Genealogy Chat

Hiya All,well i hope someone can help me on this one as i aint gotta clue....Yesterday i had my Nan round and was showing her the progress on the Family Tree we were chatting away and i asked her if she had anymore sibings as her parents were married years before they had her,anyway she said there were quite a few before she was born,some died but one of them (Willie?) was sent to Australia for being a naughty boy!! My Gt Grandparents married 1905 and had my Nan 1923,anyone know how i;d go about finding anything at all about this,i think i have Williams birth so am sending for the birth Cert but its the Australia thing thats getting me,where would i find out where and why he was sent.Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

Danuella I have the same problem as you, my grandmother had 2 brothers sent away between 1910-1920 one to Australia & one to Canada and I have had no luck finding either of them. Georgina.

Hi Georgina I didnt even realise they were sending children away during this time period,i know they did earlier isnt it awful!! Do you know what they woud have done to be sent away?? Danni

Hi Danuella, A lot of children who were in Children's Homes were sent out to mainly Australia and Canada during that period, under the now notorious 'Big Brother' scheme. The authorities probably felt they were giving the kids a chance of a better life in a newer country, but in fact most of them were put to work on farms and as domestic servants and didn't have an easy time of it. There have been a few films and books about it over the past 10 years or so. I'd heard about it because my Dad was sent out to Canada (from Barnardos, I think) aged 10 or 11 and worked on a farm for a couple of years till he was 'rescued' by an uncle - I don't know if he had to work for a certain number of years till he was able to leave, or how the system worked. Re: your relative - Maybe he'd been taken into a Home or Reformatory? - given the family version of him being a 'naughty boy. I wonder if they'd have census records etc in Australia? You could try putting out a specific query about it on the tips board , and see if anyone from Oz replies. Good luck. Bx

Danuella I dont think they did very much, Australia had some kind of deal with the UK and a lot of children were sent to learn a farming trade (or so they thought) but some ended up being treated badly & ran away. The ones that went to Canada were called Home children and there is quite a bit of info on them on the internet but I have never been able to trace my great uncle. The trouble I am having is I dont know their first names until the 1911 census is released, my grandmother was born in 1909 & before she died she said she did not remember her brothers so they must have gone when she was pretty young. Georgina.

Thanks Barbara,William wasnt in a childrens home as far as i know Nan just said he went to Australia cos he was a naughty boy.Good idea i may just do that thankya Danni xx

England was still sending children out to the colonies in 1976..... If he wasn't in a children's home, or a reformatory, then maybe it was just suggested to his family that he be sent to Australia. The Authorities had lots of different schemes going, not all of which involved workhouse/home children. OC

Thanks OC where would i start? I've never been down this road before,i did have alook at the child migration system but you seem to have to know w here he went but how doi find that out!! Hugs xx

This is a really difficult area of research unless you can pin him down to a home or other institution. Many of the records have been 'lost', particularly since people started suing various authorities for their mistreatment under this scheme. Can you not ask your Nan how he came to be sent there? Whose idea was it, for him to go? Dr Barnardoes do have some records and are very helpful I believe - one of the few that are. OC

Hi Danuella, once you have confirmed his name age and parents of the certificate PM me. i live in Australia so I can poke around a bit for you. It would help if you had an idea of when he came out too, to narrow it down a bit. We don't have census out here but we do have the electoral roll and we have our National Archives and State Library who have Family Research facilities. Just be prepared, alot of children from immergration schemes and half cast aboriginal children ended up as bought labourers (supposed to be adopted). The children then took on the family name but not necessarilly (sp.) registered so it is hard - even impossible to trace them. But, you never know until you try, Louisa

Hiya Nan doesnt know much she isnt sure his name is Willie but thinks he was the one sent out there(She had several siblings she never knew),she does know that it was before she was born 1923,but says she never knew why apart from the naughty boy bit.

Is it worth trying Ancestors on Board or something similar? Duncan

findmypast which used to be 1837online is transcribing all the passenger lists of emigrants. They are only up to 1909 at the moment, but adding more as they are finished What year do you think he left for Australia?

I just noticed earlier today that Freebmd are carrying records much further into the 20th century than they were ........ I found some records up to 1920! Would it be worthwhile putting in your nan's maiden surname and seeing if anything comes up for other siblings??? The birth records after 1901 include mother's maiden name, so very helpful!

Hiya i've found all of the siblings she definatly knew about i have been trawling throught the images on ancestry and found these possibilites all born Ipswich as the rest were born there Doris maud S apr 1909 Vera Madeline oct 1909 Robert William jan 1910 cross referenced surname with MMN and also came up with William bn Jan-Mar 1912 in Braintree Have found 1 definate sister Rose bn 1916 Ipswich who Nan didnt know,she also said she had a sister May who died,but i searched births till 1930 and can find no record Phew!!This is always so hard lol Definate siblings are Edward Hawes 1908 James 1913 Rose 1916 Olive 1920 Ernest 1922 Nan 1923 Edna 1925 There was also Frederick but there are 2 poss births for him so just searching for his death to find exact birth date xx

Hello, not sure if your death certs are the same there but on your great grandparents death cert should be all there childrens names, thats how ours are so I asume England is the same What is your grands maiden name and her parents name I could poke around in Oz too for you. Cheers

Hiya Cindi Thanks for that,no it isnt like that here at all just a basic cert,The parents names were Sarah Elizabeth Garnham (also listed as Elizabeth Sarah) and William Hawes. Hugs xx

My father was sent to Australia the day after his 17th birthday in 1929. He had a step father whom he didn't get on with and was sent here to spend a year working on a relative's farm, but when he got off the boat he never went to the relatives. He changed his name and never went back to the UK. I know that my story isn't much help but is there any other relatives that you know of in Australia, perhaps Willie was sent over to Oz like my father

Hi Danni, There's a thread on the tips board about 'Australian Research Tips' - I'll nudge it for you (now I know what that means! Gosh, I've learnt a lot in a few short weeks!) Good luck, Bx