In the 1901 census, I found the two youngest children of my great uncle in the Good Templar and Temperance Orphanage, Sunbury Middlesex. Both children were born in Birmingham and their mother (my g-uncle having died in 1896) and their two older siblings were still living in Birmingham. Is there any reason why these children would be placed there as opposed to an orphanage in Birmingham. Reg Wesson Burlington Canada

Reg, The Independent Order of Good Templars was a temperance organisation founded in the USA which spread to the UK with its first lodge in Birmingham. Perhaps your great-uncle belonged to this order, and therefore his children were given places in the orphanage after he died, while their mother went out to work. These friendly societies tended to act like an insurance company to help out their members when they fell on hard times, before the days of the Health Service and Social Service. As far as I can find out, the orphanage at Sunbury was the only one. HTH Anne On 13 Jun 2008, at 15:46, Reg Wesson wrote: > In the 1901 census, I found the two youngest children of my great > uncle in the Good Templar and Temperance Orphanage, Sunbury Middlesex. > Both children were born in Birmingham and their mother (my g-uncle > having died in 1896) and their two older siblings were still living > in Birmingham. > Is there any reason why these children would be placed there as > opposed to an orphanage in Birmingham. > Reg Wesson > Burlington Canada > _____________________________________________ > _____________________________________________ > > Have you considered adding "postems" to "your" events on www.freebmd.org.uk > , giving your contact details? Other researchers will then be able > to make contact. Click on the info button to add your postem. > > Any problems, please contact the List Admin: [email protected] > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message