Most Home children were never formally adopted, & rarely described as such in records...people were not looking for additional children or new family members when they took in a Home child, they were looking for cheap labour. This must have been a very rare exception, or a clerical error on the part of the census-taker. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Wright" <john.laurie.wright@sympatico.ca> To: <can-ont-simcoe@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010 10:33 PM Subject: Re: [CAN-ONT-SIMCOE] BEST, Samuel James - Barnardo child? > PAM > > The following is from the 1911 Census, Simcoe East, 30 Tiny, p.5 > > 28 37 Downer William Lot 11 Con 11 M Head M Feb 1856 55 Ontario Ireland > Anglican Farmer > 29 37 Downer Annie F Wife M Sep 1856 55 Ont English Anglican 30 37 Best > James M Adopted Son S Feb 1897 14 Ireland 1909 Ireland Anglican Labourer > > The emigration date is fairly close for the Barnardo boy and the birth > date > matches that in the attestation papers for the soldier. > > John Wright > Barrie, Ontario > > -----Original Message----- > From: can-ont-simcoe-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:can-ont-simcoe-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Pam Tessier > Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010 9:54 AM > To: Simcoe Mailing List > Subject: [CAN-ONT-SIMCOE] BEST, Samuel James - Barnardo child? > > > > ***************** > Ten People All Genealogists Should Follow On Twitter: http://tr.im/hBAy > > Simcoe Co. GenWeb at http://www.waynecook.com/simcoe.shtml > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CAN-ONT-SIMCOE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank heaven for volunteer indexers at Automated Genealogy and people like John Wright. This is how Samuel James Best is listed in THE 1911 census at Ancestry.ca: DOUNES, William DOUNES, Annie JAMES ANT I think it can be said now that Samuel James Best was indeed a Barnardo child. If you look closely at the page of the actual census return (Ontario, Simcoe East, Tiny, page 5) you will see that there is another child in the same household: Annie Powell, adopted daughter, born England in 1897, servant. In the next household, #38, is another child born in England in 1897 listed as "home boy". Good luck with his name! Three children in two neighbouring households........ two of whom are listed as adopted. I doubt this was a clerical error but more likely the way the person who replied to the census taker viewed the relationship between themselves and the children. Thanks for all your help, people! Much appreciated by me and the visitor who is yet to know about this. Pam