By Jim Sova, ARCHIVES VOLUNTEER
In preparing the upcoming British Home Children exhibit (you can learn more about that here), I searched the Archive’s photographic collection for a photo of a farm from the time period to show where the Frost boys may have ended up living. I located a very appropriate photo from the Fred Brown collection taken of the J S Galbraith Farm just outside Camden East Village. (2018-061-137 Fred Brown Collection, pictured above). The photo was taken in the early 1900’s and a number of people are visible in the photo, so I wondered if there might have been a home child on the farm when the photo was taken. I checked the census for 1901.
The census showed only the parents and two sons on the Galbraith farm, but just a few lines up on the Evans farm there was a 17-year-old Johnnie Davison, born in England shown as being a domestic and arriving in 1895 (highlighted above in green). Having all of the hallmarks of a British Home Child, I thought I would do a bit of research on Johnnie. On the British Home Children Canada web site, I found a John Cox Davidson who arrived in 1896 at age 13 to the Marchmont Home in Belleville. This is the note on the file: Sent by Edmonton Union, placed with J S Galbraith, farmer, Camden East, Addington, Ontario. Inspection on March 27 1897 Age 14, comfortable farm home, employed at work about the house, and helps to feed cattle, health good, attends church and Sunday school regularly, school daily, character good. Terms-Board, Lodging and Clothing. Gives satisfaction.
Our Johnie Davidson was originally placed on the farm pictured. At age 17 they age out of the Home Children system so he started working for a neighbour. I decided to research Johnnie further and discovered he found work on the railroads in 1904 as a telegrapher and married Laura Blanche Galbraith of Colebrook. His life after arriving in Canada is well laid out in his obituary.
What about his life before coming to Canada? The Home Children records indicate he was in the Edmonton Union Workhouse prior to departure on April 2 1896. We do find him in the 1891 census of England living with his father and 4 sisters. His father shows as widowed at that time and employed as a cabinet maker. Our Johnie’s mother had died before 1891, before Johnie was 8 years old. His father dies before January 1899 as he is listed deceased when his daughter Laura is married. Johnie was likely an orphan when he was placed in the workhouse. In the 1901 census of England we find his older sister Laura married with a baby with her sister Jane living with them.
We might assume that the family were making do in 1891 after their mother died and their father was still working, but their father’s death gave few options and John Cox Davison ended up in a workhouse by 1896. Johnie must have had ongoing contact with his sisters and spoke very positively of Canada as two of his sisters ended up moving their families to Saskatchewan as well.
A positive British Home Children story in the end, but still a story of a 13-year-old boy who lost both parents. With no loved ones capable of caring for him, he was transported away from everything he knew. In the end the positive outcome is much more a tribute to the character of that little boy than the system that brought him to Canada.
