I have chosen to feature 12 year old Alfred and his siblings for this week 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge - the prompt is 12 which was the age young Alfred was when he arrived in Canada, all alone, and headed to the Northwest Territories with a stranger.
In the 1891 census I find my X3 great grandmother with three children living at 182 Beresford Street in the Newington district of London, England. Jemima Jane (nee North) Baker marital status is listed as married & her occupation is wife,. Her husband, Alfred A Baker, is not recorded as living with the family. Daughter Mary, who was baptized alongside son Alfred Augustus Baker on the 30th of April 1890, is also absent from this census. The three children listed are Amy Louisa (my X2 great grandmother) age 16, Alfred Augusta age 4, and Edith Jemima age 3.
This is the last time I find any records for Jemima Jane (nee North) Baker. I find no records for Alfred A Baker after the marriage record for him and Jemima on the 2nd of November 1874 at All Saints, St Pancras Rd, Camden, England. Where the parents of Amy, Alfred, and Edith were after 1891 is a mystery. All three of the recorded children I could find ended up in Canada.
July 25, 1898 Alfred arrives in Canada as a British Home Child. He arrived on the ship Labrador through Quebec to the Toronto Bernardo's home for 'distribution'. What a strange way to word the program that was sending young children in need to a new country for a new life. It seems to me that the phrase really did portray the results of the program. The intent had been to send children from England to new families in Canada. Sadly that isn't what happened for many of the children sent by ship to Canada and elsewhere in the world. The record that I find notes that "In 1898, A. A. Baker, 9, arrived at Quebec, Canada, along with a group of 92 children en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada." 1
The documents indicate that Alfred was 9. Alfred was 12. His BHC Registry ID #: 55283.
My online researching indicates that sometimes the incorrect age listed was done in legitimate error. Sometimes it was done to allow for more years of service for smaller children. We will never know what the actual reason was for Alfred. The follow up documents I found note that he was born in 1898, and was 12 when he arrived.
Where exactly Alfred ended up isn't a story that was passed down through my side of the family. In the August 1903 edition of Dr. Barnardo Magazine Ups and Downs on page 55 Alfred is noted as having received a Silver Medal for good conduct & length of service. The April 1903 issue of the same magazine mentions a letter that says Alfred A Baker will be 17 in April. It also says that Alfred A Baker arrived in 1898, and was placed with Mr. Johnston. The British Home Child Registry notes that Alfred Augustus Baker was going to Avonhurst**, Northwest Territories, Canada with Mr. Johnston. The records indicated he remained there until 1903. Where he went in 1903 I have not yet found. My Alfred Augustus Baker was born in April of 1886 he would have been turning 17 in April 1903. Alfred Augustus Baker received a long service Silver Medal in 1903, and Alfred A Baker was placed from 1898 to 1903 with Mr. Johnston. I am fairly confident all the documentation is about the same Alfred Baker. I have heard many stories about the terrible situations British Home Children ended up in upon their arrival in Canada. I am hopeful that 12 year old Alfred Augustus Baker was treated well by Mr. Johnston since he chose to stay with him for at least the 5 years.
Alfred Augustus Baker married Flora Isabel Cameron who was born in Saskatchewan. He was listed as a clerk in the 1916 census, and a farmer in the 1921 census. I haven't yet found their marriage record. I have them on birth records, and supporting census records. The first recorded child I find for them was Amy born in 1912. Their second child Frank was born in 1914. They had a male child who was likely stillborn in 1916. In the 1921 census they have only the two children who are 7 & 8 years old. All three children were born in Saskatchewan. Both Alfred and Flora died in Victoria, British Columbia. I have yet to find any record of when they moved from Saskatchewan to British Columbia, and whether their children joined them. I have found no further information for Alfred Augustus Baker.
Alfred's sister Edith Jemima Baker was a British Home Child arriving in Canada 25th of July 1902 when she arrived on the ship New England to the port in Boston. She then traveled to Canada, Edith Jemima Baker is listed as residing at Bernardo's Home in England in the 1901 census. Her age listed as 13 matches all of my research to date. I find a record of Edith at the New Road School in London, admitted the 8th of January in 1894. I know this is my Edith because the birth date matches, and her father is listed correctly. Noted right above her birth date on the admission record is 'weak intellect'. I wonder if this relative shared my 'late reader' label. There is no indication that she lacked intelligence later in life. "In 1902, Edith Baker, 14, arrived at Boston, Massachusetts, USA, along with a large party of about 400 children en route to Toronto and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Her brother, A(lfred) A(ugustus) Baker arrived previously in 1898 on the Labrador with Barnardos." 2 There is no record that I can find who Edith lived with in Canada until she moved to Manitoba to live with her sister Amy Louisa (nee Baker) Dendy. In 1905 Edith married John Zarn, and they had 8 children.
Amy Louisa Baker was my X2 great grandmother. She was born on the 18th of March in 1875 in England. She died 23rd of December 1949 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She married William Herbert Dendy on the 10th of December 1893 in England. William Herbert Dendy was born on the 27th of July 1867 in England, and died 25 December 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They had 11 children. Six children were born in England, and 5 in Canada. My great grandmother was their first born in Canada. The family immigrated to Canada in 1903, and settled in Manitoba. They did try their hand at farming in Alberta for a time (see Bachelor Uncle Blog for more about that) and also lived in Saskatchewan where their 9th child was born.
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| Amy Louisa (nee Baker) Dendy on right, William Herbert Dendy in back. Likely their daughters Amy in back, Rose (my great grandmother) in front not sure who the other two are, but based on ages there are a couple to choose from. Guessing 1909 since Rose looks about three so Amy was probably expecting Den who was born in 1909 |
I don't know if my X2 great grandparents came to Canada to be closer to Amy's siblings who had been sent to Canada as British Home Children. Amy was already married when her younger siblings left to Canada in 1898 and 1902. Amy and her family arrived in 1904, and originally settled in Manitoba where my great grandmother Rose was born. Amy and family were then living in Saskatchewan in 1907 and 1909 where two sons, Albert & Den, were born. I don't know when Alfred married Flora (from Saskatchewan), but their first born child was named Amy in 1912. It's possible that Amy Louisa moved to Saskatchewan to be closer to Alfred. We also know that Amy Louisa was living near Edith in Manitoba. The records indicate that Amy Louisa and her family were moving between Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta during the years of 1903 and 1929. I don't know why that was happening at a time in the past when most folks didn't move around a lot.
I don't know what happened to their sister Mary.
I don't know what happened to their parents Alfred A Baker & Jemima Jane North.
I do know that the family names continued in the family's of all three children.
I do know that all three went on to have family's, and appear to have been successful in life.
I do know that Amy's daughter Rose (my great grandmother) was so attached to her family that she took her brother out of the institution as soon as she was able (see Bachelor Uncle Blog for more about that).
I also know that Edith Jemima remained connected to Amy Louisa's family after her marriage because I found her playing matchmaker for niece Amy Florence Dendy in 1906.
Amy Louisa was born Amy Baker, and married William Herbert Dendy to become Amy Dendy. Her daughter was born Amy Florence Dendy, and when she married Jack Baker she became Amy Baker. Amy Baker became Amy Dendy, and then Amy Dendy became Amy Baker. I was only able to tease this apart using the video of my grandma explaining a family photo along with this side story.
The things you don't know until you do.
If you know more please comment or message me with the details.
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
** Not to be confused with the current Northwest Territories. In 1905 the landscape of Canada changed with the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Avonhurst is, and always was, part of Saskatchewan.
Sources:
1 RootsChat.Com, RootsChat Reference Library, Database for Special Interest Groups(DBSIG), British Home Children, Quick Search. as retrieved March 20, 2019 from
http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/dbsig/dbsig-quick-search.php?dbsig_num=1&surname=BAKER&view=3969#top_data
2 RootsChat.Com, RootsChat Reference Library, Database for Special Interest Groups(DBSIG), British Home Children, Quick Search. as retrieved March 22, 2019 from http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/dbsig/dbsig-quick-search.php?dbsig_num=1&surname=BAKER&view=3968#top_data
Amended Web Links
Alfred Augustus Baker, British Home Children, A Virtual Cemetery, Find A Grave, Retrieved February 5th 2021 from
Edith Baker Zarn, British Home Children, A Virtual Cemetery, Find A Grave, Retrieved February 5th 2021 from
additional sources:
British Home Children registry as retrieved March 22, 2019 from http://www.britishhomechildrenregistry.com/Person/bhcInfo/55283
Retrieved March 19, 2019 from
https://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/ups-and-downs-1903.html
Retrieved March 20, 2019 from
https://bifhsgo.ca/cstm_upsAndDowns.php?page=1&nr=50&scl=sna&sn=baker
Retrieved March 20, 2019 from http://www.britishhomechildrenregistry.com/Person/search
Retrieved March 22, 2019 from
http://www.britishhomechildrenregistry.com/Person/bhcInfo/55313
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Please & Thank you!
Hi Deb
ReplyDeleteMy great grandma was Edith Jemima Baker who's married name was Darn.
We are cousins :)
DeleteShe was my X3 great aunt
I would love to connect
Deb