Betty, If you will visit my web page www.mercergirls.com you will find information on the Mercer Immigration. I have spent the last 12 years researching this group of women. If you have questions you can email me directly at pmuhich@yahoo.com Peri Muhich Betty <bbffrrpp@comcast.net> wrote: Hello, I have just joined this List to ask about something I read on the "British Home Children" List this morning. Someone on that List was mentioning how many of the "home children" were sent to British Columbia, rather than the more popular destinations of Nova Scotia and Quebec Province. And, she mentioned that some of the girls sent were older-teens who were meant to become "possible wives" to the many single men living in Western Canada. As part of a "history of B.C.," she mentioned the "Mercer Immigration" to Puget Sound - which was a similar "scheme." I became curious about this, and tried to find it mentioned in a Google search and was not successful. I tried another search-engine and only found "1" web site mentioning it - and that was only a long list of books about the history of Washington State: http://oscar.ctc.edu/history/washingt.htm (See books half-way down the page under King County.) I was just wondering if anyone knew of any web sites which discuss the "Mercer Immigration." Also, I don't know how often the "British Home Children" are mentioned on this List, as I have just joined it. But, I'd like to remind people that both the terms, "British Home Children" and "Home Children, Canada" are searchable terms. One web site which has a great deal of information is: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~britishhomechildren/ If you go down to the "BHC Internet Links," you will find other web sites with lots of information ! It is because of my LEWIS and CORKILL / CORKHILL great-grandparents who were "home children" that I joined the BHC List over 5 years ago. My great-grandparents were sent from Liverpool, England, to Halifax, N.S./Canada in 1874. They married there in 1879, migrated to Boston, MA, in 1881, and raised 13 children here. Thank you for your time. Betty (near Lowell, MA) FYI: I had joined the Snohomish County List a few years ago because of the younger brothers of my other great-grandfather, William KERR. Their family was from Quebec Province, with William coming down to Boston around 1873. He married down here and remained here. His parents and younger siblings joined him in the 1890's, but probably by 1905, his younger brothers were heading from Everett, MA, to .. Everett, WA. Joseph KERR and Robert KERR are found in the 1910 and 1920 Cencuses there. I think they married 2 sisters here before they left, but I am not positive. I am told that neither couple had any children, so they would not have descendents in WA. FYI: My main research of 10+ years is on the KIDDER surname - because of my other great-grandfather, "Sanford" KIDDER, of Maine. Because of my research, I know of a George KIDDER in FL who is in the final stages of updating the 1941 "KIDDER genealogy book." If anyone has KIDDER information which they would like included in the new, updated version, I will provide George's contact information. ==== WASHINGTON Mailing List ==== To contact the list hostess, email Shirley at maples@iinet.com