Thanks, that's a great (& free!) resource :) My G'G Uncles emigrated to Ontario as young adults - they were born & lived in the heavily industrialised, crowded & deprived centre of 19thC Sheffield, then their Mum died; 10yr old son soon went into a workhouse hospital, dying within 2 days, the younger 2 were put into care the next year, to 'Scattered Homes', created as a better alternative for orphans & paupers than the main Workhouse. I often think about this sad story, what if their Mum hadn't died, did they prefer Canada with all it's space - Ontario is a State yet over 8x the size of England! - & chance to reinvent themselves, maybe more opportunity.
Did they keep in touch with their Dad who remained in Sheff. as widowed labourer, dying in a Sheff. Workhouse 30yrs later, or the infant sister informally adopted in Sheff who grew up to have 12 children of her own. The poor /working class had it so bad back then; slaving all your life but still no money for healthcare, no-one to help keep your family together if tragedy struck; thank God for UK 1945 Welfare reforms.
Hi Sara
I am undertaking research into the children from the Fir Vale Workhouse childrens homes who were sent over to Canada. You can contact me via my email adress to see if I have anything I can add to your family history.
Lyn
Hi. I’ll take a look at this. My grandfather was Canadian and his extended family live in Ontario I believe. I’m trying to put the family tree together both past and present. There’s so many of them. The Povinsky family. I think originally the father was Austrian and the mother was Ukrainian and came across to Canada. At this point I’m unsure why. I need to get a copy of my mother’s birth certificate too so I can try for a dual passport.
Thank you