Find out if your ancestor arrived in Toronto House of Industry from England 1858-1864
Find out if your ancestor arrived in Toronto House of Industry from England 1858-1864
Included in this record set are the Register of Boys Arrived in Toronto House of Industry from England 1858-1864 and Index of Boys Arrived at the House of Industry from England 1858 – 1861.
Within the records, you might find information including
Toronto House of Industry
The Toronto House of Industry was established in 1837 in an unused courthouse. It was established in response to the system of workhouses that had been established in the United Kingdom. A group of reformers and dissenters, fearing that a similar system would be established in Toronto, wanted a more humane alternative. It was a place to provide lodging and food for those in the community who needed it – elderly, infirm – and they would help with chores. The House was also opened to orphaned children, including those sent from England. Many were then placed in homes and farms.
About the Home Children
“Home Children” is a term used to identify and designate the thousands of children sent to Commonwealth countries from the middle of the 1800s until after the Second World War. This same population is often referred to as “Britain’s Child Migrants,” as well. More than 130,000 children, ranging from the very young (two to three years old) to eighteen were sent as forced migrants. Only 12% of them were true orphans in modern terms and estimates indicate there are over 4 million descendants of these children around the world today.
Some were kindly adopted into families and lived out a happy childhood, but not all were that lucky. The reality for many was a life of hard labor and servitude at foster homes, many of whom moved often through remote farms and state-run facilities. Nearly always separated from siblings and potentially subject to abuse. Findmypast believes that every story matters, and so while these migration schemes are often sensitive areas of our shared history, their stories are important to tell. Through the Victorian period and well after WWII, there were many children and families living in extreme poverty. Migration schemes, generally created by charity groups, were one of the answers to dealing with this population. Charities, and then Poor Law Unions, began to send children to Canada in the late 1860s. These schemes only grew through the period and by the turn of the century, a new reason had been created, one which was supported directly by the government: imperialism. “An imperial vision of Dominions prospering under young settlers of good British stock complemented the moral benefits of child migration.” (Kershaw, Roger and Sacks, Janet, New Lives for Old, The Story of Britain’s Child Migrants, p. 8, published by The National Archives.) After the Great War, the focus shifted from Canada to Australia. Attempts at government regulation and oversight did not really start until the 1920s. The practice of child migration can be seen in the Empire Settlement Acts of 1922, 1937, 1952 and 1957.
The children, commonly referred to as “Waif’s and Strays,” or “Barnardo Boys” in the UK were often mistreated and they grew into their adult years ashamed of their background. Most did not openly share their experiences with future generations. Additionally, there is a distinction between Home Children and those sent as evacuees, especially during the Second World War. The British Home Children were sent away permanently, and to work. Evacuees were sent away for safety and then returned to their families.