Can anyone tell me if there is alist or site where one can find out the name of draftees and who they paid to serve for them in the Civil War? Pat

Greetings All. I have just returned home from a town hall meeting held by my MP, James Moore. During his question period I asked for and received confirmation of his support for access to Historic Census Records. This is but one means by which we can find out our MPs position on access while Parliament is in summer recess. Another is to make an appointment with them and meet with them at their constituency office. Check the Scoreboard for their position before making an appointment so that you know what to ask them. He mentioned one thing that I have hopes he was in error. Parliament is due to resume sitting in September. Mr. Moore said there is a rumour that Chretien may delay resumption until some time in October when the Queen is due to visit Canada, so that she could give the Speech from the Throne. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted.

Pensions - Country of Arrival Records Pension records can be an untapped source of information for anyone researching an ancestor in the 20th century. While the laws regarding pensions have changed numerous times in the last 100 years, at some point, an employee may have had to provide proof of birth to his/her employer. Pension records are a long shot in genealogical research. Many companies have ceased to exist, others have merged, records have been destroyed. If you are able to ascertain which company your ancestor worked for and that company is still in business - then it's worth trying. If he/she worked for a major company, it's possible the records have been archived. Also, don't forget government employees, whether it's city, state or federal. If you're able to locate pension records, you may find some invaluable information!

This may be of help to a lot of people. They are obits listed from a lot of places.

I am running into some deadends right now and wonder if SKS might be familiar with any members of the HOWE / HAYDEN Family. >>> Edward HAYDEN may have emigrated from Dublin. He may have been a painter and died in a work-related accident circa March / April 1883. His youngest daughter, it appears, was born after his death. I do not know where he is buried. >>> Mary HOWE Hayden emigrated from Northern Ireland. She had at least 4 children, the latest in 1883. She died from cancer @ 1900 +/-. I do not know where she is buried. >>> James HAYDEN, their son, was born prior to 1883. He raised his 3 sisters following their mother's death. He likely married in the 1890's and may have become a NY Police Officer. >>> Elizabeth HAYDEN - her death record shows that she was born in 1883 but I have not been able to access a Birth Certificate (came up Not Found for Manhattan). She later married William REICHERT circa 1900 - 1905. >>> Margaret & Mary HAYDEN -- the other sisters. I have no information about them. One may have married Mr. GREMINGER.

Hi listers Jennie PIPER married George LENOX and was in the New York Census in 1880, where she was listed as a dressmaker and her husband as a gas fitter. From a letter dated 1916 lived at 315 First Avenue New York City. Could anyone advise where I might search for further information on this family - from census information, for example, what area (ward?) would they be found in from this address? Any advice welcome. TIA Annette Piper Coolah NSW Australia

Dear Annette, I will see what I can find, but here is a map site: http://www.brorson.com/maps/MapIndex.html and a site which is mostly about Brooklyn, but has good Manhattan(New York County) info: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~blkyn/Bklyn.Info.Page.html Be sure to get in the whole string. For birth, marriage death info: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doris/home.html Will get back to you. Sheila MacAvoy Block

Hi all I am new to this list and hope someone could help me. I live in Australia and am very vague about the layout of New York, so please excuse me if I ask foolish questions while I am learning more! I am trying to trace the descendants of John Piper and Dora(h) (nee Supple) who emigrated with their children in 1863 from Adare, Co. Limerick. They had 7 children living in 1863 - Margaret Jane (Jennie) b. 1845, Catherine b. 1849, John b. 1852, Mary b. 1854, Dora b. 1856, James b. 1858 and William H b. unknown. All except Jennie and William died before 1916. I can only be sure that Jennie (later LENOX) and William lived in NY. Does anyone have a PIPER in their tree? What sources of information on-line are available for this time period? Is there a site that gives a good map of NY to help me familiarise myself with the layout of the city? Any other advice? TIA Annette Piper Coolah NSW Australia

what's this? "Elizabeth O. Polykandriotis" wrote: > My brick wall is PATRICK HUGHES born about 1858 in Ireland (county not yet confirmed). He came to New York with his wife SARAH MCSORELY about 1880. I believe Patrick joined his 5 other brothers in New York City, BERNARD (owned a produce store and lived @ 67 Gannesvort St), WILLIAM, HENRY, FRANCIS and JOHN. > > Patrick and Sarah's daughter ANN was born in September 1881 in New York City (St. Bernard's Parish). Patrick moved his family to Philadelphia and had twin boys, JOHN and WILLIAM born about 1891. Patrick died in Philadelphia in 1894. > > Thanks for any info, > > Good Luck > Liz > > CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE > THIS ELECTRONIC MAIL TRANSMISSION IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL AND IS > INTENDED ONLY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE PARTY TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED. IF > YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS TRANSMISSION IN ERROR, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY RETURN > IT TO THE SENDER. UNINTENDED TRANSMISSION SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE WAIVER > OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT OR ANY OTHER PRIVILEGE. > > ==== IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY Mailing List ==== > Please visit the list website: > http://www.irishinnyc.freeservers.com > It is a work in progress. Thank you for your patience! > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

My brick wall is PATRICK HUGHES born about 1858 in Ireland (county not yet confirmed). He came to New York with his wife SARAH MCSORELY about 1880. I believe Patrick joined his 5 other brothers in New York City, BERNARD (owned a produce store and lived @ 67 Gannesvort St), WILLIAM, HENRY, FRANCIS and JOHN. Patrick and Sarah's daughter ANN was born in September 1881 in New York City (St. Bernard's Parish). Patrick moved his family to Philadelphia and had twin boys, JOHN and WILLIAM born about 1891. Patrick died in Philadelphia in 1894. Thanks for any info, Good Luck Liz CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE THIS ELECTRONIC MAIL TRANSMISSION IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL AND IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE PARTY TO WHOM IT IS ADDRESSED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS TRANSMISSION IN ERROR, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY RETURN IT TO THE SENDER. UNINTENDED TRANSMISSION SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE WAIVER OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT OR ANY OTHER PRIVILEGE.

Greetings All. To date we have seen a number of responses from Statistics Canada that refuse our ATI requests for access to the 1906 Census of the Western Provinces. It appears that many of these responses make no mention that the $5.00 application fee will be returned even though your request has been refused. Be advised that the assessment of fees, including the application fee, are also subject to complaint to the Information Commission. If you receive no indication that your application fee will be refunded, be sure to include that in your letter of complaint to the Information Commissioner. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted.

Forwarded from pneale@hotmail.com : Hi, I am told by my cousin that my grandmother made 11 trips to New York City from Longford in Ireland. I have been able to find her on the 1910 and 1915 census.  I have also found her details on the Ellis Island site listed as the relative claiming her children.  I have however not found any detail anywhere confirming her 11 trips.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?  My guess is that the trips were probably made betweeen 1880 and 1918. Regards Peter Neale England

Greetings All. This is not the normal type of posting that you have come to expect from me. It has nothing to do with our Census Campaign. In our capacities as Co-chairs of the Canada Census Campaign Muriel and I frequently receive requests for assistance in ways that have nothing to do with our Census campaign.. Some we can help, others we cannot. This message is one attempt to help someone. The following information regards a request from Australia for someone seeking a relative in Canada that does not know she has family. If the information provided below rings any bells with anyone, or you can provide information advising her how to proceed, please contact Lynne Hall-Cavanagh directly at gossipave@bigpond.com . The following letter was sent to Muriel 26 June 2002. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ======================================= Dear Muriel, I read all of your messages here in Australia and admire your tenacity. I do not know your line of work nor your expertise in genealogy but decided to write to you to share our problem and to ask for your advice. SOMEWHERE in Canada we have a very important family BUT THEY DO NOT KNOW ABOUT US and we cannot find them. ANY ADVICE ?? My husband's mother (MARIE) was married in Scotland and had a baby daughter (now almost 60 years old and if still alive living in Canada - at least she was about ten years ago- according to a relative I managed to find in Scotland) MARIE left this marriage and left her daughter (then named Jeanette Anderson Taylor MACDONALD) with her elderly "mother" (recent research has shocked us as we learn that MARIE was adopted into the family). When Jeanette's "grandmother" (MARY) died, she was raised by her "uncle" and his family. She became known as Janette Macdonald BUCHANAN and was a nurse before she married and she and her husband went to CANADA (some time after 1965). They were known as Jan and Russell ELLLIOT. However it seems that Jan left her marriage (no children) and formed a relationship with a man (he may have been a doctor or staff member of the Vancouver hospital) and then had two children Their names were/ are Heather and Cameron and they could be in their thirties by now . JAN (Jeanette) may still be using the surname ELLIOT or any other name. The children may also be ELLIIOT or ??? ( HARRIS was one possibility). Jeanette may believe she is to stay "hidden" from the wicked mother who "abandoned" her (but there is more to the story than this !!) MARIE was in the Army in 1943 and eventually she formed a relationship with another man (my father-in-law) and they had two sons in England (one being my husband). In 1949 they migrated to Australia and all contact was eventually lost with the UK (although MARIE seems to have mentioned Jeanette often she did not tell her other children that she was her daughter). To make the story even more complicated MARIE had two more sons in Australia before leaving her two older sons with their father and taking the two younger ones away to live with another partner for the rest of her life. A daughter was born soon after this move happened. MARIE died in Australia in 1977 and it was only after this that we began to get snippets about Jeanette. I understand that people are hesitant to help people find LIVE people BUT hope you understand our predicament. Having paid people to get certificate details for us and used every research effort that I know of, I managed to locate some of the "adopted" family. One (not so cooperative) cousin heard from Janette about ten years ago and says she has had a hard life and that she was in some form of psychiatric therapy and may now be dead. Knowing what I now know of a very strange story I am not surprised that she would need some therapy. BUT this is the actually my sister-in-law and she does not know that she has family here in Australia who would love to find out if she is okay. While I find the Family Research activity very interesting and addictive, I am certain that locating a person who probably NEEDS to have someone to be related to of far greater importance. I dont often write all the details (names etc) to strangers but have woken early this morning and decided to take a chance on sharing this HUGE BRICK WALL with you IN CASE YOU CAN THINK OF A WAY TO HELP US LOCATE "Jeanette" and/or her children. I send my very best wishes to you for your work re the census release and with whatever other Research you are involved in and hope to hear from you when you find a spare minute. Yours fauthfully, LYNNE HALL-CAVANAGH

Greetings All. FYI. I copy the following update on California's effort to close vital records from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. While this information pertains to California it is symptomatic of an increasing number of problems that genealogists everywhere are facing under the guise of protecting individual privacy. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm ============================ - Update: California Vital Record Closures In the May 20, 2002 edition of this newsletter, I wrote about the threat to close California records that are vital to genealogists researching ancestors in that state. That article reported the efforts of the California State Genealogical Alliance and other organizations to keep these records open. The Alliance asked genealogists to write to the California legislators. The response from that appeal was overwhelming, and the bill was put on hold at that time. Now some legislators are going to try again. This time they are moving on very short notice, perhaps in an effort to "sneak it through" before the opposing groups notice. The bill has been changed, so you may want to read it again. Genealogists are specifically targeted in the bill as we are not included in the list of people who can now have access, although even private investigators can see the records. The following alert is from Iris Carter Jones, California State Genealogical Alliance Legislative Coordinator: ACTION ALERT: URGENT ACTION NEEDED IN CALIFORNIA! ACCESS TO BIRTH INDEX UNDER ATTACK! TELL CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: VOTE NO ON SB1614! PRESERVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO CALIFORNIA BIRTH AND DEATH INDICES. SB1614 was passed by the California Senate and will now be heard by the California State Assembly Judiciary Committee on MONDAY, JULY 1st. This bill is trying to zip through under the radar, and must be derailed NOW. Please call, fax, and e-mail ALL MEMBERS OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TODAY and urge a DO NOT PASS vote on SB1614. Fax and e-mail should be sent by FRIDAY, JUNE 28th. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jackie Speier, seeks to remove California's birth and death indices from the public domain, where they have been generally available to the public since 1905. The passage of this bill will transform a century of public information into closely guarded state secrets. SB1614 would foster secrecy in government. Citizens would no longer be able to access government-held, public information on their own histories and identities. This bill would create a right of confidentiality that has never before existed. The birth and death indexes are not and have never been personally owned, confidential information; they are and have always been public records. SB1614 seeks to reverse a century-long free flow of public information by placing the use of both indexes back under strict government regulation. The birth and death indices are used extensively for genealogical and historical research, population studies, public health queries and public policy research. SB1614 will do little to help the problem it was intended to address - identity theft. According to the First Amendment Coalition, most identity theft occurs through the literal theft of mail, purses, and wallets by friends, relatives, neighbors, and strangers - not through use of the birth and death indices. SUMMARY OF SB1614 1. This bill would remove the comprehensive birth and death indices from protection of the California Public Records Act. Instead, it would make the indices confidential information - except to government agencies. 2. This bill would prohibit a government agency from selling or releasing these indices. This bill would also prohibit specified businesses and individuals, who legally purchased the indices from the State prior to December 31, 2001, from releasing and sharing with others. The bill authorizes a civil penalty to enforce this prohibition. 3. This bill would require the State Registrar to establish a separate, NON comprehensive electronic birth and death indices, available for public inspection at county recorders' offices statewide and at the office of the State Registrar. The information to be included in the non comprehensive indices will be determined by the State Registrar. No printing will be allowed at these special computer terminals. Individuals who wish to view the non comprehensive birth or death index must certify, UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, that the information they view will not be used for criminal purposes. 4. This bill would permit the release of SPECIFIED personal information to financial institutions and consumer credit reporting agencies, for the sole purpose of determining if the person whose information is being released is still living. Read the full text at: http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1601-1650/sb_1614_bill_20020625_a mended_asm.html Please share this information with any lists you are on. * * * CONTACT INFORMATION * * * Send one copy of your letter to the Judiciary Committee and one to each committee member. California State Assembly Judiciary Committee 1020 N Street, Room 104 Sacramento, CA, 95814 Fax: (916) 319-2188 E-mail: vanessa.cisneros@asm.ca.gov Ellen M. Corbett (Chair) State Capitol Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319-2018 Fax: (916) 319-2118 E-mail: Assemblymember.Corbett@assembly.ca.gov Tom Harman (Vice-Chair) State Capitol, Room 5158 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 319-2067 Fax: (916) 319-2167 E-mail: Assemblymember.Harman@assembly.ca.gov Patricia C. Bates State Capitol, Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 319-2073 Fax: (916) 319-2173 E-mail: assemblymember.bates@assembly.ca.gov Robert Pacheco State Capitol, Room 4177 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 319-2060 Fax: (916) 319-2160 E-mail: assemblymember.robert.pacheco@asm/ca/gov Rod Pacheco State Capitol, Room 2130 Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 319-2064 Fax: (916) 319-2164 E-mail: rod.pacheco@asm.ca.gov John A. Dutra State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319-2020 Fax: (916) 319-2120 E-mail: Assemblymember.Dutra@assembly.ca.gov Hannah-Beth Jackson State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319-2035 Fax: (916) 319-2135 E-mail: Assemblymember.Jackson@assembly.ca.gov Howard Wayne State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319 -2078 Fax: (916) 319 - 2178 E-mail: Assemblymember.Wayne@assembly.ca.gov Darrell Steinberg State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319-2009 Fax: (916) 319-2109 E-mail: assemblymember.steinberg@assembly.ca.gov John Longville State Capitol P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319-2062 Fax: (916) 319-2162 E-mail: Assemblymember.Longville@assembly.ca.gov Juan Vargas State Capitol, Room 2188 Sacramento, CA 94249-0001 Phone: (916) 319-2079 Fax: (916) 319-2179 Email: Assemblymember.Vargas@assembly.ca.gov Kevin Shelley State Capitol, Room 319 Sacramento, California 95814 Phone: (916) 319-2012 Fax: (916) 319-2112 E-mail: Kevin.Shelley@asm.ca.gov Also send a copy of your Assembly Judiciary Committee letter to these three additional addresses: Governor Gray Davis State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-445-4633 E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov Assembly Republican Caucus Mark Redmond Fax: 916-319-3902 Bastard Nation E-mail: letters@bastards.org

Thank you. I found several possiblilites. Bill Chamberlain ----- Original Message ----- From: <DotsterMcManus@aol.com> To: <IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 2:19 PM Subject: Re: [IRISH-NYC] What Catholic Church? > Bill > > Try this site: http://www.ny-archdiocese.org/pastoral/get_parishes.cfm > > Good Luck, > > Dotty McManus >

I didn't mention the surname I"m researching at this address - Pearce. Wife was Quinn. They're my wife's ancestors. Don't have any Collins. On the 1880 census, most of the residents here listed the birth place of one or both parents as Ireland, and some also listed their own birth place as Ireland. The NYC Irish families I'm researching and the counties they're from: Cork: Quinn Monaghan: Lytle Antrim: Murphy Unknown: Quigley, Cronin Bill Chamberlain ----- Original Message ----- From: "louise collins" <ldcollins@erols.com> To: <IRISH-NEW-YORK-CITY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 11:33 AM Subject: Re: [IRISH-NYC] What Catholic Church? > Oh, Bill, I do hope this is our family. I do not know which church they would have attended - at that time Catholics were pretty much held to the Parish they lived > in? I know that Jerome's funeral was held in Old St. Patricks but I think that is because of its size and ability to handle a large crowd. Again, the names would > be: Mother: Ellen Ryan Collins, Daniel Francis, Jerome Janus , and Bernard. Perhaps a Helen? > > Do let me know? > > Thanks you! L. D. Collins > > Bill's mail wrote: > > > I have a family who lived at 6 West 41st St, in the 459th Enumeration District. in NYC in 1880. Wife came from Cork. What Catholic Church would they have attended? > > > > Bill Chamberlain > >

Greetings All. FYI Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ======================================= Take control of bureaucracy Editorial Humboldt Journal June 20, 2002 By Bill Hancock b.hancock@sk.sympatico.ca Almost everyone has a family member who keeps track of the family tree. Perhaps it is an elderly aunt, perhaps a younger person, but without exception there is always someone who seems to know almost everything about past relatives - where they came from, what they did, how many kids they had, what they did for a living, even how many cows they owned. Occasionally a person discovers that some previously forgotten family member was a bit of a troublemaker, like one rural family who found they were related to Pretty Boy Floyd, the notorious gangster. It was a source of entertainment for the family for years and it provided the occasional comedic moment whenever someone feared one of the kids might end up the same way if he didn't learn to drive a little slower. Good or bad news for families looking into their pasts, the point is that the information was important to them and there is no logical reason why anyone would want to intentionally prevent them from finding it. That's precisely what's happening, however. During the course of talking recently with Humboldt citizens who are descendants of British Home Children, a point was brought up that efforts to research their own families was being hampered by Canada's Chief Statistician, Dr. Ivan P. Fellegi, who refuses to release post-1901 Census information on the excuse that a promise was made never to release or reveal any of the information collected. There's just one small problem - through court actions and committee testimony, no evidence has been presented that a promise was ever made. That apparently doesn't matter to Dr. Fellegi, who continues to resist releasing the Census to the National Archivist. Fellegi's obstinacy means all Canadians, not just the millions of descendants of Home Children, are denied access to information about their own predecessors. England, Scotland and Wales release their Census information after 100 years and the United States releases its information after 72 years so families can discover their own heritage. In Canada, Parliament decided years ago that 92 years was sufficient for keeping secret how many cows and chickens Uncle Herbert and Aunt Sally had way back when, yet Dr. Fellegi seems to be the only person standing in the way of full disclosure. In effect, a bureaucrat is overruling the will of Parliament in letter and spirit. This unnecessary, embarrassing fiasco is making our country look ridiculous to outside observers and Canadian citizens alike, and the majority of MPs and Senators who support access to post-1901 Census information should be raising sheer hell about it. They would be wise to act quickly before this matter becomes an even larger issue. BH

Greetings All. In my previous message I mentioned that Bill Hancock, editor of the Humboldt Journal, had written an article about British Home Children. Bill has forwarded that article to me and I copy it here for your interest. Bill has also forwarded to me an editorial which I will send in a different posting. We are happy that some people in the media are starting to take note of the plight of British Home Children and their descendants, and the Post 1901 Census issue. Our thanks go to Bill and to other journalists and editors that support our efforts to regain public access to Post 1901 Census records. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ======================================= by Bill Hancock Humboldt Journal editor b.hancock@sk.sympatico.ca Research into family history has gained huge popularity in recent years and it is growing even more quickly with the use of Internet-based resources. For many Canadians, looking into their family trees has become an investigation into something about their pasts that they may have not known before or perhaps had only a suspicion. They are the descendants of Britain's Home Children. In the fall of 1869, a group of 76 girls became the first group of Home Children to be sent from Britain to places such as Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and mostly Canada. Most ended up here as indentured labourers and house servants. Some of the lucky ones found families that took them in and raised them as their own children; others suffered terrible physical and sexual abuse in their new Canadian homes. Over a period of 70 years about 100,000 of them landed in Canada thanks to the efforts of about 50 different agencies. Some were as young as six years old. It is now estimated that between 11 per cent and 15 per cent of all Canadians can trace their roots to one or more of the original Home Children. On August 19 last year, Parks Canada unveiled a plaque in Stratford, Ontario at the former home of Annie MacPherson, a woman known for placing some 8,000 Home Children throughout parts off Ontario. About 50 people were expected to attend the event, but over 1,000 showed up. Researchers now say there are millions of "lost" relatives of these children. Perry Snow, a clinical psychologist in Calgary who wrote a book about Home Children detailing his own personal search for answers about his father's origins, is one of the better-known researchers in the field. According to Snow, more than half of the children suffered from neglect or abuse in Canada, after being declared as moral refuse" in Britain. "Many were not allowed to go to school, nor provided with adequate food, clothing or shelter," he wrote. "They suffered a unique form of prejudice in Canada because of their presumed 'tainted' origins. They were ostracized and accused of being carriers of syphilis," he said. "They were unwanted in England and unwelcome in Canada." Many of the children had been born out of wedlock, or perhaps were living on the street. Others had been caught shoplifting and were deemed undesirable by the British, including a boy who stole a loaf of bread and was shipped off to Australia as a result. Many were taken away from their living relatives such as brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and even surviving parents, never to be reunited again. For those who are now researching their heritage, secrecy has been a problem. Not unlike war veterans, most of the Home Children themselves never spoke of their experiences, and various agencies, along with the Canadian and British governments, have been reluctant to release records. Regardless of the stonewalling, many researchers continue to press on in their quest for knowledge. Humboldt resident Jack Hayes received some small books when his mother passed away and it made him suspect that she had been one of the Home Children. One of them was a book about the Quarrier family, who had been major players in exporting children to Canada, and for Hayes it opened up an unknown chapter in his family's past. In 1906, a year after his grandfather died as a result of an injury he received at work, Hayes' mother and three of her sisters were placed in a home in Britain because their mother was unable to care for them. A year and a half later, in June of 1908, they were sent to Canada aboard the S.S. Ionian along with 72 other girls under the care of Pastor and Mrs. Findlay and Miss MacWilliam. Hayes' mother was seven years old, while her sisters were eight, nine and ten. All four girls ended up as indentured domestics and somehow they managed to stay in touch with each other even though it was difficult to accomplish. "Quite often, Home Children weren't allowed to have contact with their siblings," said Hayes. "I knew she came over and worked at various homes in Canada," said Hayes. He recalled that she had been placed in the home of a doctor, but ended up in a different home. He also remembers that she never wanted to visit another doctor, but that she was treated well by the second family. "My mother was one of the lucky ones," he said. "We assumed both her mother and her father were dead," he continued as he spoke of his mother's past. "We found out later that wasn't the situation at all." "A great many of them felt abandoned by their parents," he said, and many others were shipped to Canada without the consent of their parents. Once they arrived in Canada, names were often changed. "That made it much more difficult to be traced," he said. Fellow Humboldt resident Jim Warden is also researching his family history and has discovered that his father was one of the Home Children. His grandmother had been a house servant who became pregnant out of wedlock. She was sent to a hospital requiring sponsorship, so questions remain about who may have provided the support or if it had perhaps been the child's father. In either event, the boy ended up being sent away to Canada, and Warden has the S.S. Teutonic's ship's log showing that his father, whose name was misspelled "Ernest Wardon" in the documents, departed Liverpool as one of 1,257 passengers, including 198 children under the age of 16 and nine stowaways, on April 19, 1913 and arrived in Quebec on April 26 that same year. His early experiences in Canada are largely a mystery, but it appears to have been more than unpleasant. Warden's father was yet another of the Home Children who had a rough time when he arrived in Canada. "My Dad didn't talk about it very much at all," said Warden, who now makes extensive use of his computer to track down clues to his family's history. "My Dad pulled a plough when he was 11 years old," said Warden. He was not permitted to attend church, rarely went to school with the other kids, and there are hints that there was abuse from his Canadian "family." A mile down the road, another one of the Home Children was with a family that treated their new guest quite well, making it more frustrating for his father. Authorities were supposed to be checking up on the kids once a year to make sure they were treated well, but the bureaucrats often either never got around to it, the children were uncomfortable with speaking up, or they were not believed anyway. Evidence of bad memories showed in 1978. When Warden took his own children along with their grandfather to the original Ontario farm where he had first worked, his father refused to go past the gate into the yard. "It brought back horrible memories for him," said Warden. "He stood at he gate with tears in his eyes." Research activities have been picking up recently and Warden says the amount of information in the public realm is increasing. "There's even more available now than when I started a year ago," he said, adding that his wife Bernice also has connections to Home Children from that side of the family history. One problem being encountered by family members researching their own past is secrecy. British and Canadian governments have been reluctant to release information and census data even though it is now a century old. The level of frustration has even led to an ongoing battle to gain access to information from the 1901 Canadian census. Meanwhile, the British government attempted to release their 1901 census on the Internet in February, but the huge rush of inquiries caused the entire Internet site to crash. "They were overwhelmed by the number of inquiries," said Warden, whose research would be aided with access to that information. Canada said it would never release any of the 1901 census information, agreed Jack Hayes, but that has been misinterpreted as being permanently and including information that would be helpful in research. "All we're really interested in as genealogical researchers is to find out about our family members," he said. Names and locations of people at certain dates are the key elements family research, Warden agreed, and nobody usually needs anything other than that from a census. "They don't want anything else," he said. For the moment, thousands of Canadians continue to trace back in time and as researchers discover each tidbit of information it seems likely that more and more families will discover an unknown part of their family's past. "There's lots of people who don't know.lots of people who don't want to know," said Warden. Both he and Jack Hayes have said they are willing to help point others in the right direction if they want to do their own research.

Greetings All. I copy here for your interest an article recently published in the Humboldt Journal, a weekly newspaper in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. The editor, Bill Hancock, has previously written articles regarding British Home Children. Happy Hunting. Gordon A. Watts gordon_watts@telus.net Co-Chair, Canada Census Committee Port Coquitlam, BC http://globalgenealogy.com/Census en français http://globalgenealogy.com/Census/Index_f.htm Permission to forward without notice is granted. ======================================= by Bill Hancock Humboldt Journal editor Have you ever wanted to research your family history? If so, you may encounter some problems, thanks to a lack of access to information. While researching their family heritage as descendants of British Home Children, Humboldt citizens Jack Hayes and Jim Warden encountered difficulty locating post-1901 census information. The problem doesn't just apply to them - everybody in Canada faces the same difficulty. "This has been an issue since the 1970s," said Gordon Watts, co-chair of the Canada Census Committee, an ad hoc group formed in 1999 to lobby for access to information. The difficulty stems from Canada's Chief Statistician, said Watts, who refuses to release information on the excuse that a promise was made a century ago to respondents of the census that no information would ever be released. "The most common reason they give is that they think there was a promise of confidentiality in perpetuity for those who took part in the census," said Watts, who has spent five years and about $2,000 fighting for access to information. "There's no evidence that any promise was ever made," said Watts. "It does not exist except in the minds of those who think it exists." Blame for intransigence has been placed squarely on Canada's Chief Statistician, Dr. Ivan Fellegi. "He has almost single-handedly been responsible for not allowing post-1901 census information to be released," said Watts. According to normal procedure, Fellegi is supposed to hand over that information to the National Archivist once the census is 92 years old. Fellegi "has refused to give that control over to the National Archivist," said Watts. The 92-year "period of closure" is twenty years longer than in the United States and eight years shorter than in England, Scotland and Wales. Watts cannot find any reason why the information should not be released in Canada. "The surface reason is individual confidentiality," he said. Over the years in North America and the British Isles there have been 650 million people enumerated and information has been released before. "There has never been a single complaint of information being given or released after a period of closure," he said. "The census is probably the single most important source of information for somebody looking for information about their family," said Watts. "The census gives a snapshot on a periodic basis of the Canadian family," he continued. Records contain information such as who was born, who died and when, sibling names, religion, occupation and some other bits of information, but unless the person did something quite remarkable the only information that may exist is their date of birth and date of death. Information of that sort was "common knowledge at the time," said Watts. If it relates to income, Watts dismisses objections to disclosure. "After 92 years, it's insignificant," he said of any possible present-day negative impact on anyone who may have concerns about that information becoming widely known. In January, the group posted a message on their website asking for a total of $8,000 to assist with legal bills in their battle to have the matter heard in court, but nobody expected the response they got, said Watts. "Within three weeks we had $12,000 donated to us from all over Canada and the United States," he said. Over 50,000 signatures have been presented to the House of Commons and the Senate, and a variety of other measures have been taken as well in the attempt to have post-1901 census information made accessible. A vote on the matter has not taken place, said Watts, due to obstruction. "It was killed by a Liberal Member of Parliament each time," he said. The group hasn't had success gaining access to information and they are hard pressed to find out why there is so much opposition from Ottawa despite having 156 members of Parliament in favour. "The feeling is that it's being directed from above," said Watts reluctantly. The battle will continue, he insists. "If it takes another five years I' ll continue, or for however long it takes," he said, urging Canadians to write letters to Members of Parliament and Senators. "Make it known to them that we're not going to give up," he said. Professor Bill Waiser of the University of Saskatchewan history department has also been working toward gaining access to post-1901 census data for the purpose of historical research. According to Watts, Waiser has even been blocked even though he has applied through the federal Access to Information Act. The lack of information comes as a bigger surprise to Watts and other members of the group now that news has been announced that seven Canadian universities are involved in a $14 million project to eventually put at least some of the information on the Internet. However, according to those fighting for access to information, records made available through that program would likely involve assessing sociological trends and would therefore be of little use for individuals searching for family histories. For now, legal and political measures are being used to gain release of census information.