Barnardo's Children Query

Marg wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with an intriguing query

My gt.gt grandfather died in 1882 and his wife just a year later (in Sunderland workhouse. ) I'd been told by someone that she thought the younger children were adopted and have found trace of one of them. But the youngest child isn't in any records that I can find, til he appears on familysearch.org [in the 1881 census]

He is Joseph D. L. Stansfield, born in approx. 1880, parents Thomas and Mary Ann Foster Stansfield (nee Maule). Someone has just told me that he thinks that Joseph was sent to Canada by Barnardos.

Ships Passenger List Parisian 1888

Dear Marg - There is a Joseph Stansfield who matches your Joseph on board the ship Parisian in 1888. He is part of a group of children with Maria Rye Homes, heading for Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario.  He is 8 years old. You can search the index on Collections Canada at the link above, or you can view the image on Ancestry.com

One caveat - he is misindexed on Ancestry as "Jno" (which is why using wildcards is an important tool in genealogy research) His is the last name on the graphic on the left. It is only part of the page of the ship Parisian's manifest.

There is a lot of information on Miss Rye's Niagara-on-the-Lake Home for children at Canadian British Home Children   Sadly there seems to be no information on where Miss Rye's records were kept, or even if they were saved when she was no longer in business. If your Joseph had been part of Barnardo's you could have sent for his records but Miss Rye was not a Barnardo home.

You can also find more information on Miss Rye and her home children at Immigrants to Canada
There are two researchers who are reconstructing her records as best they can. Please see this page for details

His marriage record is found on Ancestry.com dated June 24, 1908. His full name is given as Joseph David Lionel Stansfield and he is age 29, born England, a bookkeeper. He gives his mother's name as Mary A. Foster, but did not provide his father's name. His bride was Edith McCarthy and they married in Toronto.

You should be able to find him on the 1891 and 1901 census, perhaps even 1911. In fact I took a quick look and found Joseph and Edith with their two children in the 1911 census for Toronto. If you are using Ancestry.com he's misindexed as "Joye" but remember you can always search under his wife's name if you are unable to find him.

There are two sons - one is 3 years old and another son whose name is so illegible I can't even make an educated guess as to what it is. This son is 4 months old so I had a look and found the birth records of both children - Lionel Thomas Stansfield was born 25 May 1909 and his little brother Randolph Ferguson Stansfield was born 9 February 1911.

I think you should be able to find more about Joseph and his descendants with this start.

Finding Information on a British Home Child

Helen posed an interesting question about a British Home Child.

The Canadian Parliament designated 2010 as the Year of the British Home Children. Volunteers and descendants are making a special effort to alert people to this part of Canadian history, as well as discover the histories/relations of the children.


Charles Thomas BULPITT b. 1907 (parents Andrew Sidney BULPITT - Alice Emily SMITH) emigrated to Canada - age 16, August 4, 1923, on the ship S.S. Megantic, under the auspices of the Marchmont Home, Belleville. He was placed on the farm of J. Benson Cox near Goderich. This proved to be an abusive environment. Charles committed suicide Dec. 22, 1923, & is buried in the Colborne cemetery.


We have contacted Charles' niece in England who was not aware of his life in Canada. She has contacted Barnardo's for information but will not receive documents for another 8 months.


With your experience you probably know where to find facts re this boy's short life in Canada, where he is buried in Colborne, who paid for the headstone (picture found/sent by a BHC volunteer),community feelings, & other facts to complete a picture of Charles BULPITT's life. The material is all forwarded to the English relatives.

Dear Helen - Such a sad fate for a young teenage boy. I can tell you from personal experience researching a British Home Child that the Barnardo's files are very complete.

The files I received for my husband's ancestor Albert Finch contained summaries of letters exchanged between the Home and young Albert. These summaries gave a very good glimpse into Albert's life in Ontario. His first placement was not a happy one and he ran away. Full details were given for this event, and also what was done when the boy was found. His second placement was successful and he was treated very well there.

There were also sketchy details of the families Albert was placed with, and his determination to save enough money to bring his younger brother and sister to Canada to join him.

All in all a fascinating glimpse into a young orphan's life and plenty of detail to flesh out his first years in Ontario.

In the meantime, while you are waiting for the Barnardo records to arrive, here are some suggestions for further research:

I see that Charles was attended at the Brophy Funeral Home in Goderich Ontario. I would find out if they still exist and if so, write to them


Write to the Cemetery where Charles is buried and ask them to send you the information from his burial.

Write to the local church

Write to the Funeral Home

Write to Huron Co. Museum and see if they have any details

Is there a newspaper for that area and that time period? There may be some mention of young Charles and his suicide.