 136. 127. Evelyn Berthrong, "The Armenian Boys at Georgetown," in Legacy, Volume i, Number i, a publication of the Archives of Ontario, 1988,3. 128. Kathryn Lamb, "The Georgetown Boys In Waterloo County" in Waterloo Historical Society, Vol. 80,1992,137-141. Chapter 7: Roman Catholic Participation 1.
Motto composed by Cardinal Vaughan.
2. Edgar Dunn, "Poor Children In The Diocese Of Southwark," in Catholic Ancestor, Vol. 5, #2, June 1994, 65. 3.
Edward St. John, Manning's Work For Children (London: 1929) 155.
4. Vincent Alan McClelland, Cardinal Manning: His Public Life and Influence 1865-1892 (London: Oxford University Press, 1962) 39-40. 5.
St. John, 160.
6.
Robert Gray, Cardinal Manning: A Biography (London: St. Martin's Press, 1985) 210.
7. George Andrew Beck (ed.), The English Catholics 1850-1950 (London: Burns, Oates, 1950) 572. 8.
Ibid, 275.
9.
Canon Bennett, Father Nugent of Liverpool (Liverpool: Birkenhead Press, 1993) 31.
10. Beck, 561. 11. Ibid, 565. 12. Ibid, 283. 13. SP, 34 Victoria (64) 1971, 68. 14. Beck, 575. 15. NAG, RG17, Vol. 373, File 40118. 16. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,8. 17. Letter from Margaret Lacy to H.B. Small, November 6,1889; NAG, RG 17, Vol. 628, File 71229. 416
18. Bennett, 97. 19. Pamela Horn, "The Emigration of Pauper Children to Canada 1870 -1914," in Genealogists Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 10, June 1997,2. Taken from a letter, Thomas Seddon to Walter J. Sendall of the Local Government Board (LGB), 13 November, 1884, in Box I, Westminster Dioceasan Archives (WDA). 20. Ibid. Taken from a letter, Thomas Seddon to Rev Mother Martha, St Patrick's Asylum, Ottawa, 20 November 1884, WDA, Box I. 21. First Report of the Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization (Ottawa: 1875) 44. 22. McClelland, 48. 23. Letter from Father Seddon to John Lowe; NAG, RG17, Vol. 519, File 57294. 24. Horn, 2. See PP, 1906 Vol. 36, Appendix XI, 308-309 for number of children. 25. Women of Canada: their life and 'work (circa 1900), CIHM #11965,334. 26. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 543, File 60685. 27. NAG, Reel C-4542, List #81, passenger list of SS Numidian, September 24,1898. 28. St. John, 138. 29. IfoW, 133-134. 30. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,162. 31. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 669, File 76286. 32. Hintonburg is now part of the City of Ottawa. 33. Listed as the New Southwark Farm for Youths, Makinak, Manitoba, in Women of Canada. 34. SP, 59 Victoria (13) 1896,100 -101. 35. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,162. 36. Ibid. 37. Ibid. 38. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,106. 39. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,163-164. 40. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,96. 41. Ibid, 97. 42. Women of Canada, 336, states that St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum was " [o]pened in 1865 for children of Irish descent." They received government and county council grants along with donations to run the institution. 43. Ibid. The reference is to the Bethlehem Asylum for Foundlings which was opened in 1879 by the Grey Nuns and run on public charity. 44. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,97. 45. Jean S. Heywood, Children in Care (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1959, reprinted 1966) 59. 46. Monica H. Plante, St Particks Catholic Orphanage, 1900-1973, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (Muenster, Saskatchewan: 1988) 29.
417
47- Information on this group can be found at the NAG, Reel 0-10285, RG 76, Vol. 392, File 542907. 48. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1903 (Ottawa: 1904) 92; NAG, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3. 49. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1904 (Ottawa: 1905) 4; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C^C^. 50. Ibid, 6-7. 51. Report ofG. Bogue Smart Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the year ended June 30,1905 (Ottawa: 1906) 6; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3. 52. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1914 (Ottawa: 1915) 18; NAC, PAAP JV 7282 C4C3. 53. Ibid, 19. 54. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes For Year Ended March 31,1915 (Ottawa: 1916) 25; NAC, PAAP JV 7282 C4C3. Chapter 8: Poor Law Participation in Emigration 1. E. Pease, The Abolition of Poor Law Guardians, Fabian Tract No. 126 (London: Fabian Society, 1906) 4. 2.
Ibid.
3. Jean S. Heywood, Children in Care (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1959 reprinted 1966) 67. 4. Ibid, 68. Quoted in W. Chance, Children under the Poor Law (Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Ltd., 1897) 4. 5. J. Wesley Bready, Lord Shaftesbury and Social-Industrial Progress (London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1926) 172-173. 6.
Ibid, 173.
7.
Denis Crane, John Bull's Surplus Children (London: H. Marshall, 1915) 118.
8.
Ibid, 121.
9.
Ibid, 123.
10. BPP, 1836 XL (76), 15-16. 11. Ibid, 22. 12. New Brunswick Courier, August 28,1847. 13. BPP, 1852 XXXIII (559), 51-52. 14. Helen I. Cowan, British Emigration To British North America (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1961) 223. 15. BPP, 1852 XXXIII (559), 5416. SP, 29 Victoria (5) 1866,48. 418
17. Hereford Times, June 7,1873. 18. Letter from W.C.B. Grahame to John Lowe, September 17,1887; NAC, RG17, Vol. 550, File 61555. 19. Letter from Charles Tupper to John Carling, April 7,1887; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 532, File 59065. 20. Ibid. 21. Letter from Edwin Clay to John Lowe, January 29,1878; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 212, File 21898. 22. NAC, RG 17, Vol. 720, File 82719. 23. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,99. 24. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1905 (Ottawa: 1906), 4; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3. 25. SP, 8-9 Edward VII (25) 1909,100-101. 26. Ibidyioi. 27. Ibid, 102. 28. NAC, Reel A-1632. 29. Report ofG. Bogue Smart, Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes for the Year Ended June 30,1903 (Ottawa: 1904), 94; NAC, PAAP JV 7282, C4C3. 30. NAC, Reel A-1632. 31. Term used by Mr. Joseph Daley, Montreal immigration agent. 32. Edith Sellers, "Women's Work for the Welfare of Girls" in Woman's Mission, edited by Angela G. Burdett-Coutts (London: S. Low, 1893) 36. 33- Ibid. 34. Ibid, 38. 35. BPP, 1851 XL, (348), 15. Author's Note: the Appendix was not printed in the Sessional Papers with this report. 36. Ibid, 34-35. 37. Letter from A.B. Hawke to A.C. Buchanan, October 19,1850, AO, RGn-i-o-3. 38. Ibid, letter from Hawke to Buchanan, October 24,1850. 39. BPP, 1852, LXVIII (1650), Schedule E, 451. 40. Ibid, 19-20. 41. Letter from A.B. Hawke to A.C. Buchanan, September 12,1851, AO, RGn-i-o-3. 42. Letter from W. McKay to Thomas Bellairs, 1852, AO, RGn-i- o -3. 43. BPP 1854 XLVI (1763), 18. 44. Opthalmia is an inflammation of the eye. 45. BPP 1854 XLVI (1763), 18. 46. Ibid, 38. 47. Ibid, 32.
419
48. Ibid, 36. 49. BPP, 1859, XIV (2555), 3750. BPP, 1860, XXIX (29), 39. 51. SP, 24 Victoria (14) 1861, npn. 52. BPP, 1863, XV (3199), 35. 53. SP, 26 Victoria (4) 1863,3. 54. I&id., Appendix No. 5, Daley's Report, npn, 1863. 55. SP, 26 Victoria (4) 1863,3. 56. BPP, 1864, XVI (3341), 37. 57. SP, 27 Victoria (32) 1864, npn. 58. Ibid. 59. Ibid. 60. TWd.
61. SP, 28 Victoria (6) 1865. 62. SP, 29 Victoria (5) 1866,25. 63. Ibid, 26. 64. Ibid, 27. 65. SP, 30 Victoria (3) 1867,24. 66. SP, 31 Victoria (33) 1868,10. 67. SP, 33 Victoria (80) 1870,21. 68. SP, 38 Victoria (40) 1875,14. 69. SP, 46 Victoria (14) 1883,218. Chapter 9: Reformatories, Industrial Schools and Ragged Schools 1. Mary Carpenter, Reformatory Schools for the Children of the Perishing and Dangerous Classes and for Juvenile Offenders (London: 1851, reprinted Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith,
1970) vi. 2.
Ibid, 2.
3.
Ibid, 211-212.
4. Ibid, 81-82. 5.
Ibid, 165.
6. Ibid, 191. 7.
Ibid, 183.
8.
Alex. G. Scholes, Education for Empire Settlement (London: Longmans, Green, 1932) 5.
9. Reformatories and Industrial Schools Commission, Report of the Commissioners, together with Minutes of Evidence, Appendices, and Index, in PP, Crime and Punishment Juvenile Offenders, #4, Session 1884. xxii. (Hereinafter Crime.) 42.0
10. Ibid, xxx. 11. SP, 26 Victoria (4) 1863, npn, Mr. Buchanan's Report. 12. NAG, RG17, Vol. 532, File 59065. 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. Letter from Charles Tapper to Colonial Office, August 17,1887; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 554, File 62131. 16. Letter from General Laurie to John Carling, September 12,1887; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 554, File 52118. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid, Letter from Rev. M.G. Vine to H. Matthews, August 20,1887. 19. Letter from H.T. Holland to Lord Lansdowne, September 30,1887; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 554, File 62204. 20. Ibid, Report from John Carling to Lord Lansdowne, November 16,1887. 21. NAC, RG 17, Vol. 680, File 77726. 22. Scholes, 23. 23. Ibid, 28. 24. Ibid, 2. 25. Ibid, 3. 26. Ibid. 27. Stanley Johnson, A History of Emigration from the United Kingdom to North America 1763-1912 (London: A.M. Kelley, 1913) 273. 28. Scholes, 19. 29. H.T. Holmes, Reform of Reformatories and Industrial Schools (London: Fabian Society, 1902) 4. 30. Crime, ix. 31. Scholes, 13-14. 32. Ibid, 21. 33. Olive Checkland, Philanthropy in Victorian Scotland: Social Welfare and the Voluntary Principle (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 1980) 248. 34. Ibid, 247. 35. Montreal Witness, November 30,1846. 36. Carpenter, 119. 37. Ibid, 156. 38. Jean S. Heywood. Children in Care (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1959, reprinted 1966) 40-41. Quoted from The Life and Work of Mary Carpenter, by J. Estlin Carpenter (Macmillan, 1881) 82. 421
39- Ibidy 118. 40. Ibid, 119. 41. Kathleen Heasman, Evangelicals in Action (London: G. Bles, 1962) 72. 42. Edwin Hodder, The Life and Work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G. (London: Cassell & Co., 1887) 399. 43. Heasman, 87. 44. W.S. Shepperson, British Emigration to North America (Oxford: Blackwell, 1957) 118. 45. "Song of the Emigrant" by Judge Joseph Payne: To seek for employment Where work can be found; To meet with enjoyment On less crowded ground, We cross the broad ocean With gladness and glee; And when in devotion we're bending the knee This, this shall our prayer be at the close of each day, God prosper the people who sent us away. 46. Ibid, 120. 47. Ibidy 121. 48. AO,RG 11-2-0-1. Chapter 10: Female Immigration 1.
Kathleen Heasman, Evangelicals in Action (London: G. Bles, 1962) 107.
2.
Ibid, 45.
3.
Patrick A. Dunae, Gentlemen Emigrants (Vancouver: Douglas & Mclntyre, 1981) 26.
4.
A. James Hammerton, Emigrant Gentlewomen (London: Groom Helm, 1979) 95.
5.
W.S. Shepperson, British Emigration to North America (Oxford: Blackwell, 1957) 125.
6. Catharine Parr Traill, The Female Emigrant's Guide, and Hints on Canadian Housekeeping (Toronto: Maclear and Co., 1854) 17. 7. Marilyn Barber, Immigrant Domestic Servants in Canada (Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association, 1991) 4. 8.
The Times, April 29,1862.
9.
SP, 30 Victoria (3) 1867,23.
10. SP, 35 Victoria (2A) 1872,58. 11. SP, 46 Victoria (14) 1883,191.
422
12. Ibid, 106. 13. Ibid, 105. 14. SP, 47 Victoria (14) 1884,144. 15. Ibid. 16. Women of Canada: their life and work (circa 1900), CIHM #11965,421, complied by the National Council of Women of Canada. 17. Ibid, 422. 18. Ishbel Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, The Canadian journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893-1898 (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1960) 15-16. 19.
Ibidyift.
20. Ibid. 21. The Times, December i, 1904,7. 22. SP, 12 George ¥,(18)1922,56. 23. Ibid. 24. Heasman, 45. 25. BPP, 1851, XL (348), 14. 26. Helen I. Cowan, British Emigration to British North America (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1961) 224. 27. Marian Diamond, Emigration and Empire: The Life of Maria S. Rye (London: Garland Publishing, 1999) 73. Quoted from Frank A. Peake, The Anglican Church in British Columbia (Vancouver: Mitchell Press, 1959) 40. 28. Ibid. 29. G.P.V. Akrigg & Helen B. Akrigg, British Columbia Chronicle 1847-1871: Gold & Colonists (Victoria: Discovery Press, 1977) 257. 30. Ibid. 31. SP, 26 Victoria (4) 1863, npn. 32. Hammerton, 128. 33. Howard L., Population Pressures: Emigration and Government in Late NineteenthCentury Britain (Palo Alto: Society for the Promotion of Science & Scholarship, 1979) 77. 34. Hammerton, 129. 35. Ibid, 133. 36. SP, 32 Victoria (76) 1869,10. 37. Ibid, 8. 38. Quebec Gazette, June 15,1868. 39. SP, 32 Victoria (76) 1869,10. 40. Montreal Gazette, October 21,1868, i. 41. Ibid, October 28,1868, i. 4*3
42. Ibid, October 21,1868, i. 43. Ibid. 44. 7Hd.
45. SP, 32 Victoria (76) 1869,10 -11. 46. SP, 33 Victoria (80) 1870,36. 47. Hon. B.R. Stevenson, Report on Immigration to New Brunswick, in 1872 (Saint John: 1873)5-6. 48. Mary McNeill, Vere Foster: 1819-1900 An Irish Benefactor (Belfast: David & Charles, 1971) 39. 49. Ibid, 45. 50. Ibid, 46. 51. Ibid. 52. Ibid, 57. 53. Ibid. 54- /Hd,59. 55. Ibid, 63. 56. BPP, 1851 XL (198). 57. McNeill,68. 58. Ibid, 83. 59. Drogheda Argus, May 17,1856. 60. 7Hd, June 14,1856. 61. Ibid. 62. Ibid. 63. Ibid. 64. Drogheda Argus, June 28,1856. 65. Ifod. 66. Canadian News, September 3,1856,106. 67. Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser, March 27,1857. 68. Freeman s Journal, September 9,1857. 69. Ibid. 70. McNeill, 191. 71. Ibid. 72. Ibid, 193. 73. SP, 46 Victoria (14) 1883,191. 74. Agnes L. Money, History of the Girls' Friendly Society (London: Gardner, Darton, 1897) 7. 75. Ibid, 35-36. 76. A reference to the imaginary creature in Lewis Carroll's book The Hunting of the Snark. 414
77- Money, 19-20. 78. Ibid, 59. 79. Ibid, 15. 80. Ibid, 60. 81. Women of Canada, 270. 82. Ibid, 269. 83. Ibid, 14. 84. Ibid, 165-166. 85. Gordon, 261-262. 86. Ibid, 150. 87. Records and information from the Girls' Friendly Society can be found in the NAC, MG28,1349 comprised of 30 reels of microfilm, A-n88-A-i2i7. Minute books, correspondence and emigration registers are on microfilm A. 88. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,163. 89. Ibid, 159. 90. Ibid, 163. 91. Ibid, 163-164. 92. SP, 64 Victoria (25) 1901,105. 93. Women of Canada, 428. 94. SP, 61 Victoria (13) 1898,159. 95. NAC, Reel €-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22787, Part 3 contains the names of many of the women brought to Canada by this organization. 96. Women of Canada, 429. 97. NAC, Reels C-478i-C-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22787, Parts 1-3, covering the period 1899-1911. 98. NAC, Reel C-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, File 22787, Part 3. 99. NAC, Reels C-4781-C-4782, RG 76, Vol. 118, Parts 1-3. 100. Hammerton, 148. 101. Ibid. 102. Women's Work, 429. 103. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,165. 104. Ibid, xxviii. 105. SP, 1-2 Edward VII (25) 1902,79-80. 106. Ibid. 107. Ibid, 150. 108. Marjory Harper, Emigration From North-East Scotland: Beyond the Broad Atlantic (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1988) 235. 4^5
lop. Honourable Mrs. Stuart Wortley, "Emigration" in Woman s Missiony edited by Angela G. Burdett-Coutts (London: S. Low, 1893) 89. no. Harper, 237. in. Ibid, 159. 112. Ibid,i6o. 113. Ibid, 164. 114. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,165. 115. Ibid. 116. Ibidy 171-172. 117. SP, 58 Victoria (13) 1895,132. 118. NAG, RG17, Vol. 359, File 38488. 119. Louisa Twining, "The History of Workhouse Reform" in Woman's Mission, Angela G. Burdett-Coutts, ed. (London: S. Low, 1893) 269. 120. Angela G. Burdett-Coutts, ed., Woman's Mission (London: S. Low, 1893) 384. 121. E.S. Lidgett, "The Work of Women as Guardians of the Poor" in Woman's Mission, 255. 122. Ibid. 123. Ibid, 257. 124. Howard L. Malchow, Population Pressures: Emigration and Government in Late Nineteenth-Century Britain (Palo Alto: Society for the Promotion of Science and Scholarship, 1979) 80. 125. W.A. Carrothers, Emigration From The British Isles (London: F. Cass, 1965) 191. 126. Emigration from Ireland; being the Report of the Committee of "Mr. Tuke's Fund," together with Statements by Mr. Tuke and Major Gaskell, June 1882, i; CIHM #57135. 127. Ibid. 128. Ibid, 4. 129. Ibid, 18. 130. Ibid, 19-20. 131. Ibid, 20. 132. Ibid, 20-21. 133. Ibid, 15. 134. Ibid, 25. 135. Ibid, 231. 136. Letter from Rev. James Nugent to L. Stafford, February i, 1883; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 361, File 3871. 137. Letter from James Tuke to John Lowe, March 7,1883; NAC, RG 17, Vol. 363, File 39007. 138. Malchow, 80-81.
426
139. Letter to Mrs. Hartie, Secretary of the Women's British Immigration League from Miss M.V. Burnham, Supervisor of Women's Branch, Feb. 13,1929; NAG, Reel €-7833, RG 76, Vol. 284, File 250923. 140. Burdett-Coutts, 387. 141. Harper, 246. 142. Ibid, 250. 143. Nicholas Stephen Mew, "The Migration of Domestics from the United Kingdom to Canada through the Salvation Army, 1925-1931" (Unpublished MA thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1994) 22. 144. Ibid, 25. 145. Ibid, 59. 146. G.F. Plant, Oversea Settlement (London: Oxford University Press, 1951) 80. 147. SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,51.
148. Ibid. 149. Ibid, 49. 150. SP, 15 George V (13) 1925,51. 151. NAG, RG 17, Vol. 222, General Correspondence, 1878. 152. Joan Magee, The Swiss in Ontario (Windsor: Electa Books, 1991) 102-103. 153. Elise Koerber, Reception and Protection of Female Immigrants in Canada (speech given in Ottawa: 1879), 6; CIHM # 93377. 154. Ibid, 13.
155. Ibid. 156. Letter from A. Gait to John Lowe, February 8,1883; NAG, RG 17, Vol. 361, File 38775.
Appendix A: Text of Forms Used by Various Organizations 1.
Kathleen Heasman, Evangelicals in Action (London: G. Bles, 1962) 107.
2.
Andrew Doyle, Pauper Children (Canada), PP1875 (9) LXII, 255,38-39.
Appendix B: Father Seddon's Last Party of Children, September 24,1898 i.
From the National Archives of Canada, C-4542.
Appendix C: Limerick Union Party of 1865 i.
NAG C-4520.
Appendix D: A Fegan Boy's Story i. This story was contributed by Richard (Dick) Wright, who came to Canada in 1938 on the Duchess of Bedford with a Fegan party of boys. 427
Appendix E: Text of a 1903 Barnardo Advertisement i.
From The Times, November 2,1903.
Appendix F: Smyly Home Boys Who Enlisted from Canada, October 8,1915 i.
From the National Archives of Canada, Reel C-1O258, RG/6, Vol. 3, File 383725.
Appendix G: Number of Children Immigrated as Recorded by G. Bogue Smart i.
Information from Sessional Papers.
Appendix H: Circular of 1895 Sent to Agencies Involved with Immigrant Children i. This questionnaire can be found in the National Archives of Canada, Reel C-4/82, RG/6, Vol. 118, File 22857. Appendix I: List of Institutions 1.
W.S. Shepperson, British Emigration to North America (Oxford: Blackwell, 1957) 61.
2.
SP, 34 Victoria (61) 1871,68.
3.
Records are in the NAC, Reel C-4786, Vol. 122, File 24108 dated 1895-1896.
4.
SP, 29 Victoria (5) 1866,12.
5.
Ibid.
6.
Ibid, 42.
7.
Records can be found in the NAC, Reel C-1O242, Vol. 330, File 329957.
8.
SP, 23 Victoria (18) 1860,19.
9.
Illustrated London News, January 18,1862, 60.
10. Ibid. 11. SP, 24 Victoria (14) 1861, npn. 12. BPP, 1857 (II) XXVIII (141), 25. 13. SP, 23 Victoria (18) 1860,4. 14. SP, 34 Victoria (61) 1871,68. 15. BPP, 1857 (II) XXVIII (141), 6. 16. SP, 27 Victoria (32) 1864, npn, report of James McPherson. 17. Records are in the NAC, Reel C-4782, Vol. 119, File 22968, covering the period 18951906, Glasgow Juvenile Delinquency Board. 18. Letter Smith to Lowe, July 5,1886; NAC, RG17, Vol. 491, File 53941. 19. SP, 52 Victoria (5) 1889,36. 20. Clippings from the NAC, RG 17, Vol. 610, File 69101. 21. Ibid.
428
22. SP, 54 Victoria (6) 1891,57. 23. Information about this organization can be found in the NAC, Reel 0-4764, Vol. 99 and 100, File 13204, part 1-3 covering the period of 1894-1906. 24. Mary Carpenter, Reformatory Schools for the Children of the Perishing and Dangerous Classes and for Juvenile Offenders (London: 1851, reprinted Patterson Smith, 1970) 6. 25. Ibid, 6-7. 26. Ibid, 9. 27. Ibid, 10 -11. 28. Illustrated London News, September 18,1869. 29. IbidyiS. 30. Mary Carpenter, Juvenile Delinquents: their condition and treatment (London: 1853, reprinted, Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith, 1970) 310. 31. NAC, RG17 Vol. 554, File 62118. 32. Ibid. 33. Records are in the NAC, Reel C-4768, Vol. 104, File 16900, covering the period 1898-1910. 34. NAC, Reel C-io62i, Vol. 529, File 803423. 35. NAC, Reel C-io6i2, Vol. 514, File 800163. 36. Records are in the NAC, Reel C-4786, Vol. 123, File 24641 covering the period 1895-1900. 37. Helen I. Cowan, British Emigration to British North America (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1961) 222. 38. BPP, 1851, XL (348), Letter from Earl of Elgin to Earl Gray, and extract from Chief Agents's Report, 8. 39. SP, 24 Victoria (14) 1861, npn. 40. Emigration (North American Colonies), 24, CIHM #63537. 41. SP, 33 Victoria (80) 1870,36. 42. Records are at the NAC, Reel C-4775, Vol. in, File 22306, covering the period 1895-1899.
429
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Collections National Archives of Canada Particularly RGi7 and RG76. Middlemore records. Database of the children extracted from passenger lists, produced by the Ottawa British Family History Society, http://www.archives.ca Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management Register of children sent to Nova Scotia, 1873-76, by Louisa Birt. Letters and reports on the life and work of J. Wimburn Laurie. Oakfield and Its Founder, a monograph by Margaret Laurie. Clippings and letters related to the work of the Middlemore Home, Fairview, Nova Scotia. Provincial Archives of New Brunswick Selected minutes of the Executive Council of New Brunswick, 1880-1910. Cabinet papers, especially correspondence in 1907 and 1908 between Canada's emigration branch in London and the Honourable C.W. Robinson and the Honourable L.J. Tweedie, Fredericton, NB. Archives of Ontario Annual Reports, 1893-1918,1923-30, by the Superintendent of Neglected and Dependent Children of Ontario. Immigration Records, RG11.
436
Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives, Peterborough Clippings, photographs and records dealing with Hazelbrae, Barnardo distributing home. Provincial Archives of Manitoba Articles, letters, documents and photographs dealing with the establishment of Dr. Barnardo's farm at Russell and the distributing home in Winnipeg. Papers of Mr. Struthers, not dated. Archives of British Columbia "The community of the Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School," a study by Barbara Logan, and of school's first principal, H.T. Logan, 1944-45.
Other Sources Annual Reports of G. Bogue Smart, Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes, NAC. British Parliamentary Papers (BPP) Canada, House of Commons, Journals, 1888, Appendix 5, "Report of the Select Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonisation of the House of Commons." First Report of the Select Committee on Immigration and Colonization (Ottawa: 1875). Interview with Mrs. Beddow, in Women's Penny Paper, January 25,1890. From http://humanities.uwe.ac.uk/corehistorians/women/hannam/text/han3iia.htm Mew, Nicholas Stephen, "The Migration of Domestics from the United Kingdom to Canada through the Salvation Army, 1925-1931." Unpublished MA thesis, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1994. Our Paper, published by Fegan Homes. Parr, Gwynth Joy, "The Home Children: British Juvenile Immigrants to Canada, 1868-1924." Unpublished Phd thesis, Yale University, 1977. Reformatories and Industrial Schools Commission, Report of the Commissioners, together with Minutes of Evidence, Appendices, and Index. In BPP Crime and Punishment Juvenile Offenders, #4, Session 1884. Second Report of the Standing Committee on Immigration and Colonization (Ottawa: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1869). Sessional Papers of Canada (SP) Sessional Papers of Ontario (OSP) Stanley, D., "Northumberland Village Homes: A Historical Perspective." Unpublished thesis, University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, 1976/77. Terpsma, B., "The Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School and Child Welfare in British Columbia." Unpublished MA thesis, University of British Columbia, 1976. Thorn's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Ups & Downs, published by Barnardo Homes.
W
Ann Arbor (MI), 331 Annapolis Valley, 200,223 Annapolis (NS), 192,381 Annesley, W.G. (Capt), 146 Abbey House. Essex, 63 Annesley, (Mrs. W.G.), 146 Aberdeen (Scotland), 300-302, Anson, William, no 3i5> 346,352 Anthony, (Mr.), 271 Aberdeen, Ishbel Gordon, Anticosti Island, 370 Countess of, 47,312,335,352 Antisell(?), Evans, 375 Aberdeen, Lord (Gov. Gen.), 47, Apostle of Liverpool, see Father 312,335 Nugent Aberdeen Ladies Society (Union), apprentices, apprenticed, 6,10,11, 343>352 17,65,67-70,266,267 Aberdeen Orphanage, 235 apprenticeship, xvi, 6,127,130, Ackroyd, (Mr.), 214 150,187,188,239,239,266 Act of Parliament (1841), 299 Apramian, J., 236 Act to Regulate the Immigration Ararat Monthly, 237 into Ontario of Certain Archives of Manitoba, 146 Classes, 32,141,173 Ardee (Ireland), 327,331 Acton, Robert (Rev.), 158 Arden, Cecil (Mr.), 260,261 Adams (Doolan), Elisa, 328 Ardwick Green (Manchester), 245 Adamson, (Mr.), 78 Argentina, 324 Adel (Leeds), 384 Arkona (ON), 103 Adolescent Act, 33,35,36,156 Armenia, Armenian, xvi, 112,168, Adolphustown (ON), 382 212,231,235,237 Adolphustown, Township of, 385 Armenian Lord Mayor's Fund of adoption, adopted, xvi, 82,106, London, England, 235 m, 158, 210, 256, 258,339,360 Armstrong, (Rev. Dr.), 178 Ahearne, John, 362 Armstrong, William, 362 Aird,A.D. (Capt.),364 Arnold, (Mr.), 122 Airston, (Miss), 49 Arnold, _ (Mrs. K.), 358 Albany (NY), 280 Arnos Vale (Bristol), 240 Alberta, 31,141,188,229,231,232, Arrears of Rent Act (1882), 290,350 337> 355> 393 Arthur (ON), 79,247 Alexander, Charlotte A. (Miss), Arundel, Diocese of, 239 190,297 Ashdon (Essex), 158 All Hallows (London Wall), 63 All Saints Orphanage (Kent), 254 Ashley, Lord, see Shaftesbury, Earl of Allan, Hugh, 41,42 Ashurst (Tunbridge Wells), 158 Allan, (Smith) (Mrs. Aspdin, James (Mr.), 178 Alexander), 171 Assiniboine River, 151 Allan Line (Montreal Ocean Associates' Journal, 335 Steamship Company), 19,41, Association for Befriending Boys, 42,44, 46, 48, 49> 52, 58,73-75> 266 123,124, 251,349> 364,366 Astin, Hugh, 78 Allaway, Geraldine, 76,79 Atkins, (Mr.), 103,170 Allen: Athabasca, Bishop of, 371 George W. (Hon.), 131,132 Atlantic Ocean, xii, 26,27,31,46, lane, 268 52,54,55,124,128,312,367,369 Osborn B. (Rev.), 159,204 Austin, 152 Alverstoke (Hampshire), 138 Austin, A., 165 American Civil War, 306 Amherst Island, 173,207,288,378 Australia, xiii, 62,71,156,191,192, 198,206,207,231,293,304,308, Anchor Line, 42,53 311,312,316,318,319,323,326, Anderson Quay (Glasgow), 197 335> 343,388,391,394 Andrews, H.O., 203 Avenue House (Peckham, Andrews Home (Montreal), 159, London), 73,80 203,348 Aylesford (NS), 135,199,223-225, Anglican Synod of Montreal, 203 377 Anlisell(?),Monell(?),375 Ayton (ON), 247
Index
438
BWEA, see British Women's Emmigration Association Babies Castle (Hawkhurst), 144 Baden, Duchy of, 356 Baden Powell, Lord, 191 Badgley, (Mr.), 211 Bagnell, Kenneth, xiii, 396 Bailey (Bayley), (Miss), 160-162 Bainbridge-Smith, (Miss), 344 Baker, George, 375 Ball, Robert Notman (JP), 77,359, 360 Ballagh Farm (Guelph), 231 Ballycouree Orphanage (County Tyrone), 235 Bans, Emmanuel (Father), 242, 259,260,262 Baptist(s), Baptist Church, 117,347 Barber, Emma Gertrude (Miss), 23, 25,94> 95> 170 Barlow, James, 137 Barnardo, Syrie Louise (Elmslie) (Mrs.), 143,154 Barnardo, Thomas J., 10,29,47,58, 73,96, no, 140,143,144,146-151, 153,154> 156,157,165,173, i85> 242, 243, 252, 253, 259,374,377 Barnardo children (party), 45,52, 53,55, 61,147,154,156, 272 Barnardo Homes, xv, 33,35,53, 104,109,119,131,140,146-148, 151,152,154-156,181,229,252, 255>374,407 Barns, Charles N., 142 Barnsby (MB), 103 Baroda House (Dulwich), 158 Barra, Island of, 304 Barrett, Margaret, see also Leary, Margaret, 269 Barren, R.O. (Rev.), 159,204 Barry, William (Father), 242,243 Barton, Alice, 329 Barton, Township of, 138,141 Barton Regis Union, 192 Barton Regis (Bristol), 192 Baskett, C.R. (Rev.), 159,204 Bath (England), 64,117 Bath Gaol, 292 Bayard, (Dr.), 270 Bayley, (Miss), see Bailey, Miss Beattie, (Mr.), 116 Beattie, James, 375 Beauharnois, County of, 259 Beavan, (Mrs.), 220 Beaver Line, 349,350 Beazley, Ernest H. (Private), 181 Beckett Home (Leeds), 158 Beddoe, Agnes (Mrs.), 191,192 Bedford, Kate, 247 Bedford Institute (London), 87
Black, David, 375 Begg, Alexander, 170 Black, George, 156 beggars, pilferers, 3,301 Blackburn, Geoff, 67,69 Belcher, Ann, 272 Blackball, (Miss), 133 Belfast (Northern Ireland), 56, 332,369 Blacklake(QC),393 Blaikie, (Mrs.), 96,114,116,119, Belgian (immigrants), 347 Bellairs, (Mr.), 283 190 Blair Athol (Gait), 95,96,100,173, Belleville (ON), xii, 12,23,25,53, 215 83> 9i-94> 99> 104* no, 113, H4> description, 95-97,100,101 116-118,131,144,170,171,173> Blair, (Mr.), 31,211 190,192, 201, 213, 215, 233, 235, Blake: 284,377 C.,382 Belleville Public Library, 407 Julia (Miss), 323 Bellow, Maria, 329 Mary, 365 Belwood(ON),i03 Blanchard, Caroline (Mrs.), 341 Benfield, H.G. (Mr.), 227 Blantyre, Lord, 165 Bentley, William J. 271 Benyon Home (Sherbrooke), 158, Bleasdale, see Beesdale Reformatory 297 Blyth House (Hammersmith), 239 Berkshire, 240 Berlin (Germany), 358 "blind alley occupations," 111 Berlin (now Kitchener) (ON), 99 Blue Medical Domestics, 354 "boarding out," 148,149,153,158, Bermuda, 269 223,386 Berry, John (Father), 244,248, 260,263,278 Boardman, W.F., 180 Bobbie, 102 Bethlehem, Asylum for Foundlings, 258,417 Boer War, 181 Bethnal Green Refuge (London), Boleyn Castle (East Ham), 240 Bondfield, Margaret (Miss), 35,189 119 Bethune,A.N. (Rev.), 66 Bondfield Report, 35,36 Bonett, Emma, 305 Bible Flower Mission, 98 Big Brothers (Movement), xvi, 56, Bonham-Carter, Alice, 323 "bonus system," 231 109 Bilbrough, Ellen (Miss), see also Booth, Charles, 154 Booth, William, i, 209,352 Wallace, Ellen Bilbrough, 10, Bootle (England), 380 22, 23, 45, 52, 82, 91, 93, 97,100, Borland, Emily (Mrs.), 346 112-115,171* 173> 19°> 213, 4°6 Borradaile, (Mrs.), 358 bilge keel, 402 Binns, John(?), 375 Bosley, Joseph, 362 Boston (MA), 57,58 Birch, John, 221 Botwood, John, 342 Birds' Nest Home (Ireland), 215, Boulton, G.S., 66 216,218,221 Birkdale Farm School (England), Bourhill, John, 68 Boy Scouts, xvi, 109,191 243 Boyce, J.W., 94 Birkenhead (England), 127 Birmingham (England), 2,10,46, Boyd, John (Hon), 45,74,77-79 71,117,131,132,135,135,136,138, Boyd,_(Mr.),336 206,214,240, 245, 260, 262,346, Boys' Garden City (Essex), 155 Boys' Home (Fife & Edinburgh), 377>379>38o,383,393,395 222 Birmingham Diocesan Rescue Boys' Home (Frome), 297 Society, 245 Boys' Home (Ireland), 216,221 Birstwith (England), 159,204 Boys' Home (Southwark), 166 Birt (family): 131 Charles Henry, 119 Boys' Home (Toronto), 133 Lilian M., 103,104,118,123,128, Boys' Industrial School, 122 Boys' Orphanage (Liverpool), 260 130 Boys' Refuge (Liverpool), 244,245 Louisa Caroline Sterling Boys' Refuge (London), 235 (Macpherson) (Mrs.), 45,49, 58,92,100,105, no, 118-130,157, Brace, A.H. (Mr.), 165-167 Brace, W.H., 168,377 252, 277, 296,378,393
Bradford (CW), 330 Bradner, Pat, 375 Brady: Anne, 329 Catherine, 329 Elizabeth, 329 Mary, 329 Brand, , 71 Brandon (MB), 165,394 Brant, County of, 151,160,259 Brantford (ON), 102,222,378 Brassey, Lord and Lady, 335,336 Brennan, Agnes (Miss), 248,249, 255, 257, 258,377 Brenton, Edward Pelham (Capt), 63,64 Brenton Juvenile Asylum, 63 Brentwood, 242 Brian, John, 251 Bride Ships, 316 Bridge-of-Weir (Renfrewshire), 170-173 Bridge-of-Weir Homes, 174 Bridger, John (Rev.), 157-159,201, 203,204,381 Brighton (England), 75,191 Brighton, Diocese of, 239 Brighton and London Ragged Schools, 380 Brighton and Sussex Emigration Society, 49,380 Brighton Emigration Society, 191 Brighton and Portsmouth, Diocese of, 239 Bristol (England), 2,10,71,192, 194,240,292,303,381,383,387 Bristol Emigration Society, no, 116,119,191-194,205,297,347, 378,380 Britain, see Great Britain British and North American Royal Mail Steamship Company, see Cunard Line British Children in Canadian HomeSy 115 British Colonial Emigration Fund, 206 British Colonization Committee, 325 British Columbia, 188,206,232, 316-319,344,345,355 British Dominion Emigration Society, 203,205 British Harvesters, 187 British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO), 397 British Ladies' Female Emigration Society, 308,315 British Museum, 71
439
British North America Act, 254 British Oversea Settlement Mission, 314 British Women's Emigration Association (BWEA), 277,316, 338,341-345,354 Brocklebank, Gail, see Smith, Gail Brocklebank, Thomas Gordon, 196 Brockville (ON), 12,30, i73-i/5> i8i,377 Bromsgrove (England), 134 Bronte (ON), 227 Broomhall, Alice, see Wallace, Alice Brophy, (Mrs.), 358 Brothers of Charity, 245 Brothers of the Christian Schools, 244,245 Brougham, Lord, 319 Brown: Ann, 281 Robert (Capt), 47 Gerald H. (Mr.), 191 Provost, 301 R.C. Lundin (Rev.), 316 Bruce, County of, 151,160 Bryson, , 256 Bryson, (Miss), 71,170 Buchanan, A.C. (Alexander Carlisle), 14,18, 41,42, 66-68, 70,267,268,279,280,282,285289,293,305,318,319,325,384 Buckinghamshire, 164 Buffalo (NY), 13 Burdett-Coutts, Angela (Baroness), 233,317 Burges: Agnes (Quarrier) (Mrs. James), 173,175,177 Alexander, 173 James, 173 Burgess, John (Rev.), 139 Burke, James, 221,375 Burke, Mary, 366 Burlington (ON), 280 Burn, __ (Mrs.), 335-337 Burnett, Robert (Private), 130 Burns, George, 251 Burns, Margaret, 247 Burson, (Rev.), 77 Busy Town ofHespeler, The, 219 Butland,_(Mr.),i66 Butler, Mary, 365 Butt, John (Bishop), 240-242,252 Buttle, Walter W, 371 Bytown (now Ottawa), 67,282 CCPS, see Catholic Children's Protection Society C., Harry, 29 44°
C, Mary, 29 Calgary (AB), 337,351,355 Callaghan, Edward, 362 Cambridge (ON) (see also Gait and Hespeler), xv, 20,94,215,217 Cambridge University, 87,197 Camden(ON),288,382 Camden, Township of, 288 Cameron, (Mrs. A. A.), 358 Cameron, (Mrs. E.), 385 Campbell: Anne, 329 Mary, 329 Mary, 329 Sir Archibald, 39 Campsie (Stirlingshire), 86 Canada, Lower, 12-14,65,66,268, 284,339 Canada, Upper, xvi, 12-14, V, 65, 66,69,268,280,283,284,308 "Canada clause" no "Canada List," 145 Canada, North-West Provinces GFS,335 Canada Training Farm, 367 Canada West, 305,329,330,331 Canadian Armenian Relief Fund, 235 Canadian Armenian Relief Fund Committee, 235 Canadian Army Medical Corps, 184 Canadian Catholic Emigration Committee (Society) (CCEC), 249,250,259,260,363,378 Canadian Council of Immigration of Women, 314 Canadian Distributing Home, see also Colonial Distributing Home, 166 Canadian Distribution Home Report, 171 Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), 156,176,221 Canadian Immigration Act, 277 Canadian Manufacturers' Association, 344 Canadian National Railway, 61,230 Canadian Pacific Line, 44,53 Canadian Pacific Ocean Steamship Company, 53 Canadian Pacific Railway, 61,151, 335>367 Canterbury, Archbishop of, 2,71, 157,204,333 Cape Breton, 274,370 Cape of Good Hope, 65,69 Cape Race, 47 Cape Town (South Africa), 62,391 "capitulation allowance," 274
Cardinal Manning's Committee, see the Canadian Catholic Emigration Committee Carey, Charles, 251 Carleton, County of, 152,259 Carleton County (NB), 270 Carlile, Wilson (Rev.), 163 Carling, John (Mr.), 296 Carlisle Place Orphanage, 250 Carmichael, (Miss), 315 Carney, Bridget, 329 Carpenter: _ (Mrs.), 303 Lant (Dr.), 303 Mary, i, 10,192,291-293,300,303 Carr, Margaret, 73 Carroll, Catherine, 364 Carroll, Mary, 329 Carrollan, Catherine, 329 Carry, Biddy, 329 Carter, J. (Rev.), 292 Casey, Catherine, 247 Cassidy: Arthur, 277 Lily, 277 Mabel, 277 Mary, 330 Thomas, 277 Castle Garden (US), 357 Catholic Child Welfare Council, 263 Catholic Child Welfare Council of England and Wales, 263 Catholic Children's Society, 263 Catholic Children's Aid Committee, 259,263 Catholic Children's Protective (Protection) Society (CCPS), 45, 246-248,377,379 Catholic Emigration Association, 261 Catholic Emigration Committee (Society), 255 Catholic Emigration Society, 338, 379 Catholic Women's Hostel (Montreal), 356 Catholic Women's League Hostel (Toronto), 356 Cedarvale Farm (Georgetown), 235,237 description of, 236 Central Emigration Society, 107, 273> 294 Central Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays (Church of England), 158 Cessnock (Govan), 169,172 Channel Islands, 240 Charlotte County (NB), 193
Charnwood Forest (Leicester), 240 Chase Farm School (Middlesex), 213 Chateaquay, County of, 259 Chatham (ON), 77,79 Chelsea, 241 Cherbourg (France), 236 Cheshire, 394 Chicago (IL), 13,233,331 Chief Henry (Chippewa), 101 Chief John (Chippewa), 101 Chief Jonathan (Six Nations), 102 Child Care Society, 264 Child Emigration Society, 206 child saving, 10, 88 child welfare, 117 Children: admission, 64 adoption, adopted, 26,82,123, 131,140,190,210,256,258,339, 360 after-care, after-care facility, 156,167,230,248 agreement(s), 134 agricultural training, 64,65,95 applications for, 75,82,107,121, 122,125,150,209,219,230,257, 261, 283,331,339,342 apprenticed, apprenticeship, 6, 29, 65-70,127,130,150,187,188, 260-268 Armenian, 112,212,231 arrival, arrived, 48,57, 66,68, 72, 73> 75> 9i> 94, 100,107,121, 122,125-128,141,185,186,192, 195,197, 201, 203, 205, 207, 223, 225, 226, 229, 230, 255, 258, 259, 262, 282,285,319,339,383 bank, bank accounts, 126,141, 165,167, 210, 220,361 bastards, 265 beaten, 29,120 begging, 3,5, 291,298,301,302 boarding out, 148-150,153,196, 266,386 Catholic, 208,266,274,328 "camping out," 165 code of behaviour, 368 condition of, 83, 88, 89,150, 162,167,189 contribute to home, 111,167,220 costs, 24,166,170,220,230,271, 277,293 crime, theft, 107,121,131,180, 181,273,291-293,298,300,301, 390,392 criminal convictions, 180,181 custodians (guardians) of, 77, 79,186,247 deaths of, 78,99,131,135
demand for, 105,150,210,257, 268,289 departure, 73,82,91,134,136, 170 deserted, 73,265 destitute, 63,82,95,98,121,164, 171, 208,213,259, 274,283,374, 389 discipline, obedience, 23,27, 128,176,214 education, educated, 23,201, 207,276,291,301,303,331 employment, 65,194,198,218, 233,251,256,266,268,285-287, 289,293,384 enlisted, joined up, served, 156, 176,181,183,198,221 ethnic origins, 112,147 factory slaves, 366 fee(s), 64 forms, documents, 108,146, 185,186,210 foster homes, foster parents, xvi, 130,148,151,155,185 foster-mothers, 189 foundlings, 266,417 guardians, guardianship, 66, 76,186,192,207 health of, 23,127,135,147,150, 161,176,195,226,236,262,271, 286 health inspections, 57,150,154 hired out, 73,74 histories of, 151 homeless, 90,98,121,128,169, 172,206,213 illegitimate, 11,120,157 in mines, 4 in mills, factories, 266 indentured, indentures, 161, 175,186,195,218,227,266,360 inspection of, 23,26-28,30,34, 35,78,79-8i, 109,111,117,128, 135,150,154,161,167,188,194, 202,208, 226,227, 248, 262,268, 273-277, 294 keep in touch, 111 letters, letter-writing, 126,190, 219 living conditions, 83 lost sight (track) of, 80,109 married, marriages, 99,113,131, 155> 175> 190 medal(s), 109,153,155 medical examinations, evaluations, 150,151 migration, 30 mistreatment of, 120 neglected, 121,157 "nursery-ground," 148
of drunkards, 120 orphan(s), orphaned, 69,95, 105,106,109,128,187 parents of, 63,99,109,157,198, 258,293 pauper(s), 6,7,22,79-81,244, 266,274,275,284,384 photographs of, 113,117,151 placement of, placed, 22,27,28, 31,35,52,68,73,76-79,83,84,86, 107,108,122,123,125,126,128, 131-134,140,146-148,155,160, l6l, 185,186,189,192,194,195, 200203, 207, 208, 210, 213, 218-220, 226, 228, 230, 246, 247, 248, 256,
257,261,262,272,277,288,339 problems, personal faults, 161, 194 progress of, 151,155,161,175, 188,195 protection of the law, 256 Protestant, 158,167,266,274, 328,360 punishment, 27 records, 117,151,156,167 reformatory, 99 restrict age of, 189 return to England, 135,161,190, 202,213,252,257,260,288,379, 389,394 reunited with family, no, 128 rules for admission, 157 school, schooling of education, 64,83,86, 89,108,109,121,126, 149,152,164,188,189,194,196, 210,219 selecting of, 73,144,145,164, 187,197,200,204,216,236 supervision, 22,26,39,78,93,97, 99,109,161,179,196,219,230,261 supplied with, 139,145,166,170, 171 terms (conditions) of placement, 65,69,82,83,108,134, 155,186,192,193,210,219,227 training, 22,23,63,65,73,81, 97,98,121,127,137,139,140,142, 149,151,155,161-164,167,199, 212, 214, 227-232, 234, 237, 256,
273,275,276,287,289,292,305, 348,381,387,389 treatment of, 106,108,183,184, 214 trust account(s), 69,108,163,186 visitor(s), 20,24,117,127,135,138, 146,150,161,167,173,201,216, 255,257,260,262,274,339,361, 389 vagrant, 300,301,304 wages, salary, 23,65,69,80,82,
441
Cistercian monks, 240 City Messenger Brigade, 143 City Mission Fresh Air Home (Bronte), 226,227 City of London, 164 City of London Theatre, 87 City Orphan Home (Scotland), 171 Clara Charitable Loan Fund, 287 Clarke, C.K. (Dr.), 32 Mary, 329 32, 35, 221, 222 Waterloo County, 221 _(Mr.),77 William, 375 Children's Aid Society of London (CAS) (formerly Shaftesbury Clay, Edwin, 57,58,105,123,147 Clayton, Emily, 72 Homes), 201,202,204,378,381 Children's Emigration Homes Clemens, James, 375 (Birmingham), 131,134,136,377 Cleveden, 235 Cleveland (OH), 331 Children's Farm Home Clifford, (Miss), 192 Association (England), 196 Children's Friend Society, xiv, n, Clinton Lodge (Toronto), 211,354 38,39,62,63,66-69,300 Close, Ellinor (Mrs.), 194-196 Coatesville (PA), 225 Children s Friend Society, The, 67 Children's Home (Bristol), 116,192 Cobourg (ON), 12,65,280-282 Cockermouth (Cumberland), 381 Children's Home (East Cocks, May (Marjory), 112 Hamilton), 146 Code, George, 374 Children's Home (Ireland), 216 Coffey, Michael, 362 Children's Home (London), 235 Children's Home (Winnipeg), 208 Coffin, Robert (Bishop), 240 (Miss), 77 Children's Home-Finder, The, 126 Cogswell, Cold Ash (Berkshire), 158 Children's Mission, 137 Coldbath Fields Prison, 63 Chillen,Willam,375 Coleman, Margaret, 329 chimney sweep, 3,4 Coleshill (Birmingham), 260,263 China, 143 Collieries Bill, 4 Chinnery, Mr. and Mrs., 279 Chipewyan (Indians) First Collins, Gail, 396 Collins, Mary, 288,365 Nation, 101 Colmer, J.G., 273 Chisholm, Caroline, 326 Colonial and Emigration Chiswick (England), 63 Committee, 337 cholera, 8,38,70,90,119 Colonial Distributing Home Christ Church (Oxford), 324 (Toronto), 165 Christ-Church Homes, 127 Colonial Emigration Society, 323, Church Army, 163,164,229 Church Emigration Society 34i> 342 (CES), m, 156,158,159,203,204, Colonial Intelligence League, 344 Colonial Land and Emigration 278,337>346,354 Commission, 40,337 Church Gospel Army, 163 "Church Militant Mission," 163 Colonial Office, 228,295 Colonial Training College, 344 Church Mission Army, 163 Colonial Training Home for Girls Church of England, 53, in, 157(Shropshire), 234,344 159,163,164,203,234,278,297, Columbia Emigration Society, 333,346,347 Church of England Emigration 316,317,319 Com. Park Row Industrial Society (CED), 354 Church of England Waifs and School, 378 Commissioner on Crown Lands Strays Society, 47,85,86,156, and Emigration, 37 158-162,203, 297,377,381,396 Committee for Oversea Church of England Children's Settlement, 211 Society, 156 Church of Scotland's Committee Committee of the Privy Council, on Social Work, 197 33 Church Salvation Army, 163 Congregationalist(s), 347 83, io8,148,166,176,186,198, 200, 202, 210, 214, 219, 227, 230, 256, 262, 267, 281, 289,331,361, 383>384 Children in Care, 9 Children in English Canadian Society, 17 Children of the Empire, no Children's Aid Society (CAS), xv,
442
Connaught House, 158 Connaught, Duke of, 191 Connell, Honora, 364 Connor, Mary, 329 Connors, Ellen, 364 Conolly: Ann, 330 Catherine, 330 Conquest, (Miss), 162 consent: no Home and Colonial authorities, 273 of child, 269,271,273,276,298 of Magistrate, 270 of parents, no, 270,273,298 of Secretary of State, 298 of Union, 270 Contemporary Review, 348 Conti, , 297 Convent of Providence (Hampstead), 241 Convent(s), 239,246,248 Conway, Thomas, 375 Cook, W (Mr.), 201 Coombe Boy's Home and Mission (Ireland), 215,216,221 Coombe Home, The (Hespeler), xiv, 217,218-221 description of, 218-220 Confederation, xii Connell, Honora, 288 Cooper: J.,19 John, 277 William (Rev. Canon), 204 Copenhagen (Denmark), 324 Copetown (ON), 181 Corfu, Isle of, 112,212,236 Cork (Ireland), 269,280,332 Corneil, E. (Mrs.), see also Cornell, E., 192 Cornell, E. (Mrs.), 192 Cossar, George Carter (Dr.), 197199,232 Cossar Farm, Receiving Home and Distributing Centre for Scotch Lads, 197,198,229,231 description of, 197 Costello, Rose, 365 cottage system, 173,196,245,266 cotton factories, 4 Courbis, Brother, 259 Courts, A. (Mr.), 281 County Limerick (Ireland), 282 Coventry (England), 379,395 Cowan, (Aid.), 132 Cowie, Georgina, 112 Cox, Edward, 362 Cox, George A. (Srgt), 144,146, i5i> 155
Crabbe, George, 6 Craig, _ (Mrs.), 386 Craig, William, 20 Craigielinn (Paisley), 199 Cranfield, Walter (Dennis Crane), 117,175,191,200,202, 209,220 Crany, Mary, 330 Craster, John, 395 Crawford, George (Senator), 173 Crea, (Canon), 252 Creaton, Catherine, 329 Creator, James, 342 crime, 107,121,131,180,181,273, 291-293,298,300,301 Crimean War, 207 Cripples' Church and Priory, 137 Croall, (Miss), 199,225 Cobourg (ON), 65 Crockett, (Mr.), 59 Crofters, 62 Crookshank, (Mrs.), 66 Crookston (ON), 267,268 Cross, (Mrs.), 358 Croxford, George, 253 Crusade of Rescue, 259,263 Cuba, 172 Cummerford, Catherine, 330 Cummerford, Mary, 329 Cunard Line (British and North American Royal Mail Steamship Line Co.), 41,53, 206,332 Cunningham, , (Miss), 248 Curtis, J. (Dr.), 308 Cusack, Bridget, 365 Custard, (Capt), 39,68 Dakeyne Boys' Brigade, 199, 200 Dakeyne Boys' Farm, 199, 200, 231, 232 description of, 200 Dakeyne-Street Lads' Club, 199 Daley, John, 311 Daley, Joseph, 41,286,287,289, 419 Dallas, Alexander (Rev.), 215 Dane, 346 Danell, James (Bishop), 240 Daniels, T. (Hon.), 77,79 Danier, R., 268 Dartford, 240 Dartmouth, Lady, 336 Daughters of the Cross of Liege, 241 Dauphin (MB), 253,255 Davey, Edwin, 195 Davey, Sarah, 274 Davy, Ann, 365 Davis, Maria, 305
Day Nursery (Scotland), 222 Day, William, 172 Deere, Charles, 362 Denison, (Miss), 346 Denmark Hill (England), 226 Dennis, (Mrs.), 358 Department (Minister) of Agriculture (and Immigration) (Canada), 25,75,79, m, 146, 158,180,197,248,250,272,293, 296,358 Department of Immigration (Canada), 314 Department of Immigration and Colonization (UK), 112,314 Department of the Interior (Canada), 30, m, 277 Deptford (London), 164,240 Derell, Catherine, 365 Derell, Mary, 365 Derry (Ireland), 49,50,100 Destitute Catholic Children (London), 262 Detroit (MI), 196,331 de Vere, Stephen E., 40,41,325 Devereux, Frederick Agustus, 147 Devlin, Jane, 330 Devlin, Maria, 330 Devonshire, 395 Devonshire, Duke of, 324 Diamond, Marian, 319 Dickens, Charles, 240,241 Diden, George, 382 Distinguished Conduct Medal, 181 Dixon, William, 19,289,319 dockworkers, 62 Dodd,__(Gov.),274 Dodd, (Mrs.), 274 Dogne, Frank, 362 Dogne, James, 362 domestics, domestic service, female servants, household workers, xvi, 12,14,31, 62, 66, 73,107,155,162,186,187,190, 205,234, 237,267, 283,287, 289, 307,308,310-312,314,319,320, 322,323,333-335,337,338,339340,343,345,351,354,358 Dominion Congress, 32 Dominion Line, 53,58,148,150 Donaldson, John A., 270,297 Donegal, see Ireland Doolan, Elisa, see Adams, Eliza Dorsetshire, 380 Dorrigan, Pat, 362 Dougherty, (Father), 247 Douglas, John, 221 Douglas, Archibald (Rev. Lord), 242,251-253,255,378 Douglas (now Belwood) (ON), 103
Dove, (Miss), 190,297 Dowling, John, 366 Doyle, Andrew, 21-23,25-28,49, 58,78,97,98,272 Doyle, Patrick, 343 Doyle Report, 21-23,79,98,114 Dray, Ronald, 371 Drumgoole, Margaret, 325 Drummond, A (Mr.), 128 Drumpellier, 225 Dublin (Ireland), 10,22,96,97, 143,215-218,221,235,284,285, 290,346,364,385,393 Duchy of Baden, 356 Duff, Edward, 144 Duff, (Mrs. Edward), 144 Dufferin, County of, 152 Dufferin, Lord (Gov. Gen.), 139,140 Duffy: Anne, 329 Cecil, 375 Elizabeth, 329 William, 221 Duncan, George (Mr.), 301 Duncan, R.A., 282 Duncan (BC), xiv, 206 Dundalk (Ireland), 235 Dundee (Scotland), 301,315 Dunkin, Christopher (Hon.), 94 Dunn, (Rev. Dr.), 331 Dunn, Eliza, 364 Durain, Mary, 329 Durham, County of, 152 Durnin, Biddy, 330 Dutton, Joseph E. (Capt.), 49,50 Dwyer, Bridget, 365 East End Emigration Fund, 205, 206,346,354 East End Emigration Society, xv, 88, 203 East End Family Emigration Society, m, 206 East London Emigrant and Relief Committee, 206 East London Family Emigrant (Emigration) Society, 206 East Zora, Township of, 227 Eastern Townships (QC), 12,94, 125,126,158,160,284 Eden, Margaret, 72 Edgworth near Bolton (Lancashire), 137 Edinburgh (Scotland), 10,96,97, 114-116,119,169,170,190,222, 223,267,268 Edinburgh and Leith Children's Aid and Refuge, 222 Edinburgh Female Emigration Society, 318 443
Edinburgh Prison, 300 Edmonton (AB), 256 education, compulsory, 266 Education for Empire Settlement, 298 Edwards, Helen, see Macpherson, Helen Edwards Edwin, Onslow (Lieut. Col), 229231 Elder, _ (Mr.) (Master), 66 Elder-Dempster Line, 53 Elgin, County of, 152 Elgin, Lord, 70 Elizabeth I, Queen, 6 Elizabeth Rye Home (Toronto), 162,163 Ellinor Close Home Farm (NB), xv, 179,195,196 description of, 195,196 Elliott Home (Ireland), 216,221 Ellis Island, 357 Elmpark (Govan Road), 169 Elmsley, John (Mr.), 281 Elston, Henry, 375 Elmslie, Syrie Louise, see Barnardo, Syrie Louise Eltham, 214,250 Embro(ON),i03 Emerald (Amherst Island), 207,378 Emerson (MB), 208 Emigrant Fund, 280 Emigrant Hospital, 38 Emigrants' Home, 36 Emigrants' Information Office, 351 emigrate, permission to, 112, 212, 235, 271,330,386 emigration: Batch of 10,000,229,328,330 boys from reformatory, on probation, 164,293,295,296, 379-387>392,393 Catholic, 246-264 cease, suspension in, 36,104, 118,129,130,136,156,176,185, 189,207,211,214,217,221,231, 267,298,313,315,344 child(ren), xvi, 23,28,31,33,35, 66, 83-85,91,105,107, no, in, 114,115,117,118,121-124,136,144, 170,176,185,188,189, 201, 209, 211, 214, 221, 229, 248-250, 258,
260, 263, 266, 268, 271, 273, 294-
296,323> 350,353> 362,372 children to Canada, 22-24,83, 91,111,119,121,123,127,129,131, 138,140,142,144,149,153,158, 170-172,174,175,177,178,185, 194, 204, 214, 268, 272, 276,339 consent, consent form, 185, 269,271,273,276,298 444
families, 111,191,342,351 females, 279-290,307-358 financial contributions, 80,187, 293,304 from Armenia, 112 from Unions, 249,254,270,271, 279-290 German children, 112 girls from workhouse, 271,279 government assisted, 21,22,24, 33,35,80,187,229-231,293 head tax, 38 ideal age for, 26,36 industrial schools, 70,293,294, 305 middle-class females, 308,318, 323,344 of boys, 83,84,92,123,132,148, 165,168,175,185,189,191,196-
United States, 74 Empire Settlement Act, 35,187, 199,205,207,228-231,237,313, 341,352,354 Empire Settlement Scheme, 230, 354 Employment Service of Canada, Women's Division, 315 England, xvi, 15,22-24,26-28,31, 56, 63, 68, 69, 81, 83, 88,95,100,
202, 205-208, 210-222, 225-232,
325,333,335,342,348,358,359, 363,369,394 English College, Rome, 243 Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, The, 71 Ennis, John, 19,393 Erin's Hope, in, 215,220 Ernesttown (ON), 288 Erskine, (Miss), 233 Esquimalt (BC), 317 Essex, 143,155,163,209,230,239, 336,379 Etchell, Louis W., 371 Eton, 324 Europe, 13,38,42,156,356,389 Evangelical Revival Movement, 10, 88,238 Evangelical Society, 115 evangelicals, 10,124,213 Evans: (Mrs.), 140 Catherine, 305 John Swanton (Rev.), 140,143, 146 L.V. (Miss), 143 Mary J., 143 W. Sanford (Mr.), 141,143 Evengrove (ON), 247 Eversden (Cambridgeshire), 87 ex-service women, 314 "export emporium," 145 Eyton, M.E. (Miss), 234
235-237, 246, 248, 251-254, 256-
264, 266, 268, 270, 282, 284, 285, 293, 296-298, 304-306, 331, 363,
375,379,38o of family members, no, 128, 379,38o of girls, 83-85,123,132,144,148, 175,185,193-196,208,210,213, 214,218,220,231,232,246,256260,262,266-268,270,277,282, 284,293, 297,319,332,338,379387,393 of veterans, 156 of widows, 156 of women (females), xvi, 11,71, 111,187,204, 228,267, 279, 290, 307-358 of young men, 178,187,228,252 opportunities in the colonies, 187 permission, 235,386 Ragged Schools, 70,293,304 Russian children, 112 reformatories, 70,293-298,305, 306 rules for Union children, 273 societies, 203,205 unfit for, 273,321,336,390 working class (es), in Emigration and Colonization Committee, 249 Emigration and Colonization Fund, 354 Emigration and Empire: The Life of Maria S. Rye, 319 Emigration Commissioner for Ontario, 170 Emigration Home (Girls' Home) (Edinburgh), 111,190 Emigration to Canada and the
104,110,112,116,119,121,126,
130,131,135,140-142,146,147, 151,153-155,165-168,173,190, 191,194-196, 202, 205, 2O7, 2O8,
21O, 213, 227, 228, 230, 233, 236, 238, 246, 249, 252-257, 259, 260,
263, 265, 267, 269, 270, 272, 275, 276, 278, 289, 293, 294, 296, 3OO, 308, 309, 316, 318, 320-322, 324,
Fabre Line, 236 Factory Act (1831), 4 Factory Act Amendment Bill, 4 Factory Girls' Institute (Blackfriars), 166 Factory Girls' Restaurant, 165 Fairbridge Farm, see also Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm
School, 206,207 description of, 206 Fairbridge Society, xvi, 36,109, 189,206 Fairbridge, Kingsley Ogilvie, 206 Fairknowe (Brockville), 173-175, 177> 377 description of, 175,176 Fairview Home, 136 Fairview (NS), 135,225 Fareham, 158 farm labourer(s), farm apprentices, farm workers, 14,18,29, 31,186,187,198,202,205,231 "farm pupils," 178 farm schools, 379 Farm Schools & Girls' Homes (London), 201 Farnworth, Widnes, 244 Father Lawrence, 240,241 Fea, Samuel (Rev.), 202 Featherstonehaugh, (Mrs.), see also Yelverton, Mrs., 335,336 Feeding Industrial School, 192 Fegan: Anne, 164 James, 164 James William Condell (J.W.C.) (Mr.), xv, 61,164-168, 212,372,396 Mary (Pope) (Mrs. J.W.C.), 168 Fegan Distributing Home (Toronto), 368,377 Fegan Homes, 35,61,109, in, 112, 165,167,168,212,229,367,371 Fegan Lodge (Toronto), 372 Fegan party, 56,237,272,427 Feltham Industrial School, 45 Female Emigrant's Guide, The, 308 Female Emigration Department, 3ii> 312 Female Middle-Class Emigration Society, 318,3i9> 323, 342,347 female(s): booking agents, 315 emigrant, xiv, 307,308,312-320, 322,323,325-334 employment, 307-310,314-316, 3i8-323,334>340,340-345 facilities, 314,325 factory workers, 308 hostels for, 314 misled, 312,336 nominated passage, 337 opportunities for, 307,312-315, 320,323 "tobacco manufactories/' 310 Fenian raids, 306 Ferguson, Anne T, 72 Fergusson, Mr. & Mrs., 60
Fielder, Frederick, 144 Finchley, 239,241 Finlanders, 347 Finley Home (Quebec City), 378 Finnemore, (Mr.), 132 Finnerty, Bridget, 365 First Nations, 101,102 First World War, see World War I Fitzgerald, Leonard J., 371 Fitzpatrick, Bridget, 365 Flanagan, Ellen, 329 Fleming, R. (Mr.), 249 Fletcher, (Miss), 249 Fletcher, _ (Mr.) Flint, Billa (Senator), 25,93,400 "Floating Brothels of England and America, The," 308 Flynn,__(Mrs.),83 Forde, Margaret, 364 Foley, Timothy, 247 Fonthill(ON),i03,i70 Form of adoption, 360 Form of indenture, 359 Forss, J. Charles, 65,68 Forster, M.E., see also Foster, M.E.,192,347,378 Forster, William, 348 Foster: _ (Mrs.), 83,192 (Mrs. Samuel W), 94,95 Albinia (Hobart), 324 Augustus, 324 Frederick, 324,331 John Thomas, 324,347 M.E. (Mrs.), 192,347,378 Samuel W. (Judge), 95 Vere Henry Louis, 290,324328,330-333,347 foster homes, xvi, 130,148,151,155 Fotheringham, David (Rev.), 275 Founder's Day (Barnardo), 155 Foundling Hospital, The, 63 Foundling Hospital (Cork), 270 Fowler, Octavia L. (Miss), 340 Fowler, William, 374 Fox, Samuel, 382 Fox, William, 382 France, 130,198,241 Franklin, (Father), 259 Fraser,W.F.C.S. (Rev.), 390 Frearson, M.W. (Miss), 237 Fredericksburgh (ON), 382 Fredericton (NB), 15,58,59,61, 135> 335> 337 Fredericton Junction (NB), 61 Fremantle, (Col), 249 French (immigrants), 346,347 French Canadians, 254,258 Friendly Leaves, 333 Frizzell, _ (Rev. Mr.), 286,287
Frome (England), 158 Frost, Ellen Jane (Mrs. Hayden), 115 Fry, Doug, 396 Fuller, Stephen S., 330 GFS (Girls' Friendly Society), 335 G., Emma, 292 Gaherty, Mary, 329 Gaisford, (Father), 253 Gallaway, (Miss), 160 Gait (ON), xv, 20,94-97,99,100, 102,103,114,123,144,170,173,215 Gait, Alexander T. (Sir), 80,81, 310,332,348 Gait Collegiate, 20 Gardner, Samuel, 192,297,378, 381,395 Gaskill, Elizabeth, 247 Gascard, G., 139 Gaskell, W.P. (Major), 350,399 Gates, E.G., 337 Gavin, Mary, 365 Geldard, S.R. (Miss), 98 Gemlo, (Miss), 116 General Committee of Management: 65,66 Cobourg (UC), 65 Huntington (LC), 65 Kingston (UC), 65 ladies' committee, 66 Toronto (UC), 65,66,68,69 General Hospital (Water Street), 258 Geneva (NY), 331 George, (Mr.), 393 George Yard (Whitechapel), 90,112 Georgetown (ON), 112,231,236 Georgetown Boys, The, 236 Georgie, 102 German, Germany, 147,346,347, 356,358 Gerow, Frank A., 135 Gethin, Robert, 251 Gibb's Club, 159,162 Gibb's Home (Sherbrooke), 158-162 Gill, Charlie, 375 Gill, Willie, 375 Gilmour Hotel (Ottawa), 154 Gimbert, 297 Gin Palace (London), 154 Girls' Aid Department, 137 Girls' Friendly Society (GFS), xvi, 109,266,290,333-338,34i-343> 347> 348,425 Canadian Treaty, 335 Irish, 338 Girls' Home (Ireland), 216 Girls' Home (Edinburgh), see also Emigration Home, 96,190 Girls' Home (Hampton), 98 445
Girls' Homes (Fife & Leadburn Park), 222 Girls' Home (Toronto), 92 Girls' Home of Welcome (Winnipeg), 338,340,343 Girls' Institute (England), 165 Girls' Quarterly, 335 Girls' Training Home (Brentwood), 190 Girls' Village Homes, 143 Gladstone, J. (Mr.), 390 Glasgow (Scotland), 2,6,10,33, 42-44,46,47> 52,7i> 87,96,97> 114-116,168-170,172,174,197, 235> 364> 38i> 383> 385> 390 Glasgow House of Refuge for Boys, 299 Glasgow Lads' Home, 197 Glasgow Orphans Homes, 174 Gleeson, Ellen, 364 Glazebrook, G.P. de T., 18 Glenbow Farm (North-West Territories), 393 Glenella, 152 Gloucestershire, 115,119 Godts, G.M. (Rev.), 249,255,377 Gold, _ (Mr.), 297 Goldstein, Dena (Dora), 112 Good Shepherd Nuns, 240,256,258 Gooderham, William, 165 Gooding, Harry T., 143 Gordon, (Mrs.), 358 Gordon, Charles (Gen.), 207 Gordon Boys' Home (Surrey), 207,378 Gordon Home (Kingston), 207 Gordon School (Surrey), 208 Gordon Brigade Home (Weymouth), 297 Gordon Hall Mission, 137 Goss, Alexander (Bishop), 243 Gossage, Harry, no Goudhurst (Kent), 167,168 description of, 168 Gough, James, 221 Gough, Stephen, 221 Gould, (Mr.), see also Gold, Mr., 297,394 Goulds' Green Cottage Home, 158 government: Alberta, 231-233 assistance, grant, subsidy, support, 24,33,34,58, 80,121,122, 126,139,140,180,187,199, 2052O7, 211, 212, 2l6, 229-231, 25O,
274> 293> 3H> 319> 340,341,347, 350,357> 358,417 Britain (Imperial), 17,21,26,28, 38,81,186,187,199,205,229-232, 276,293,308,325,325,379,387
446
British Columbia, 207 Canadian (Dominion), 19,2326, 28,30,33,58, 80, 81, 85,99, 107, no, in, 126,135,138,140, 178,186,198,206,207-209,211213,216,230,235,248,250,297, 311,314,319> 354> 356,358,377> 379> 392 "capitation allowance," 274 grant (s), 34,195 Inspectors, 274,275,276,294 Manitoba, 126 New Brunswick, 66,75,195,231, 237> 323 Nova Scotia, 121,122,231,232 Ontario, 24,32,173,218,231, 357> 358 refund bonus, 24 regulations, 164,207 requirements (Canadian), 276 Government of Canada Select Committee on Immigration, 99 Graham: John (Capt.), 45,49 M. (Miss), 163 _ (Mrs.), 83 Grahame, W.C.B. (Mr.), 76-78,272 Grainger, Allendale, 76,78 Grand Trunk Railway, 58,61 Grant, Maria, 72 Graves, Albert, 375 Gray, Robbie, 93 Gray, W, 267,268 Graytrix, Ellen, 288 Great Britain, xii, xiii, xv, i, 10,16, 28, 29,31,35,72,75, no, 114,116, 195, 231, 237, 288, 292, 298,301, 302,307,342,382,390 Great Western Railway, 19 Greatux (Graytrix?), Ellen, 365 Greece, 236 Green, Mary, 329 Greenhoy, Christopher, 381,391 Greenhoy, John, 381,391 Greenock (Scotland), 168 Greenway, George, 167 Greenwich (England), 164 Creep, R.O. (Rev.), 159,203 Gregan, (Mr.), 75 Gregory, Arthur E. (Rev.), 142 Grenfell (Assinaboia), 116,214,378 Grennock (Scotland), 56,70,71, 369 Gretton, (Capt.), 206 Grey, County of, 152,259 Grey Nuns, 250,417 Grey Nuns (Ottawa) Grey, Earl (Gov. Gen.), 15,70,141, 191,307 Grierson, Robert (Rev.), 175,176
Griffin: Ellen, 364 M. (Mrs.), 358 Margaret, 365 Grills, (Capt.), 49 Grimes: Bessie, 329 Catherine, 329 M.K. (Miss), 159,204,337 Grimsby (ON), 77 Grogan, Johanna, 365 Groom, Mary, see Middlemore, Mary Groom, Tomas, 131 Gross, Fred, 112 Grosse He, 38,41,69,70,325 Groves, William, 172 Guelph (ON), 12,208,231,236, 247,344 Guernsey, 147 Guthrie, Thomas (Dr.), i, 10,96 Guilfoyle, James, 375 Guthrie Home (House) (London), 133-135 "gutter children," 19,22,71,74 Gutter Children's Home (Birmingham), 132 guttersnipes, 74 H., Colin, 29 Hackney Cottages (St. George's Fields), 300,389 Hackney Wick, 63 Hadleigh (Essex), 209 Hadley Farm (Essex), 230 Haliburton College for Gentlewomen, 344 Halifax (N.S.), 54,57,58,60,61, 66,75, 84,121-123,126,135,136, 144,147,148,166,192,223,225, 236, 274,342,346,355,396 explosion, 136 Halifax (England), 394 Hall: Charles, 251 James, 386 Robert (Rev.), 226 Halligan, Ann, 330 Halliwell, John, 278 Halloran, Bridget, 365 Halloran, Mary, 365 Halloran, Mary, 365 Halton, County of, 152 Hamilton (ON), 33,78,91,138, 140-142,144> 146, 201,247,275, 282-285, 288,297,322,346,355, 377> 38o,384,386,387 Bishop of, 330 James Street, 33 York Street, 33
Hamilton: Andrew (Capt.)> 204 Edward, 290 Norman, 380 Hammersmith, 241 Hammersmith Training College, 239 Hammon, Mary, 365 Hampshire (Hants), 137,138,240, 383 Hampstead (England), 380,383 Hampton (England), 98 Hampton farm (England), 97 Hanbury,P. (Mr.)(JP),390 Hannon, John, 366 Hannery, Ann, 364 Hannon, John, 362 Haroutounian, Garabed, 213 Harpenden (Hertfordshire), 142 Harrison, Phyllis, xiii, 396 Harte, Bridget, 365 Hartney, Alley, 365 Harvard University, 84 Hastings, County of, 93,142 Havelock Farm (Woodstock), 227 Haven for Homeless Little Ones (England), 226 Haven for Homeless Little Ones, Inc. (Toronto), 227 Hawke, Anthony B., 268,280-283 Hawke, Anthony (Jr.), 281 Hawkhurst (England), 144 Hayden, Ellen Jane, see Frost, Ellen Jane Hayes: Mary, 365 Mary, 364 Thomas, 362 Hazel Brae (Peterborough), see also Margaret Cox Home, 144, 146,151,152,155,156 description of, 152 head tax, 38 Head, Lord Edmund, 15 Headingly Orphan Homes (Leeds), 233 Healy, Mary, 364 Heath, _ (Mr.), 132 Hemel Hempstead (England), 86, 158,229 Hempstead Hall (Essex), 163 Henderson, (Sherriff), 301 Henely, Margaret, 364 Hennessey, James (Rev.), 331 Henry, K.J. (Mr.), 194,277 Henshey, Ellen, 288 Herring, A. Styleman (Rev.), in Hereford Workhouse, 271 Hertfordshire, 142,238,381,383 Hespeler (Bergytown, New
Hope) (ON), xv, 216-218,220, 221,375,415 Hespeler, Jacob, 217,218,415 Heuss, George, 362 Heuss, Richard, 362 Hexham Diocese, 242 Heywood, Jean, 9 Hickey, Judith, 330 Hicks, _(Capt), 66 Hill: _(Dr.), 77 _ (Rev.), 77 _ (Mrs. J.), 358 Hillfoot Farm (NS), 223,377 description of, 223,224 Hillingdon Heath Cottage Home, 158 Hills, Frank, 141,377 Hillyard, R.W (Mr.), 31 Hind, Oliver (Capt.), 199-201 Hind-Smith, W.W (Mr.), 155 Hintonburg (ON), 253,255,261,262 Hobart: Albinia, see Albinia Foster _ (Mrs.) (Hon.), 88 Lady, 206,347 Hobday, _ (Mrs. J.W), 156 Hobday, John W, 156 Hobson, Frederick (Sgt), 182,183 Hodgins, Arthur, 375 Holland: _(Dr.),77 George, 90,112 H.T. (Sir), 296,299 Holloway, Henry, 172 Holmes, Ada, 158 Holy Family School (Liverpool), 244 Home and Colonial Training College (London), 87 home boy(s), xv, 181,182 home children, xii, xiii, xvii, 104, 183,396 Home Children Canada (HCC), xiii, xiv, 264,396 Home Children, Their Personal Stories, xiii Home for Destitute Catholic Boys (London), 242 Home for Destitute Children (Scotland), 225 Home for Orphan Girls (Torquay), 233 Home for Working Girls, 192 Home Hall (Deptford), 164 Home of Industry (London), 90, 98,113 Home for Catholic Destitute (Boys) Children, 242,259 homes of refuge, 239
Hoolahan, John, 148,249, 258, 339> 343 Hope House (England), 226 Hope, Douglas (Father), 242 Hopkings, Ellice (Miss), 234 Hopkins, (Miss), 83 Horner, Francis, 137,138 hostels, 187, 248,250,314,315,343, 35i> 354-356 Teacher's Hostel, 357 Houghney, Caroline, 247 Houghney, Ellen, 247 Houghton, John, 120 House of Correction (Brixton Hill), 298 House of Industry (London), 97 House of Refuge (Glasgow), 235, 390 Howard, Edward, 251 Howard, Ellen, 305 Howley, Sister, 258 Hubbard, Louisa M. (Miss), 341 Hudson, Elizabeth (Mrs.), 246,247 Hudson, George V. (Father) (Monsignor), 245,260,263 Humane Society of Toronto, 32 Hunt, William, 342 Hunter, Isabelle, see Quarrier, Isabella Hunter, (Mrs.), 168 Huntingdon (QC), 65,381 Huntington, County of, 259 Hurley, Ellen, 364 Huron and Niagara GFS, 335 Huron, County of, 152 Hurst House Training Home (Surrey), 226 Hutching, Florence E., 72 Hutchins, Edith, 78 Hutchinson, W.J. (Mr.) (Uncle Hutch), 370-372 Hutton, (Capt.), 268 Hyett-Warner, R. (Rev.), 207 Hynes, Kate, 365 Hyut, William, 375 Ilford (Essex), 143,155 Immigration Act of 1869,147,148 Immigration Act of 1872,147,148, 296 Immigration Committee of the Social Service Council of Canada, 32 Imperial Colonist, 343,344 In Darkest England and the Way Out, 209 indenture(s), 148,175,186 India, 147 Indians, see First Nations Indian Head (SK), 116,335,336,381 447
Industrial Brigade, 169 industrial day schools, industrial feeding schools, 293,300 industrial schools: xiv, 10,17,22, 28,70,109,127,143,192,216,235, 239,241,243,246,273,291-294, 297,298,300,302,333> 379,381 Barnes' Home, 379 Brighton, 75,380 Bristol, 192,381 Byfleet/Byfleet School, 381 Carlton House, 380,381 Child Home, 381 Church of England Church Farm, 381 Cumberland, 381,391 East Birnet, 381 East End London, 381 Everton Terrace, 381 Farnborough Certified, 143 Fenchney, 381 Finchley, 241 Feltham, 45,382 Girls' Industrial School of Glasgow, 383,385 Glasgow, 383 Glencree, 383 Howard Hill (Sheffield), 239 Isleworth, 241 Ipswich, 305,383 Kibble Institute, 383 Kilkenny, 383 Kirkdale, 73,75,383 Liverpool, Liverpool Farm School, 384 Maryhill Girls' Industrial School, 381,383,385,411 Meath, 385 Middlesex, see also Feltham Reformatory, 381 Northumberland Village Homes, 386,387 Park Row Certified, 192,380,387 Quatt, 292 Shibden, 250,254,394 St. George's (Liverpool), 243,245 St. John's (Walthamstow), 250, 393 St. Joseph's (Withy Grove), 245, 254 St. Margaret's Industrial School for Girls, 239 St. Mary's Industrial School for Girls (Eltham), 240 St. Nicholas' (Ilford), 239 St. Nicholas' (Walthamstow), 239 St. Pancras Union, 158 St. Swithen's, 297,393 Stockport, 254
448
Sytley, 395 Wakefield, 395 Wandsworth, 395 Warwickshire, 395 Infant Home (Edinburgh), 222 Infants and Convalescent Branch (Alverstoke), 138 Ingham, Robert, 221 Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes, 30,55, m, 129,275 Inter-Colonial Railway, 59 International Exhibition (Chicago), 233 "invalid kitchen," 164 Invalids Home (Bridge-of-Weir), 173 Ireland: xvi, 8,21,53,62,70,96, 100,112,119,143> 147> 165, 214, 217,235,267, 269,279,285-287, 290,300,308,324,326,328,331333, 335> 342,348,350,364> 379> 383> 385> 393, 395 Clare, 332 Connaught, 332,348 Donegal, 332,348 famine, 8,40,41,62,69,91,119, 238,267,279,324,328,348 Galway, 254,348,350 Kerry, 332 Louth, 324 Mayo (County), 348,350 schools, 331 Western Unions, 348,349 Irish (people), 2,40, 41, 69,119, 168,238, 267, 269,292,309,332, 338,346,347> 348,350,417 boys, 197 children, 218 Roman Catholics, 197,254 Irish Catholic Immigration Society, 260 Irish Church Missions, 215 Irish Female Emigration Fund, 326 Irish Protestant Benevolent Society, 219 Irish Unions, 41,45,279 Island of Jersey, 144 Isle of Cortu, 112,212,236 Isle of Man, 138,159,204,308 Isle of Wight, 240,298,387 Islington (England), 393 Israel, Gwenderlam (Wynn Clan Israel), 69 Ives, Fanny, 274 Jackson, (Mrs.), 198 Jackson, John J. (Mr.), 136,198 Jacques, (Rev.), 101 Jacques Cartier, County of, 259
James, (Capt.), 53 James Bay (BC), 317 Jameson, Ann, 365 Jamison, Robert (AttorneyGeneral), 66 Jane, Sister, 258 Janes, (Miss), 234 Janesville, Wisconsin, Jarvis, W.B. (Sheriff), 66 Jarvis Street Baptist Church (Toronto), 371 Jay, James W, 371 Jenkins, Mary, 272 Jewish, women, 98,347 Joey, 102 John Benson's Papers, 403 John Ball's Surplus Children, 202 Johnnie, 102 Johnson: (Miss), 201 Ben, 143 Fred, 375 Jones, Thomas, 269,270 Joyce: (Miss), 146 A. (Rev.), 346 Ellen (Hon. Mrs.), in, 277,312, 336-338,340-343,345-347 Joyce Hostel (Kelowna), 345 Julian, Leon, 251 Jury, Alfred E, 32,278 juveniles, juvenile immigrants, immigration, 33,34,117,130,139, 141,143,170,180,187,191,202, 2O9, 211, 212, 222, 23O, 26O, 298
juvenile convictions, 390 juvenile offenders, 299,391 juvenile prison reform, 292,293 Kabadaian, Vahram, 213 Kallaha, Mary, 283 Kamloops (BC), 337 Kavanagh, Margaret, 330 Kealing, Ann, 366 Kealing, Patrick, 366 Keeley, Thomas (Mr.), 161,162 Keeping, Charles, 342 Keith, James, 221 Kellett,_(Mrs.),278 Kelly, Mary, 330 Kelly, William, 281 Kelly's Street Directory, 247 Kelowna (BC), 344,345 Kelso, John J., 32,218 Kendall, E.N., 68 Kendall, _ (Mrs.), 68 Kenderick, Sam, 375 Kenney, Bridget, 365 Kensington (London), 163 Potteries, 163
Kent, 138,165,167,168,240,241, 254, 367, 38o Kent, County of, 160 Keogh, (Mr.)> 350 Kernan, Ellen, 329 Kerr, James, 70 Kibble Institute, see Reformatories King: Betty, 330 G.E. (Attorney-General), 77,79 J. Sterling, 136 Martha, 258 _ (Mrs. J. Sterling), 136 Kingham Hall (England), 228 Kingham Hill Trust, 228 King's County (NB), 193,247,270 Kingscourt (Proton), 247 Kingsford, (Miss), 358 Kingsford, (Mrs.), 358 Kingsley (England), 158 Kingsley, Charles, 319 Kingston (ON), 12,17, 66, 68,70, 98,114, 207, 247, 258, 275,280, 283,284,287,288,305,306,382, 383>385 Kingstown (Ireland), 364 Kingswood (England), 383 Kinnaird, Lord, 301 Kinnaird, Mary Jane (Lady), 315, 351 Kirk, James R.K., 371 Kirlew, Mr. and Mrs., 116 Kirwan, Daniel, 2,3 Kirwan, Dean (Rev.), 331 Kitchener (ON), see Berlin (ON) Kitto, John Fenwick (Rev.), 203 Knight: _ (Mrs. H.O.), 117 Elsie, 277 Herbert O. (Mr.), 117 Leonard R., 371 Knightley, Lady, 345 knitting, 388 Knowlton (QC), 23,94,99,123, 125,128,157,170,378 Knowlton Home, 26,95,100,104, 123-126,129,131,144 description of, 94,95,125 Knox, Sarah, 364 Koerber, Elise von, 356-358 Koerber, William von, 356 Kohli, Marjorie (Marj), xii, xiii, 396,397 Kyle, William, 258 Labouring Children, British Immigrant Apprentices to Canada, 1869-1924, xiii labour unions, 30,117 Lacy (Lacey), Margaret (Mrs.),
Life in Ontario, 18 47,246,247, 248 Ladies Association for the Care of Lillooet (BC), 316 Limerick Union Party, 364 Friendless Girls, 347 Ladies' Associations for the Care Lincoln, County of, 152,160,360 of Girls, 234 Lincolns Inn Fields, 318 "Lady-Helps," 344 Little Bromwich, 393 Lake Dauphin district (MB), 253 Little Gutter Girls' Home, 74 Lake Erie, 283 Little, Immigrants, The, xiii Lake Ontario, 58,73,99,372 Little Matchbox-Makers, The, 89 Lamb: Little Wanderers' Home (Commissioner), 231 (Greenich), 164 Margaret, 329 Liverpool (England), 2,5,10,19, Mary, 329 21, 24, 42,44-47,53,55,56, 61, Lambert, Elizabeth, 337 71-75,91,119-121,123,124,127, Lambert, Tom, 375 129,130,136,148,159,169,204, Lambeth (London), 137 205,229, 240, 243-246,248, 250, Lambton, County of, 152 251,256-258, 260, 262,264, 278, Lanark, County of, 152,259 279, 304> 322,325-327> 338,343> Lancashire, 137,245,381 349, 367,379-381,383,385> 386 Lancashire Branch, Moorland Kirkdale, 383 Farm, 137 St. John's Gardens, 245 Lannon, Mary, 329 Liverpool, Diocese of, 259,396 Lansdowne, Lord (Gov. Gen.), 296 Liverpool Catholic Children's Laprairie and Napierville, County Protection Society (CCPS), 247,248,258,260, 263,377 of, 259 Lark, William, 158 Liverpool Catholic Homes, 262 Laurentian University (Sudbury), Liverpool Catholic Reformatory 306 Association, 244 Laurie, James Wimburn (Col.), Liverpool Gaol, 292 Liverpool Lodge, 338 121-123,295> 393 Lausanne (Switzerland), 358 Liverpool Mercantile Marine Lawrence, (Father), 240-241 Service Association, 49 Lawson, Norman, Victor, 278 Liverpool Self-Help Emigration Leach, Ted, 371 Society, 159,205 Leadburn Park, Nova Scotia Liverpool School Board, 127 Leary: Liverpool Sheltering Home, 22, Ellen, 269 100,104,118-121,126-130,144, Johanna, 269 156,165,214 John, 269 Committee for Orphan and Margaret, see also Barrett, Fatherless Children, 118 Margaret, 269 Local Architectural Conservation Patrick, 269 Association, 231 Thomas, 269 Local Government Board Leaton (Shropshire), 344 (Whitehall), 26,27,77-79,81, Lee, Norman T, 214,378 273, 274,276,339 Leeds (England), 112,233,234,278 Logan, Ellen, 88,91 Le Hauve (France), 55 London (England), xii, 2,5, 8-10, Leicestershire, 244,385 14,23,24,39,50, 63, 66,67,71, Leith (Scotland), 97,114,119 73> 75> 86,90-92, 97,100,112, Lemon, Agnes, 305 115,119,120,137,143,146,154, Lennox and Addington County 159,164,168, 203-206, 209-211, Museum, 403 234, 235, 238-240, 242, 245, 253, Lennoxville (QC), 297 256, 261, 262, 267, 273, 275, 276, Leslie, (Hon. Mr.), 280 309,316,320,324,338,34i-343> Leslie, William (Rev.), 393 347> 348,358,367,374,38o, 381, "Lette Unions," 357 383> 389,394,395 Letten, James, 145 Bethnal Green, 8 Letten, Jessie, 145 Blackwall, 316 Levis(QC),i92 East End of, 4,9,10,73, 88,90, Lewin, Jane, 319,323 91,116,119,143,242,341,342
449
Marylebone, 362,383 New Cut, 2,3, 8,137 Paddington, 343 Saffron Hill, 8 Shoreditch, 8 Soho, 3 Spitalfields, 23,113 London (ON), 19,72,77,79,132135,275,322,356,386,387 London and South-Western Bank, 374 London Children's Home, see also National Children's Home, 138 London County Council, 382 London Female Emigration Society, 316,317 London Fields (Hackney), 98 London Hospital (Whitechapel), 143 London School Board, 26 Lorente, J.A. David, xiv, 263,397 Loveday, Jane (Miss), 154 Lovelace, Ada Byron, Lady, 87 Lovett, Elmley (Middlemore), 136 Low, Bobbie, 375 Lowe, Clara M.S. (Miss), 9,88,89 Lowe, John, 25,26,79,250,272,386 Lower Gagetown (NB), 197,198 Lloyd's Register, 39 Lucknow (ON), 133 Lurgan Street Schools (Ireland), 221 Lutheran (Church), 222,347 Lynn (ON), 381 Lyons, Jno., 362 Macdonald, (Mr.), 336 Macdonald, John A. (P.M.), 94,139 MacDonald (Hall) Institute (Guelph),3i3,344 Maclver (Mclver), Margaret B. (Miss), 162 Mack, Bridget, 288,364 Mack, Margaret, 364 Mackay Brothers, 315 Mackie, Margaret, 329 Macpherson: Annie Parlane (Miss), xii, xiv, 10,11,19, 20,22-26,43,45,50, 58, 60,73, 86-105,i°8, no, 113, 114,116,118-120,123,130,134, 135> 143> 144,156,157> 169-171, 173,188, 206, 213, 214, 217, 233, 242, 271, 272, 294,3i3> 315> 377 Helen (Edwards), 86 James, 86,87,119,382 Louisa Caroline Stirling, see Birt, Louisa R. (Mr.), 114,248 Rachel Stuart, see Merry,
45°
Rachel Stuart Macpherson Home, 103,104,119, 129,130,220 Maddison, Arthur L.S., 201,381 Magee, Rose, 329 Magennis, Bridget, 330 Mager, Alfred, 137,142 Magog, County of, 160 Maine, 131,135 Mair, Charles, 31 Maise, (Mrs.), 247 Makinak (MB), 253 Malone, John, 362 Malone, Mary, 329 Manchester (England), 2,10,71, 96,100,114,116,117,119,213, 214,240, 255,346,394 Manchester and Bolton districts (England), 137 Manchester and Salford Boys' and Girls' Welfare Society, 213 Manchester and Salford (Homes) Refugees, 114,213,214 Manchester and Salford Homes, H7> 378 Manitoba, 31,126,136,141,146, 147,149,151-153,160,165,194, 201,208,229,232,253,255,337, 338,348,355> 383> 384> 394 Manitoba North-West Provinces Rupertsland GFS, 335 Manning, Daniel, 362 Manning, Henry Edward (Cardinal), 45,47,238-244,249, 250,252,253,255 Manx Branch (Ramsay), 138 Maple Creek (ON), 337 Mara, Bridget, 288,364 Marchmont House (Belleville), 24, 25, 53> 82, 83,93,94, 95, 99, 100,104, no, 113-119,130,131, 156,171,173,190,192,201,213215, 233, 235, 277,377 description of, 93,113 Margaret Cox Home, see also Hazel Brae, 151,154,156 Maritime Provinces, 187,194,201 Marquette, Emile (Mr.), 158,205, 248,249,252,258,339 Marron, Rose, 329 Marseilles, France, 236 Marsh, James, 342 Marshall, Fred Marshall, (Mr.), 101 Martell, , Archdeacon, 200 Martin, (Miss), 76 Mary Redemption, Sister, 258 Marysburgh, Township of, 385 matchbox-makers, 89,90 Mathews, Margaret, 329
Mathews, Mary, 329 Matthews, Mary, 330 Mattiny, Ann, 365 Maymark, Arthur, 251 McCabe, Bridget, 330 McCaw, Sam, 221 McCarthy, Denis, 362 McCormick, Kate, 288 McCormick, (Mr.), 271,272 McCrea,_ (Mr.) (Police Magistrate), 77 McCullough, John (Joan), 112 McDonald, Bridget, 330 McDougall, Ivy (Zena), 112 McGill, Mary, 72 McGrath, Francis, 251 McGuire, Ann, 330 McGuire, Catherine, 330 McKay, _ (Mr.), 283 McKeown, Mary, 330 McMahon, Catherine, 364 McMurray, (Rev. Dr.), 77 McNabb, A., 375 McPherson, James, 287,288,305, 382,385 M'Ardle, Margaret, 329 M'Avoy, Ann, 330 M'Canna, Anne, 329 McCanna, Margaret, 329 McCormack, Kate, 365 McCormack, Thomas, 366 M'Donald, Mary, 329 M'Ewan, , 71 M'Faul, _ (Rev. Mr.), 331 M'Innes, Hugh, 71 M'Integart, Eliza, 329 M'Lean, Catherine, 329 M'Nulty, G. (Rev.), 330 Meade, Anne, 329 Meade, Mary, 247 Meanwood Cottage Home, 158 Medical Mission (Blackfiars), 164, 166 Medical Mission to hop-pickers, 165 Meikle, A.R. (Capt), 56,369 Meiklejohn, Elizabeth (Miss), 124, 128 Melbourne (QC), 297,379,381, 393> 395 "Memorandum on Juvenile Immigration," 180 Mendicity Society, 2 Merry (family): 87,103,104,131 Edward (Dr.), 87,104 James Macpherson, 87,103,104 Joseph, 87,92,96,97,170 _(Mr.), 5 i Rachel Stuart (Macpherson) (Mrs. Joseph), 86-88,97,100
William H., 87,97,104,118,129131, 217 Mersey River, 73,120,369 Methodists, 138 Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS), 159,203,266,279,281, 347> 348 Mew, Nicholas, 211,352 Michigan, 196 Middlemore: Elmley, see Lovett, Elmley John Throgmorton (Dr.), 10, 45-47>49> I3i-i37> 225 Mary (Groom), 131 William, 131 Middlemore group (boys), 61, 134> 136 Middlemore Homes, 54,109,206 Middlesex (England), 212,239,342 Middlesex, County of, 152,160 Midland Railway, 144 Miles, (Miss), 312,313 Mills, John H., 371 Milton Branch (Farnborough), 137 Milton Branch (Gravesend), 138 mines, 3 Mineham, Margaret, 365 Mines Act (1842), 4 Minnesota, 350 Mission Hall (Toronto), 165 Mission of Hope (England), 226 Mississippi, 76 Mona's Herald, 308 Money, Agnes (Miss), 333 Monk, Mary (Miss), 343 Montreal (QC), 12,13,17,26,39, 31,45> 52,56-58,66,67,70,74,75, 91, 92, 94,148,158,159,192, 203206, 208, 229, 246, 248-253, 255, 258-262, 275, 280, 283, 284, 286, 287, 306, 310,311, 313, 320,325, 335,337-340,343,345,346,355358,362,370,377,378,383,394 Montreal, Archbishop of, 248 Montreal Ocean Steamship Company, see also Allan Line, 4i, 364 Moodie, Susanna, 13 Moody, (Mr.), 114 Moor, Patrick, 257 Moore, Bridget, 365 Moosomin (SK), 29 Morecroft, Emily (Miss), 144 Moriarty, Ellen, 365 Moriarty, Margaret, 288,364 Morrin, (Dr.), 38 Morris, (Mr.), 227 Mount Forest (ON), 77-79,247 Moville Harbour (Ireland), 49,
50-52 Mr. Clement's Est. (Co. Donegal), 287 Mr. Millington's Farm School, 395 "mud-larks," 3 Muir, (Mr.), 114,119 Miiller, George, 173 Mumbles, The (Swansea), 158 Murphy: Daniel, 247 Jane, 329 Murray: _ (Aid.), 132 _ (Miss) (Hon.), 63 Mary, 330 Muskoka District, 148,153 Muskoka, County of, 152 Myers, S. Carroll (Rev.), 142 Napanee (ON), 403 National Archives of Canada, xv, 93,110,145,160,181,190,192,198, 207,228,229,247,254, 264,277, 341,351,379,393,396,397, 4<>7 Juvenile Immigration Finding Aid,264 National Children's Home, 33,55, 83,137,139-143,146,154,181,187, 379,396 description of, 142 National Immigration Society, 340 National Refuges for Homeless and Destitute Children, see also Shaftesbury Homes, 201,297 National Refuges (London), 235 National Refuges (Soudon), 297 National Relief Fund, 187,229 national schools (UK), 333 National Waifs Association, 374 Nauwigewauk (NB), 195 Naylor, John, 135 Nazareth House (Oxford), 250 Nead le Farriage Home (Ireland), 216 Needham, B. (Mr.), 102 Neff, Charlotte, 69,306 Nelles, Cyrus, 77 New Bailey (Salford), 298 New Brunswick, 13,15,31,66,68, 70,74,75,78-80,105,119,134, 136,141,179,188,192-199,229, 231, 247,269, 270,284,297,322, 323,335,337,355,378,381,383, 385,387,395 New Brunswick Farm, 232 New Brunswick Land Company, 68 New Castle District, 281 New Cut Street (London), 2,3,8 Newfoundland, 70
New Glasgow (QC), 378,387 New Market, Newmarket (ON), 281 New Orpington Lodge (Hintonburg), see also St. George's Home, 253,255 New Southwark (MB), 253,255 New Street Station (London), 134 New Westminster (BC), 337 New York (NY), 75,190,325,328, 329,33i New York State, 76,330 New Zealand, 62,71,115,319,341, 343,388 Newbold, Caroline, 78 Newcastle (ON), 77,79 Newcastle Diocese, 242 Newcastle on Tyne, 386,394 Newdigate (Surrey), 163 Newfoundland, 206,370 Newman, (Rev.), 235 Newnham, (Miss), 112,212 News Brigade, 169 newspapers: Acadian Recorder, 121 Bristol Mercury, 292 Buffalo Express, 83,84 Canadian Illustrated News, 19, 20,48,72,85,92,94,139,251,295 Canadian News, 330 Cheshire Observer, 105 Colonist, 317 Daily Intelligence, The, 118 Daily Telegraph, 74 Drogheda Argus, 326-328,330 Dublin Evening Mail, 215 Gait Reporter, 20 Glasgow Herald, 44,169 Halifax Citizen, 121 Illustrated London News (ILN), 70,72,82,134,153,154,239,271, 292,383,389 Kingston Gazette, 69 London Advertiser, 132 London Free Press, 133 Montreal Gazette, 66,320,321 Montreal Witness, 301 New Brunswick Courier, 269 Newcastle Chronicle, 107,146,386 Newry Examiner and Louth Advertiser, 330 Norfolk Messenger, 330 Quebec Gazette, 71,320 Quebec Morning Chronicle, 299 The Catholic Times, 244 The Daily Intelligencer, 118 The Revival, 87,90 The Times, 22,26,28,49,71,73, 78,86,120,147,153,249,294, 305,308,312,317,319,320
451
Old Place (Sussex), 250 Oldfield, Neville, 221,375 Oliver, Ann, 272 O'Neil: Margaret, 330 Margaret, 365 Patrick, 366 William, 366 O'Neill, Thomas, 278 Onslow, (Mr.), 390 Ontario: xvi, 31,52,70,75,79,80, 83,91,105,121,130,135,136,150156,160,161,170,173-175,187190,208,221,228-232,252-254, 259, 261, 262, 277,331,335,337, 339> 355> 358,361,372,383 Northern, 149 Opie, (Mrs.), 116 Opthalmia, 419 Ordinance Survey Office (Southampton), 164 O'Reilly, _ (Bishop), 248 O'Reilly, _ (Mrs.), 247 Ormonde, Lady, 336 orphan(s): xv, 8,41,69,70,76,95, 105,120,231,236,239,265,269, 272,308,358,359 Canadian, 76 Orphan Homes of Scotland, 172 Orphanage and Training Home for Waifs and Strays (Stony Stratford), 164,166 Orphanage for Boys (Hendon), 239 orphanage(s), 109,157,192, 212, 222, 235, 239, 254, 266,334 Catholic, 246, 248, 249,251, 254, 255 Orpington (Kent), 241,242 Orpington Lodge, 255 Oakfield (estate), 121,122 Orrock, John, 66-69 oakum-picking, 388 Osgood, _ (Mrs. H.W.), 158 Oakville (ON), 227 Oslade, Edith, 146 Oates, Austin, 254 Oslade, Louisa, 146 O'Brien: Oswego (NY), 331 Ann, 365 O'Toole, Elizabeth, 247 Catherine, 329 O'Toole, Mary Ann, 247 John, 251 Ottawa, see also Bytown, xv, 32,91, _ (Rev. Mr.), 288 no, 138,142,154,165,175,182,187, "Occasional Paper on Emigration 191,249,250,253,255,256,258, & Balance Sheet (1875)," 95,97 260,275,277,282,288,295,306, O'Call, Sarah, 305 O'Callaghan, (Rev. Father), 255 313> 3H> 335> 382,384,395> 397 Archbishop of, 252 O'Connor: (Mrs. John), 357 Ottawa, County of, 259 Ottawa Central Committee, 357 Arthur, 375 E. (Rev.), 330 Ottawa Valley, 310 Our Own Hospital, 137 Ellen, 364 Our Paper, in, 165 O'Donoghue, Daniel J., 32 Ogilvy, John (Sir), 301 Our Western Home (NOTL), 27, Old Bailey Experiences, 298 72,74,76, 80, 83, 85,160,377
Winnipeg Tribune, 208 Newstead (Gowan Road), 169,172 Newton, Tom, 375 Niagara, 27, 66,73,76,78, 80, 83, 86,141,359 Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) (ON), xii, 58,71-72,74,77, 84, 86,160-162,381,384 Nipissing, District of, region, 259, 357 Nittingshill farm (Bridge-ofWeir), 171 "nominated passage," 337 Noone, Patrick, 283 Noonan, Catherine, 364 Norfolk, County of, 283,381 North Hyde (Middlesex), 239 North West, 346 North-West Territories, 31,116, 141,153,253,337,392,393 Northhamptonshire, 395 Northumberland, Duke of, 386 Norval (ON), 231,237 Norwich (Norfolk), 71,381 Norwood, Convent at, 239 Nottingham (England), 199 Netting Hill (London), 163 Nova Scotia, 13,31,45,77,79,80, 100,105,121-123,126,134-136, 188,192,201,223,224,229,231, 232,355> 385> 393 Nugent: James (Father), Apostle of Liverpool, 44,45,49,238,243246, 248,349,350 John, 243 Mary (Rice), 243 Nugent Care, 264
4S2-
descripton of, 84, 85 descripton, 72 Ouzounlan, Haig, 213 Oversea Settlements Act, 34 Oversea Settlement Committee, 156,187,198,201,205,228,229, 231,232,313,341 Oversea Settlement Department of the Colonial Office, Women's Branch, 354,355 Owell, _ (Mr.), see also Alfred Owen, 144 Owen, Alfred de Brissac, 33,52,53, 58, no, 144,145,147-151> 155> 156, 377 Owen Sound (ON), 49,103 Oxford (England), 250 Oxford, Bishop of, 317 Oxford, County of, 152,227 Oxford University, 238 Oxfordshire, 227 Pady: A.J.S., 208 Bertha, 208,414 William J. (Rev. Mr.), 208,209, 297 Paffard, Henry (Mayor), 77,359, 360 Painswick (Gloucestershire), 115 Paisley (Scotland) 199,383 Palgrave, Reginald (Sir), 334 Parcel Brigade, 169 parental influences, 292,302 parental neglect, 292 Paris (France), 236 Paris (ON), 380 parish(es): 6,7,265,266 relief, 265 Parish of Bungay (Suffolk), 63 Parish of Croydon (Surrey), 63 Parish of Frome (Somerset), 63 Parish of St. Mary (Islington), 195 Parker, (Miss), 342 Parkes, Arthur, 158 Parkes, Frederick, 158 Parliamentary Papers, xv Parnell, Charles, 332 Parr, Joy, xiii, 396 Parry, Harriet, 73 Partridge Island, 38,69 Passenger Act, 37,38,41,42 Paton,H.WJ.,3i5 Patricroft (nr. Manchester), 245 patronage system, 242 pauper(s), pauper children, 6,17, 22,79-81,119,244,266,274,275, 284,348 Payne, Joseph (Judge), 304,422 Pearce, Mary, 288
Peckham (London), 73,74, 80, 82, 83, 86,271 Peel, County of, 152 Pell, _ (Mr.), 58 Pell, Richard H., 149 Peln, Margaret, 364 Pembroke (ON), 288 penalty, penalties, 295,298 Penicuik (Scotland), 395 Pennefather, Catherine (Mrs.), 352 Pennefather, R.T., 14-16 Pentonville Prison, 298 Peppiatt, William, 158 Percy, G., 382 Perkins, William, 221 Perley, Moses, 13-16,269,270,284 Perth (Scotland), 381 Peru, 197 Peter, 171 Peterborough (ON), 12,53,144147,151-155 Peterborough, County of, 152 Petrolia (ON), 79 Phelps,_(Mr.),303 Penwick (Scotland), 378 Philanthropic Institution, The, 63 Philanthropic Society, 292,296, 300,389,391 Philanthropic Society Farm School, 389 Phillip, Eliza, 365 Phillipstown (Ireland), 393 Pilkington, (Rev.), 382 Pinches, Michael, 263 Pinjarra (Western Australia), 206 Pinnington, Monsignor, 259 Piraeus (Greece), 236 plaque (Federal), 104 Player, John, 199 Plenderleith, Robert, 136 Plymouth, England, 41 Plymouth Brethren, 164 Point Levi (QC), 59,61,44 Pollard, Arthur (Mrs.), 313,358 Pont, John, 158 Pontiac, County of, 259 Poole, Joshua, 172 Pole, _ (Miss), 159,347 Poor Law: boys, 285,286 child, children, 22,24,30,98, 183,272,274,276 Commission, 196 Commissioners, 6,15,265,269 Edmonton Board of Guardians, 275 Fullham Board of Guardians, 313 Guardians, Board of, 6-8,10, 11,21,22, 26,49,70,73,76,78,
180, 241,245,265,269-272, 275279,286,287,289,290,292,308, 333,349>386 Hereford Board of Guardians, 73, 271
inspector, inspections, 21,30, 273-277,282 Leeds Board of Guardians, 277 Local Government Board, 21,22 London Board of Guardians, 73 Majority Report, 196 Preston Board of Guardians, 254 rates, 273 Royal Commission, 267 schools, 135,239,241,244,245, 348,394 Sheffield Board of Guardians, 266 St. Pancras Poor Law Board, 269 Unions, see Unions woman inspector, 347 Poor Law Act, 6,241,269,273 Poor Law Amendment Act, 7,62, 265,267,273 Poor School Sisters of Notre Dame, 241 Poor, Catherine, 330 Pope, J.H. (Hon.), 358 Pope, Mary, see Fegan, Mary Port Burwell (ON), 283 Port Dover (ON), 283,329 Port Elgin (ON), 101 Port Philip (Austria), 388 Port Sarnia (ON), 331 Port Stanley (ON), 79,268,283 Portage du Fort, 288 Portage La Prairie (MB), 165,337 Portland (ME), 13,18,48,57,58, 148,250 Portland (ON), 382 Portsmouth, Diocese of, 239 Portsmouth (England), 302 Pott, Gladys (Miss), 314 Pounds, John, 302 Powell, Lord Baden, 191 Preece, Ann, see also Belcher, Ann, 272 Presbyterians, 347 Pretty, W, 382 Price, Clement (Rev.), 46,58,134 priest(s), 246-248,256,258,263, 275,281,282,333 Prime, (Miss), 162 Prince Albert (SK), 259 Prince Edward Island, 134,135, 137> 188 Prince Edward, County of, 173 Prince of Wales Fairbridge Farm School, 207 Princess Alice Orphanage
(Birmingham), 138 Princess Patricia Ranch (Vernon),344 Pringle, Ellen Ann, 136 prisoners, n prison(s), prison reform, 63,64, 85,98,120,131,157,240,243, 244,291,292,293,298,299,300, 301,306,366,387,389,392 prison chaplain, 243,246 Privy Council, 212 Procter (Proctor) A.F., (H.F.) (Miss), 253,258,312,338 Protected Emigration for Women, 337 Protestant Orphans' Society (Dublin), 235 Protestant Orphan Asylum (Dublin), 235 Protestant Orphan Asylum (Saint John), 74 Proton, Township of (Grey County), 247 Providence House: Hamilton, 247 Kingston, 247,258 Montreal, 258 Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia, 121 Pullam, Arthur P., 221 Punshon, William Morley (Rev.), 138 Purdy,__(Capt.),283 Purtell, Eliza, 365 Purtell, Margaret, 288,364 Puslinch, Township of, 231 Qu'Appelle (Fort) (SK),335>337, 379 Quaker, see Society of Friends quarantine (stations): 30,41,69 Grosse He, 38,41,69 Partridge Island, 38,69 Quarrier(s): 100 Agnes, see Burges, Agnes Isabella (Hunter) (Mrs. William), 168,172,177 Mary, 175,177 William, xv, 10,33,46,110,114116,168-175,177,181,378,411 Quarrier children, 94,171,173, 175-W Quarrier Homes, 109,114,119,173, 181,411 Quebec, 31,79, 94> 105,123-125, 130,131,158,159,168,187,188, 201, 203, 212, 217, 229, 236, 249, 251, 252, 259, 26l, 262, 277, 284, 285, 293, 297,335,337,339,343, 345,355,377,378,383,393
453
Quebec City (QC), 12,14,17,19, 24, 38,39> 44, 46, 47> 52, 55~59, 61, 67,70,72-75, 9i> 124,13i> 132, 135,144,145, 246, 247, 275, 280, 284,305,312,316,318,320,322, 325,328,331,346,350,363,364, 370,378,383-385>393,394 Queensbury, Marquis of, 253 Queensland, 341 Queen's County (NB), 193 Queen's University, 98 questionnaire, 141,205,213,377 Quick, (Father), 245 Quinlevan, Margaret, 365 Quinn, Bridget, 366 Quigly, Margaret, 329,330 Quinn, Thomas, 251 Quiver, The, 185 Radcliffe, Reginald, 87 Radial Railway, 236 Radley, Herbert, 78 Radstock, Lord, 316 Rae, R.H., 288 Rae, William, 362 Ragged School Union, 303,304 Ragged School Union Magazine, 304 Ragged Schools: xiv, 10,11,17,45, 48,70,71,90,143,164,201,213, 215,216,243,285,293,300,302, 306,379,384 Brighton and London, 380 Drury Lane, 384 George Yard, 90 Grotto Passage, 383 Liverpool Industrial, 381 London, 285,384 Neal's Yard, 201 Quay Street, Deansgate, 213 Seven Dials, 201 Smithfield, 394 St. Giles, 201 Raikes, Robert, 303 Ramsay, (Miss), 118 Ramsey (Isle of Man), 138 Ramsgate Orphanage, 166,167 Rankin, James, 294 Rathbone, William (MP), 73,86 Rawdon, 274 Ray, William Shaw, 136 Read, _ (Mr.), 283 Ready Oak School, 389 Rebellion of 1837, 69 Reavell, S.M. (Miss), 97 receiving home(s), xiii, 107,116, 135,144,152,161,201,202,208210,212,215,217,218,248,250, 252,255,260,261 Red Cross, 355 454
Red Cross-street British School (Bristol), 303 Red Lamp, The (Westminster), 164 reformatories: xiv, 10,11,22,70, 109,134,192,216,239,243,257, 291,293,294,295,297-300,302, 305,306,379-395 Acton, 379 admission, 298,299 Allesby Farm, 305,379 Alloe, 70,379 Almond Rock Farm School, 379 Arnos Vale, Bristol Arno's Court (Bristol), 239 Ballinasloe, 379 Bedfordshire, 297,379 Beesdale, 379 Birkdale Farm (School) Reformatory, 379 Blandford, 380 Bleasdale, see Beasdale Boys Farm School, 380 Boys' Agricultural School, 380 Boys' Home (Hampstead), 380 Boys' Home (Kent), 380 Boys' Home/Boys' Refuge, 380 Brixton Metropolitan Industrial, 381 Buxton, 297 Devon & Exeter Girls' Reformatory, 347 discipline, 298,300 East Chapelton, 381,385 Feltham, 306,382,385 Fish, 383 Girls Reformatory of Glasgow, 305,306 Glansmorganshire, 383 Hampstead, 305,383 Hants, Hampshire, 383 Hazlewood, 383 Herts, Hertfordshire, 297,383 Homeless Boys' Institution, 383 Howard Hill (Sheffield), 239 Kibble Institute, 383 Kingswood, 383 Lancashire, see Beesdale Leeds, 384 London, see also Feltham, 382, 393 London Reformatory and Refuge Union, 384 Market Weighton, 384 Middlesex, 382 Model Farm, see Redhill Mount St. Bernard (Leicestershire), 239,385 Newton C. William, 385 North Lancashire, 379,385 North Lincolnshire, 386
Orford, 387 Oxford, 387 Parkhurst, 298-300,387-389, 391 Queen's, 389 Ready Oak School, 389 Red Lodge, 389 Redhill (Red Hill), 296,300, 306,389,390-393 Reformatory and Refuge Union, 393 relapses, 390 Reformatory Institution, 393 released on license, 295,297,390 Saltley, 393,394 Sandbach, 394 St. Aldan's (Farnworth), 244 St. Bernard's (Leicestershire), 244 St. Conleth's, 393 St. Edward's (Boleyn Castle), 240 St. Joseph's Home, 393 St. Kevin's, 393 St. Mary's, 393 St. Stephen's Reformatory, 239 St. William's (Market Weighton), 239 Stapleton, 394 Stoke Farm Reformatory School, 134 Stonebridge, 395 Suffolk, 395 Tiffield, 395 ticket of leave, conditional pardon, probationary pass, 298,388 transportation sentences, 298300,387,391 treatment, 381,384,386,387-392 Upton, 395 Walton-on-the-Hill, 395 Warminster, see also Wiltshire, 395 Warwick Asylum, 395 Wellington Farm School, 45, 297> 395 West Leamington, 395 Weston, 297 Wiltshire, 395 Yorkshire Catholic Reformatory and Industrial Schools Acts, 238,301 Reformatory Schools Act, 295 Reformatory Schools for the Children of the Perishing and Dangerous Classes and for Juvenile Offenders^ 291 Refuge (London), 50,93 Refuge at Finchley, 239
Refuge for the Destitute, The, 63 Regina(AB),35i,355 Reid, _ (Dr.), 77 Reigate (Surrey), 389 Reiglemouth, Chas. J., 362 Reilly, _, 71 Renaud: Casson (Canon), 159,203 J. Frederick (Rev.), 203 Render, Richard (Mr.), 166,227 Renfrew (ON), 397 Renfrew, County of, 259 Renfrewshire, 171,173 Renihan, Bridget, 364 Report of the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the Departmental Committee on Reformatory and Industrial Schools, 1896, 379 Rescue and Homes for Destitute Catholic Children (London), 260 rescue homes, 109 Restriction of Hours Act (1802), 3 Revival Homes, 90,91 Rhenish Prussia, 358 Rhind,_(Mr.),78 Rhode Island, State of, 63 Rhodes Scholar, 206 Rhodesia, 206 Rice, (Dr.), 350 Richardson, H.B. (Miss) (Mrs.?), 3H> 386 Richmond (QC), 58,91,379,381, 383, 393, 395
Richmond, County of, 160 Richmond (VA), xii Riley,R. (Mr.), 138 Rimouski (QC), 247, 250, 251 Riordan, Mary, 364 Risley (England), 380 River Avon, 200 River Thames, 241,251 Riviere du Loup, 59 Roach, Thomas, 362 Robarts, Emma, 352 Robbins, Betsy, 305 Robert, Antoine (Mr.), 248,250, 253>363>378 Robinson, Thomas, 362 Roberts, George, 98 Roberts, William, 221 Robertson, Robert A., 177 Robinson, Peter (Hon), 66 Robinson, (Mrs.), 66 Robson, J. (Reeve), 77,79 Robson, Joseph, 342 Rochdale, 245 Rochester (NY), 330,331 Rogers:
Martha, 305 (Miss), 114 Peter, 371 Rokeby (England), 226 Roman Catholic (Church), xiv, xvi, 2, no, 127,238,239,241,243, 246,249,250,252,254,259,263, 281,282, 297,302,342,347,379, 383,393>395 children, 49,208,238,241-243, 245,247,249,252,259,263,266, 274,278 Clergy, 331,351 education, 238,239,241,243, 245 girls, 338 orphans, 242 Roman Catholic Emigration Association, 313 Rooney, Monsignor Canon, 242 Rosen Hallas (Manchester), 213 Ross: Adelaide, 341 Alice (Knight), 184 Catherine Manson (Mrs. John C.),i84 James, 411 John Christopher, 184 _ (Mr.), 132 Ross farm, 132,133 Rossall, Robert (Father), 253-255 Rotherfield (Fegan Home), 164 Rothesay(NB),i95 Rough, John S. (Mr.), 129,135 Rowe, Frederick, 251 Rowley, Lady, 87,88 Royal Canadian Rifles, 321 Royal Commission on Education, 266 Royal Navy, 63 Royal Victoria Asylum, 63 Rudolf: Edward de Montjoie, 156 Prebendary (Rev.), 161 Robert, 156 Rupertsland and Columbia GFS, 335 Russel, George, 259 Russell (MB), 58,145,147,148,153 Russell, County of, 152,259 Russell, Father, 248 Russell Farm, 145,148,151 description of, 151 Russia, Russian(s), 147,237,347 Ryan: Ann, 288,364 Herbert Reginald, 278 Patrick, 247 Rye: Edward, 71
Edward (Jr.), 71 Elizabeth (Bessie), 74,83 Maria Susan (Miss), xii, xiv, xvi, 11,19, 21-23,26, 28,44,47, 49, 58,71-86,105,108, no, 116, 157,159,160,180, 249, 250, 271, 272, 274, 294,302,308,318-323, 359,377,384,397 Walter, 71 Rye Home, see also Elizabeth Rye Home, 163 Sabine, Mrs., 21 Sable Island, 274 Sacred Heart (Homerton), 241 Sacred Heart College (Watertown), 247 Sailors' Home (Saint John), 381 Saint Catherine's Convent (New York), 329 Saint John (NB), 13,14,39,45,57, 68,70,74,75,77,141,192-194, 196,197, 269,270,275,297,315, 322,355,378,381,383,385,387,395 Saint Joseph's Orphanage (Ireland), 235 Salford, Bishop of, 256 Salford, Diocese of, 253 Salford Boys & Girls Refuge, 213 Salford Catholic Protection and Rescue Society, 245,250,253, 255,257 Saltcoats (Scotland), 117 Salvation Army: xvi, 35,54,109, 112,154,165,178, 209-212,229, 230, 231,237, 278,352,353 Armenian boys, 212,237 booking agent, 353 chartered vessels, 353 Empire Settlement, 229-231 fares, 353 farm, 209 receiving home, 209,210 Women's Migration Scheme, 352 Sanders, J.F., 13 Sanderson, Camilla (Miss), 146 Sanford, Helen (Mrs.), 337,340 Sanford, WE. (Senator), 138,140, 141 Sangster, H.W. (Mayor), 200 Sanham, Chris, 396 Sankey, (Mr.), 114 Sapwell, George, 158 Saskatchewan, 29,31,116,141,154, 188,232,255,259,335,337,351, 355,379,393 Saskatoon (SK), 351 Save the Boy! campaign, 244 Sayers, John, 397 Scane, F. (Solicitor), 77
455
Scared Heart College, Watertown, NY "scattered farm system" 194 Scheuer, S., 48 Schofield, Elizabeth, 78 Scholes, Alexander G., 298 Scotland, xvi, 45,86,96,100,112, 114,116,119,147,165,168,170,197199,222,225,230,267,299,300, 318,335,364,369,378,381,395 Scott, Edward (Capt), 46 Scott, Mary A. (Mrs. R.W.), 357 Scots (Scotch), 346,347 Scottish boys, 197,198 Scottish National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 223 Scoville, (Rev. Canon), 77,79 seasickness, 43,46,47 Sea Side Branch (Ramsay), 138 Seagon, (Dr.), 283 Seamen's Orphanage, 120 Searle, Monsignor, 239 Second World War, see World War II Seddon, Thomas (Father), 243, 248-252,255,362 Select Committee: of the House of Lords, 300 on Education, 64 on Immigration and Colonization, 23,28,99 Select Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonization, 342 Self-Help Emigration Fund, 346 Self-Help Emigration Society, 111, 203, 205,337,348,350,354 Self-Help Society - East End of London, 205,354 Selly Oak (Birmingham), 206 Senior, Nassau (Mrs.), 279,347,348 Servants of the Mother of God, 241 Servites, 241 Sessional Papers, xv, 75,379,406, 419 Sexton, James, 362 Seymour, (Mr.), 208 Shackle, Margaret, 351 Shackle, Mildred, 351 Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of, xii, xiv, i, 2, 6,73> 86,304,319,326,384 Shaftesbury Homes, 201,297,381 Shanks, John, 375 Sharp, (Capt.), 66 Shaughnessey, Margaret, 288,365 Shaw, Leonard K., 10,96,100,114, 116,119,213 Shaw, William, 158
456
Shea, Timothy, 269 Sheehy, James, 365 Sheffield (England), 393 Sheffield (ON), 103 Shelter from Cruelty Home (Edinburgh), 222 Shemlon (Mt. Lebanon), 237 Sherbrooke (QC), 158-162,297, 377> 381 Sherbrooke, County of, 160 Sheridan, John, 278 Sheridan, Pat, 362 Sherwood (ON), 79 Shields (UK), 39 Shipp(?), James, 375 Shipp, Walter, 375 ships: accommodations, 38,44,46,53 conditions, 38-42,56 ships, names of: Active, 68 Alawnia, 53 Alert, 284 Andania, 53,351 Ann Kenny, 285 Annandale, 2,284 Annie Jane, 304 Arawa, 53 Arethusa, 201 Arran, 328 Athenia, 197 Austrian, 70,246,349,380 Bavarian, 52,261,277 Belgian, 319 Brage, 236 Buenos Ayrean (steamer), 52,171 Calhoun, 328,330 Canada, 181 Caroline, 87 Carthaginain, 53 Caspian, 223,225 Cassandra, 197 Chichester, 201 Circassian, 44,45,115,145,146, 382,393 Citie of the Tribes, 350 City of Mobile, 331 Clarence, 244 Cleopatra, 393 Colonist, 279 Concord, 66 Corsican, 279,375 Crescent City, 285 Culloden, 384 Damascus, 288,394 Denham, 394 Dominion, 53,54,254 Duchess ofAthol, 53 Duchess of Bedford, 53,56,367, 369,37i> 427
Duchess of York, 351 Elentheria (Ellentheria), 67 Eleutheria, 39, 66,67 Elizabeth Bright, 383 Elspeth, 316 Empress of Britain, 53,196,341 Empress of Ireland, 32,53,61 Englishman, 66,67 Enterprise, 284 Essex, 279 Forward, 317 Franconia, 53 Ganges, 380 Garland, 270 George Canning, 66 Georgiana, 284 Glenlyon, 285 Governor, 282 Hanoverian, 254 Hebe, 267,268 Henry and Sarah, 39 Henry Bell, 66 Hesperian, 53 Hibernian, 44,72,73,121,319, 321,393 Hinde, 39,68 Hope, 284 Imo, 136 Industry, 284 James Arthur, 173 John Bull, 383 Labrador, 150 Lady Franklin, 328 Lake Manitoba, 341 Laurentian, see also the Polynesian, 47,148,338 Laurentic, 351 Letitia, 351 Lexington, 66 Manitoban, 171,225,382 Medway, 380,395 Megantic, 212,229 Melita, 236,351 Minerva, 385 Minnedosa, 236 Mongolian, 54 Montblanc, 136 Montrose, 56,213 Moravian, 45,383,384,395 Nepigon,349,350 Nestorian, 75,92,158,320,322, 380,385,393 Newnham, 68 Niger, 384 North Briton, 384 Nova Scotian, 123,225,380,383 Numidian, 251,256,363 Odessa, 285 Oregon, 192 Orient, 328
Ottawa, 66,385,395 Parisian, 46,47,144,145,147, 363 Peruvian, 48,49,74,75,91, 253, 384, 406 Phoenician, 46,172 Polynesian (Rolling Poly), 47, 48,138,146, 297,380,382,395 Pomona, 384,385 Prussian, 92,93,113,132,380, 382,393> 395> 406 Queen, 66 Regina, 53,351 Reindeer, 283 Robert Lowe, 318 Roderick Dhu, 282 Samt David, see also Phoeician, 46 Salem, 285 Sardinian, 43,49,52,100,124, 126,145,148,207,290,342 Sarmatian, 21,49,131, 250,382, 393 Sarnia, 148 Scandinavian, 45,74,380,382, 384>385,395 Severn, 380 Shepherdess, 384 Sicilian, 53-55 St. Dflvfd, 170,288,289,364 St. Lawrence, 389 Storstad, 32 Susan,269 Texas, 53,138 Thames, 380 Titanic, 370 Toronto, 39, 68 Try-again, 279 Tunisian, 52, 53,375 Tynemouth, 317 Urania, 284 Vicksburg, 138 Victoria, 285 Victorian, 53 Virginian, 52,53,217,375 Washington, 325 Winnipeg, 349 Wisconsin, 384 Wra. Osborne, 39,66 Shires, (Mr.), 395 Shives, (Mr.), 75 Shoeblack Brigade, 169 Shropshire, 344 Shuttleworth, (Mr.), 222,378 Sibberd, (Mr.), 190 Simcoe (ON), 329,330 Simcoe, County of, 152 Sims, John, 221 Sinclair, Sarah, 305 Sisters of Charity, 241,245,250
Sisters of Charity of St. Paul (Selly Park), 255 Sisters of Mercy, 240,329 Sisters of Mercy (County Galway), 254 Sisters of St. Joseph (Guelph), 247 Sisters of St. Joseph (St. Catharines), 247 Sisters of St. Joseph (Toronto), 250 Sisters of the Church (Toronto), 247,248,377 Six Nation Indians, 102 Skelly, Catherine, 329 Skinner, (Mrs.), 344 Skuse, Robert, 221 Small, H.B., 248 Small, _ (Mr.), 146 Smart, George Bogue (G.B.) (Inspector), xvi, 30,32,107,109, 111,112,116-118,127-130,135,138, 140-143,151-155,160-162,166-168, 174-176,182,183,185-188,193,195, 198, 201-203, 205, 210, 212, 214, 216, 217, 221, 222, 226, 227, 237,
257,259-263,275,277,339> 376 Smart, (Mr.), 255 Smiler (Smiles), Joseph, 375 Smith: Alfred, 362 Annie (Mrs.), 53 Andy, 221 _ (Capt.), 45 William H. (Capt.), 48,49,74 Catherine, 329 Catherine, 365 Christan, 305 Gail (Brocklebank), 196 H.H.(Mr.),2 7 2 J. Obed, 314 John, 141,297,386,387 Kate (Bridget), 329 Michael J., 367 (Mrs.), 171 Samuel (MP), 144,165 Sydney (JP), 77,79,293 W. Hudson (Rev.), 142 William Henry, 146 Smith's Bank (Lodnon), 374 Smiths, Florence, 247 Smyly: Annie Dallas, 215,218 Ellen Susan (Miss), 215-219 _ (Mrs.), 20,96,215,221,233 Smyly children, 217 Smyly Home Form, 361 Smyly Homes, in, 215,216,220, 221,375 Smyth: A.G., 386 Bridget, 330
Snodgrass, Joe, 375 Social Services Council of Canada (sscc), 35 Social Science Congress (1861), 318 Social Welfare in Ontario: 17911893,in Society for Promoting Christian Learning, 159 Society for the Furtherance of Child Emigration to the Colonies, 206 Society for the Oversea Settlement of British Women, 345,354,355 Society for the Propagation (Promotion) of Christian Knowledge (SPCK), in, 157-159, 203,204,316 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 204 Society for the Reception and Protection of Females, 358 Society for the Suppression of Juvenile Vagrancy, 63,64 Society of Friends (Quaker), 87, 170,303,347,348 Sockett, Thomas (Rev.), 65 Soffe, Hannah (Miss), 83 "Song of the Emigrant," 304,305 Sorbys, Mr. and Mrs., 231 Sorehane, Margaret, 281 South Africa, 62,323 South America, 324 South Croydon, Surrey South Hackney, 137 South Pacific, 304 Southampton (England), 164 Southwark, Bishop of, 239,252 Southwark, Diocese of, 239-241, 251,378,396 Southwark Catholic Emigration Society, 253-255,258,338,339,379 Southwark Catholic Rescue Society, 252,255,378 Southwark Home Mission (London) (Blackfiars), 164,166 Spealy, Kate, 288 Spellany (Spealy?), Kate, 364 Spiddal Orphanage (Ireland), 221 Spiller, Frederick, 158 Splane, Richard, 111 Spurgeon, C.H., 115 Spurgeon's College (London), 115 St. Agnes (Leytonstone), 241 St. Andrew (Holborn), 63 St. Ann's Church (Montreal), 249, 255,377
St. Ann's Parish (Montreal), 253 St. Ann's Parish (South Lambeth), 157
457
St. Anne's Home (Montreal), 338, 339 St. Anne's (Ann's) Home (Montreal), 247,248,255,260, 338,377 St. Anne's Emigration Society, 338 St. Botolph (Bishopsgate), 63 St. Catharines (ON), 20,77,84, 103,160,282 St. Catharine's Convent (Tralee), 254 St. Chad's Children's Home (Leeds), 234 St. Cuthbert's College (Ushaw), 243 St. Edward's Home (Birmingham), 245,260,263 St. Edward's (Totteridge), 241 St. Elizabeth (Portobello Road), 241 St. Elizabeth's Hospital (Great Ormand St.), 250 St. Elizabeth's House (Bullingham), 250 St. Elizabeth's School (Salisbury), 250 St. Francis's Orphanage (Shefford), 250 St. George (London), 63 St. George's Bay, 71 St. George's Fields, 389 St. George's Home (Cote St. Antoine),58 St. George's Home (Hintonburg), 262 St. George's Home (Ottawa), 255, 260,263 St. George's Union School (Hanover Square), 249 St. Giles (London), 8,63 St. Giles (Quebec), 250,251 St. Giles' Refuge, 305 St. Henri (Quebec), 260 St. James (Westminster), 63 St. Jerome (Quebec), 256 St. Joan's Home (Birmingham), 245 St. John, Edward (Father), 242, 251-256 St. John County (NB), 193 St. John (Hackney), 63 St. John (Wapping), 63 St. John's Croft (Winchester), 334 St. Joseph Hospital, 247 St. Joseph's Orphange (Kingsington Hall), 250 St. Joseph's (Stepney), 242 St. Just, Lettellier de (Minister), 139 St. Lawrence River, 12,58,59,61, 172,175,331,370,372
458
St. Leonard Shoreditch (London), 63 St. Lewis Convent (Co. Monaghan), 287 St. Luke (Middlesex), 63 St. Luke's (Chelsea), 71 St. Margaret's School (Mill Hill), 250 St. Mark's Cemetery (NOTL), 78 St. Mary (Islington), 63 St. Mary-le-bone (London), 63 St. Mary-le-Strand (London), 63 St. Mary's Home (Hammersmith), 239 St. Mary's Orphanage (North Hyde), 242 St. Mary's Orphanage (Blackheath), 250 St. Mary's School (West Grindstead), 250 St. Mary's (Southend), 241 St. Mary's (Woolwich), 241 St. Nicholas Home (Liverpool), 159,204 St. Nicholas' Home (Manor Park), 260 St. Nicholas' Institute (Toronto), 250,251 St. Nicholas'Vestry (Liverpool), 204 St. Nicholas' (Walthamstow), 239 St. Pancras (London), 63 St. Pancras Station (London), 50, 9i St. Paul's Church (Chicago), 331 St. Patrick's Home (Montreal), 288 St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum, 417 St. Patrick's Orphanage (Montreal), 250,251,258 St. Patrick's Orphanage (Prince Albert), 259 St. Paul's (Coleshill), 245 St. Paul's College (Buckinghamshire), 164 St. Paul's Girls' Home, 122 St. Peter's, Gainford, 242 St. Phillips's Orphanage (Birmingham), 145 St. Phillips Vicarage (Stepney), 205,341 St. Saviour's (London), 63 St. Saviour's Vicarage, 278 St. Vincent de Paul Society, 255, 288 St. Vincent's (Kensington), 239 St. Vincent's Home (Birmingham), 260,263 St. Vincent's (Mill HiU), 241 St. Vincent's (Montreal), 249 St. Vincent's (Preston), 244
St. Vincent's Home (Hammersmith), 242 St. Vincent's Home (Harrow Road), 242,250,253 St. Vincent's Working Boys' Home (Liverpool), 245 Stafford, L., 91,201,312,219,322, 350,386 Staffordshire, 381,395 Stamford Hill (London), 241 Standon Farm (England), 158 Stanley (NB), 68 Stanley Boys' Home (England), 222, 378
Stanstead, County of, 160 Ste. Anne's Emigration Society, 338-340 Stephens, John, 68 Stephenson, Thomas Bowman (Dr.), 10,137,138,140-142,144, 146,233,377,396 Stephenson boys, 141 Stephenson Homes, 139,141,144 description of, 138 Stepney (England), 205,313,341 Stepney Causeway (London), 10, 143,145-147,154,374 Stevens, Christ., 362 Stevenson, B.R. (Hon.), 323 Stewart, Robert, 315 Stewart, _ (Mrs. Wm.), 358 Still, Elizabeth (Lizzie), 82,86,271 Stirling, Emma Maitland (Miss), 135, 222, 223,377 Stirling, Louisa, 305 Stirling Creche and Home for Neglected and Destitute Children, 199 Stirling (Scotland), 197,199 Stirlingshire (Scotland), 86 Stobo, Edward (Rev.), 94,96,170 Stockbridge Day Nursery (Edinburgh), 222 Stockport (Lancashire), 379 Stoke Prior (Worcestershire), 344 Stony Beach, 152 Stony Stratford (Buckinghamshire), 164,167,367 Stop #69 (radial railway), 235,236 Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders, 177 Strachan, John (Archdeacon), 66 Strachan, (Mrs.), 66 Strangeways Institution (Manchester), 119,213 Stratford (ON), xiii, xvii, 103,104, 118,129,215-217,3i3> 377 Stratton, F.A.H., 323 Strickland, Samuel, 13,16,17 Strongetharm, (Miss), 323
Struthers, Edmund A., 146,149, 151, 154 Sturt, (Mrs.), 39, 68 Sudbury (ON), 247 Sullivan, R.B. (Mayor), 66 Sullivan, William, 251 Sunday School movement, 157 Sunday Schools, 303 Superintendent of Neglected and Dependent Children (ON), 218 Supervisor of the Women's Division, 314 surplus population, 294 Surrey, 163,207,208,226,240,273, 297, 38i, 389 Sussex, 240,250 Sutherland, Neil, 17 Sutton (Surrey), 297 Swan River (South Australia), 65 Swartz's Tavern (London), 133 Swedish, Swedes (people), 347 Sweeny, Harold, 221 Swiss (people), 357,358 Switzerland, xvi, 357,358 Syracuse (NY), 330,331 Tache,J.C.(Mr.),3i9 Taffe, Anne, 329 Tassie,__(Dr.),2i Taylor: Charles, 278 Cyril, 278 KM. (Rev.), 128 Elizabeth, 278 Ethel, 278 George, 278 James, 278 Miriam, 278 (Mrs. James), 278 Thomas (Mr.), 268 Tebbs, George W. (Rev.), 216-221 Tebbs, (Mrs.), 216,218 Teighmore House (Island of Jersey), 144 Ten Hours Bill (1831), 4 Terrard, Edgar, 362 Terrard, (Miss), 362,363 Terrebonne(QC),387 Thorn, George, 98 Thorn, Leslie W, 91,93,98,113 Thoms's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Year 1917,221 Thomas, Arthur Chilton, 260,262 Thompson, Polly, 78 Thorold(ON),395 Thurgar, J.V. (Mr.), 68 Thus (Thews?), Bridget, 364 Tiernan, Jane, 329
Union Act (Canada), 26 Union(s) (Poor Law), 28,62,73, 110,127,135.146,208,248,250, 251,254,265-267,271-280,282290,294,308 Ardee, 326 Ballycastle, 286 Ballymahon, 285,288 Ballynacarrett, 288 Ballyshannon, 284 Balrothery, 286 Baltinglass, 284 Barton Regis, 192 Belmullet, 350 Gallon, 287 Carlow, 282,284,286,289 Carrickmacross, 284,285 Cavon, 288 Chatham, 284 Clifden, 350 Clogher, 287 Clonmel, 286 Coothill, 282 Cork, 269,270,279,284,286,287 Groom, 284 Croyden (Surrey), 272,273,378 Drogheda, 328 Dublin, 257,286,287 Dungarvan, 279-281 Eastbourne, 146 Edenderry, 284,287,288 Edmonton, 275 Ennis, 287 Farnham, 146 Guildford, 134 Hambledon, 146 Hastings, 158 Hereford, 73,271 Irish, 41,45,269,279,286,289 Isle of Thanet, 146 Kanturk, 286,287 Kentish Town, 146 Kidderminster, 146 Kilbrush, 282 Kildysart, 283,284 Kilmallock, 287 Leeds, 277,278 Limerick, 288,364 Londonderry, 284 London Refuge, 286 Mount-Bellew, 284,285 Mullingar, 285,288 Naas, 284,285 Nenagh, 282 New Ross, 270,284-286 Newcastle, 282-284 Newport, 349,350 Old Castle, 287 Oughterard, 350 Parsonstown, 284,285,287 Ullathorne, William (Bishop), 245
Tighe, Stearne (Rev.), 207,378 Tillsonburg (ON), 254 Tilton, Roberta E. (Mrs.), 357 Tomkins, James, 158 Topple, Ernest, G., 371 Toronto (ON), 13,14,17,53,58,61, 65, 67,70,71,73, 84,91,99, no, 131,132,135,138,141,144,145, 147,148,151,152,155,156,162, 165-167,190, 205,208,218,219, 226,227,236,237,248,250,259, 268,275,278-285,289,293, 297, 315,316,318,320,322,331,335, 337, 354,355-358,368,370,372, 377,38o, 383,385,391,394 Toronto General Hospital, 32,35 Toronto Labour Council, 32 Toronto Protestant Orphan's Home, 306 Torquay (Cornwall), 233 Torrington Lodge (Eltham), 250 Tottington (Bury), 245 Towcester (Northamptonshire), 395 Tower Hamlets Mission, 203,204, 346,354 Tower Hill (London), 241 Townsend, Mary Elizabeth (Mrs.), 333 Towsend Street Schools and Girls' Home (Ireland), 221 Trachoma, 260 Trade unions, 32 Traill, Catharine Parr, 13,308 Training Home (boys), 98 Training House for Girls, 347 Tralee Convent, 235,254 Travellers' Aid Society (England), 234,355 Tremain, H.B. (MP), 200 truant industrial schools, 293 Trudge, (Brig.), 212 trunk, travelling, Barnardo trunk 139,145,170,171 Tuhly, Mary, 364 Tuke, James Hack, 290,348-351 "Tuke's Fund," 350 Tunbridge Wells (England), 164 Tuppen, Maria, see Rye, Maria Tupper, Charles (Sir), 178,273, 295,332 Turner, Sidney (Rev.), 392 Twenty-seven Years in Canada West, 13 Twiggs,WG. (Mr.), 227 Tyendinaga Reserve, 248 Tyler, Emily, 272 Tyler, Susan, 272
459
Rathkeale, 282 Roscommon, 284 Sligo, 287 South Dublin, 287,289,290 St. George's, 362 St. Paverus, 362 Strabane, 284 Stroud, 362 Strokestown, 284 Tamworth, 146 Thetford, 146 Tralee, 284 Tullamore, 284,286 Waterford, 279,287 West Derby, 247 West Kane, 362 United British Women's Emigration (Immigration) Society (Assoc), m, 341,343-347 United Church Boys' Training Farm (Norval), 231,237 United Church of Canada, 112, 231,237 United Church Overseas League, xvi United Englishwomen's Emigration Association, see also BWEA, 341 United Kingdom (UK), xiii, 30, 32,34,57, 155, 156,162,189,235, 267,312,319,333,346,367,396 United States, 12-14,44,47,58, 63, 75, 76, 79, 86, 87,131, 228, 246, 283-285,306,324,325,331,333, 348,349,357,379,392 United Women's British Emigration Association/Society (UBWES), 341,342 University of Brunswick, 131 University of Guelph, 344 University of Liverpool, 407 University of Toronto, 184 University of Waterloo, xiii Upper Canada College, 2 Upper Marchdown (London), 2 Ups and Downs, m, 148,155 Urquhart, H. (Miss), 258 Urquhart, John, 411 Utica(NY),33i Vaccination(s), 52 Vallance, Charles (Adjutant), 210 Vallor, Mary Ann, 305 Van Diemen's Land, 388 Van Meter, W.C. (Mr.), 86 Vancouver (BC), 61,342,351,355 Vancouver Island, xiv, 206 Vatcher, Sidney (Mrs.), 205 Vaughan, Cardinal, 242,253,255,
460
259 Vaughan, Herbert (Bishop of Salford), 245 Vauleau (?), Abraham, 375 Vermilion Farm (Alberta), 232 Vermont Domestic Services Association, 347 Vernon (BC), 337,344 Vickers, J.R (Mr.), 202 Vickers, (Mrs.), 203 Victoria (BC), 206,317,343,355,396 Victoria, Queen, i, 335 Victoria Park Church (South Hackney), 137 Vienna (ON), 283 Village, The (Bridge-on-Weir), 173 Vimy Ridge Training Farm, 207, 231,232 Vine, George (Marshall), 392 Vosburgh, Eva, 338 Voyage(s), 37,39-43,46-57,88,94, 99,107,124,125,171,172,192, 223, 279,307,352 conditions, 37,38,40,42,307, 308,325 physician, 37 WPIS, see Women's Protective Immigration Society WE. Sanford Manufacturing Co., 138 Wafer, Tom, 375 Wagner, Gillian, no Wales, 21,31,189,246,263,265, 300,335,383 Wales, South. 383 Walker, Jane, 272 Wall, Margaret, 365 Wallace, Alice (Broomhall), 117 Wallace, Ellen Bilbrough (Mrs.), 83,115,116 Wallace, Robert (Rev.), 53,83, 112,115-117,213,214,277,377 Wallis, Adeline, 227 Wallis, Janet (McCall) (Mrs.), 226,227 Wallis' Babies Home (England), 226 Walters: Alexander, 375 Edward, 378,387 C. (Rev.), 390 Walthamstow, 239,393 Walton Gaol, 243 Wanlyn Inn (NS), 135 Wapella(SK),393 War Cry, The, 353 Ward, R. (Rev.), 201 Warren, Ronald S., 371 Warwickshire, 138,395
Washburn, (Mr.), 65 Washwell House (Gloucestershire), 115,119 Waterloo County Children's Aid Society, 221 Waterloo Historical Society (WHS), XV, 221
Waterloo Road Chapel (London), 137 Waterloo, County of, 247 Watertown (NY), 247 Waterville (QC), 393 Watson, Mary Urie, 344 Watson, _ (Sheriff),"Children's Sheriff," 300,301 Watt, Robert (Master), 70 Weaver, (Mrs. Lester), 220 Weaver, Richard, 87 Weavers, 62 Webb, Charlie, 375 Webster (NY), 331 Welland, County of, 259 Wellington, County of, 152,231, 247,259 Wellington Farm School Reformatory, 45,378 Wellington Inn (Penicuik), 395 Wells, Jno. P., 377 Wells, _ (Mrs.), 66 Welsh (people), 347 Welsh, _ (Mr.), 147 Wemyss, Harriet (Miss), 115,116, 119,235 Wemyss, Alice (Miss), 116 Wesleyan(s), 347 Wesleyan Methodist Conference (1871), 138 Wesleyan National Children's Home and Orphanage of London, 137 West Derby (Liverpool), 244 West Kirk Workhouse (Edinburgh), 11,267-269 West London Boys' Home (London), 163 West, James, 95 West, Robert, 375 West Riding (England), 394 Westminster: Archbishop of, 249 Cardinal of, 238 Diocese of, 245,248,252,260, 396 Westminster Diocesan Educational Fund, 238,239 Westmoreland County (NB), 193 Weston (Leamington), 395 Weymouth (England), 297 Wheatly, _ (Capt.), 39,66 Wheelwright, Francis, 362
Whinwell Children's Home (Stirling), 199 White: C. (Mr.), 390 David, 149 (Hon. Mr.), 273 Perry, 375 White Star Dominion Line, 229 White Star Line, 206 Whitechapel, 112,143,380 Whitehead, (Capt), 77 Whitehead, (Mrs.), 77 Whitley-by-the-Sea, 386 Whitmore, W.W., 292 Whitstable, 240 Whitton, Charlotte, 32,35 Whitwell, Mark (Mr.), no, 192, 297> 3/8 Wicklow (Ireland), 393 widows, 10,24,120,156,187,211, 285,3i/> 319 Wilcox, (Mr.), 41,42 Willett, Henry, 191 Williams: _ (Aid.), 132 Dick, 375 George, 228 Howard, 374 William, 201,380 Williamson, (Mrs.), 233 Williamson, Stephen, 22 Wills, William J., 79,80,306 Wilmot, _ (Ex-Gov.), 77 Wilson: D. (Prof.), 131,132 Henry, 63 (Miss), 101 Ronald C.G., 371 Wiltshire, 395 Winchester (England),393 Winchester Emigration Society, 342 Windsor (NS), 200 Windsor (ON), 191, 247 Wingham (ON), 201 Winn, Mary, 283 Winnipeg (MB), 30,31,52,126, 149,150,153,192,199,201,202, 204,208, 230, 272,275,337,338, 343> 35i> 378,381,384 Winnipeg Home, 149,154,155 Winter, R.F. (Rev.), 159,205,272 Winters, Claude, 176 Wiseman, Nicholas (Cardinal), 239 Withy Grove, 245 Woking (Surrey), 207,208 Wolfe Island (ON), 173 Wolverhampton (England), 75 Woman's Mission, 233
women: educated, 345,351,354 governess, 308,309,3i3> 3i5> 323>345,358 nursing, nurses, 184,196,308, 315> 334,337, 354,358
Working Youths' Institute (Southwark), 165,166 World's Fair (Chicago), 146 World War I (First World War), 104,130,136,156,162,181,182, 184,198, 211, 214, 217, 221, 231,-
property rights, 71 313,344> 370,375 teachers, teaching, 128,234,239, World War II (Second World War), xiv, xvi, 36,189,207,267, 308,334,344,345> 35i> 354> 357 wife-desertion, 78 315,356,372 Wortley Hostel (Paddington), 343 Women of Canada, 312 Wright: Women's Branch of the Oversea Harold Richard (Dick), 368, Settlement Department, 354 Women's British Immigration 37i> 427 Sarah, 72 League, 351 William, 64 Women's Division, Employment Wurtemburg, 358 Service of Canada, 315,355 Women's Employment Society, 318 Wylde, J. (Rev.), 278 Wylie, Hugh (Capt), 47 Women's Wylie, James (Capt), 46 Immigration/ Emigration Society, see also WPIS, 192,311, YMCA, see Young Women's 312,341 Christian Association Women's Institute, 312,313 Yale University, xiii Women's National Immigration Yardheads (Leith), 114,119 Society. 337 Women's Protective Immigration Yates,A. (Miss), 258 Yates, L.M. (Miss), 248,249,256, Society (WPIS), 192,204,338258 340,342,345> 347,348 Yelverton, (Hon. Mrs.), see Women's Work Conference, 233 also Featherstonehaugh, Mrs., Wood: A.E( Warden), 93 335>336 York (UC) (later Toronto), 12,70 Henry, 68 York County (NB), 193 _ (Mrs.), 335 Yorkshire, 348 Woodford Bridge (Essex), 155 Young, Charles E.B., 227,228 Woodman, (Miss), 358 Young, Robert, 389 Woodstock (ON), 79,103 Young Men's Christian Woodville (ON), 106 Association (YMCA), 117,228,372 Woolwich, 241 Broadview (Toronto), 372 Worcester (England), 117 Young Women's Christian Worchestershire, 344 Association (YWCA), 163,228, Work and Leisure, 341 workhouse(s): 7,8,11,16,21,22, 234,338,343> 345> 35i> 352,35525, 28,40,62,63,73,74> 107, 357 Youths' Labour House, 151 109,134,146,180,192,216,241, 265-267,269,271,279,288,292, Zollifoffer, _ (Mrs.), 358 307,308,326,348 Zoological Gardens (London), Brantford Union, 362 Cheslea Union, 362 324 City of London, 362 clearing men, 6 Holborne Union, 362 Ireland (Irish), 8,62,267,308 Kensington Union, 362 London, 73 Mile End Old Town Hamlet, 362 outdoor relief, 7,8 schools, 8 West Kirk, 11,267- 269 Working Ladies Guild, 347 461
About the Author Marjorie Kohli was born in Calgary, Alberta, and spent her formative years migrating, with her military family, through the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Manitoba before settling in Waterloo, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Waterloo (uw), she has worked at uw as a computer consultant since 1969. Actively involved in several genealogical and historical societies, Marjorie has served as chair of the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Waterloo Historical Society (WHS). She also maintains web sites on 19th Century Immigration, Child Migration and, in partnership with Sue Swiggum, TheShipsList. Marjorie was the recipient of an Award of Merit in 2002 from the OGS for contributions in furthering genealogy. Marjorie researched and published articles in the WHS annual volume on two of the children's homes located in Waterloo Region. She has also had many speaking engagements and has written several articles for publications in Ontario and as far afield as Nova Scotia and Kansas. In her spare time she enjoys reading, walking, vacationing in the quiet lake country of central Ontario, and spending time with her granddaughter, Madison.
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