Genealogy group hosts British Home Children meeting to perhaps discover more hosts, families
Submitted by John McLean
For the past nine months, members of the Uxbridge Genealogy Group (UGG) have been compiling short biographies of the British Home Children who landed in this area. And the group is ready to share these stories with a wider audience, hoping to learn even more information, and perhaps discover some as-yet undocumented British Home Children.
British Home Children could be found on the farms and in the homes of Uxbridge residents from the late 1800s until the 1930s. The home children program was sponsored by a number of child care organizations in Britain and Canada, with the largest and most notable being Bernardo Homes, centred in London, England.
This controversial program brought children aged six years to mid-teens from care homes across England to homes across Canada. Thousands immigrated under the guise of giving children a new start and a second chance while at the same time supporting population growth in our sparsely populated country. These children were to be the new labour force for the anticipated booming economy.
Over 100 of these children came to North Durham, with close to 70 arriving in Uxbridge and Scott Townships. Some stayed only a few months but many stayed a lifetime, marrying and raising their children here.
The biographies UGG has created tell stories about the conditions leading to the home childrens’ admission to care, how they came to Canada, where they lived, who hosted them and what happened to them in their adult lives. These are not always happy, inspirational stories but many are as evidenced by the number of descendants who continue to live in our community.
The UGG British Home Children meeting takes place Thursday, June 18, at 7 p.m. Lori Orchefski, president of Home Children Canada, will be the guest speaker, and members of the UGG will share stories of the children. The meeting will take place in the Uxbridge Public Library. No admission will be charged for this meeting.