Middlemore Children’s Emigration Homes

[Dennis Williams]

Spurred on by a plaintive post by a Jeanie Ellis on another blog, who posted an Emigration Form for her old Great Uncle, Jim Cooper...who was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada from the Middlemore Homes in 1905, for a 'better life'.......so I turned to Peter Higginbotham for some more info on the Middlemore story.....this is what she and he wrote.......

Children's (Middlemore) Emigration Homes, Birmingham, Warwickshire
In 1872, the Children's Emigration Homes in Birmingham were founded by John Throgmorton Middlemore (1844-1924), the son of a wealthy leather manufacturer. After finishing school, Middlemore spent time travelling in Canada and in the USA where he had relatives, and gained a degree in medicine at the University of Brunswick, Maine. After he returned to Birmingham, he became interested in the plight of the city's orphan and destitute children. Like others of his day, Middlemore believed that emigration to a new life in Canada offered the best opportunity for such children. The homes he established were intended to give children practical training to prepare them for life and work in their new country. The girls were taught domestic skills, while the boys learned manual trades.

The first home, for boys, was opened in August, 1872, at 105 St Luke's Road, in the Highgate area of Birmingham. At the end of 1872, a home for girls was opened a short distance away at 36 Spring Street. A third home followed at 94 Summer Road. In around 1877, a large new building for boys was opened at 157 St Luke's Road. This was subsequently enlarged to include a section for girls and the other homes were then closed. The expanded premises, which occupied 157 to 161 St Luke's Road, could accommodate 90 boys and 60 girls, aged from 7 to 14.

After making arrangements for their reception in Toronto, Middlemore set sail for Canada with his first party of 26 children on May 1st, 1873, on board the SS Sarmatian. A further group of fifty children made the crossing in May, 1874, aboard the Prussian. In 1875, a receiving home for Middlemore children was established at London, Ontario. The home, known as Guthrie House, continued in use until its lease expired in May, 1879. In its place, Middlemore purchased a building known as Swartz's Tavern which took on the name of the Guthrie Home.

As well as children from his own homes, from 1887 onwards Middlemore also took children to Canada on behalf of other institutions such as workhouses and reformatory schools. These included the Wolverhampton, Chelsea, St Olave's and St George in the East unions the Shustoke Industrial School. Conversely, children from the Middlemore homes were sometimes taken across with other emigration organisers such as Annie Macpherson.

The Guthrie Home appears to have closed in the early 1890s and was replaced by new premises known as Fairview, just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia, with John S Rough as its Superintendent. Apart from a suspension in emigration during the First World War, Fairview continued in operation until 1932 by which time it is estimated that more than five thousand children had emigrated through the Middlemore homes.

Middlemore served on Birmingham Town Council from 1883 to 1892, was elected Member of Parliament for Birmingham North in 1899, and was made a Baronet in 1919. However, he continued his active involvement in the homes until his death in October, 1924. In recognition of his work, the Emigration Homes were renamed the Middlemore Homes in 1925.

From the mid-1920s, Canada became more restrictive in its policy towards child emigration. In its place, Australia gradually became the main destination for British 'Home Children', with many children from the Middlemore Homes starting their new lives at the Fairbridge Farm School in Western Australia.

In 1928, The Middlemore Homes moved to new purpose-built premises on Weoley Park Road, Selly Oak. The U-shaped building was designed by the firm of Buckland and Hayward. A babies' home was added to the establishment in May, 1939.

Following a steep decline in numbers emigrating to Australia after 1948, the Weoley Park Road property was leased to the Birmingham City Council who used it a children's home known as Middlemore House. The home closed in 1955 and the site later became part of Westhill College. The former home building was demolished in 2004.

Middlemore's work is now continued by the Sir John Middlemore Charitable Trust which supports small non-profit organisations working with children and young people.

All that now survives of the various Middlemore Homes' buildings is 157 St Luke's Road which, at the time of writing, was being used by the City Council for administrative purposes.


This is Jeanie's post.....

Jeanie Ellis‎Birmingham Ancestors Family History & Genealogy Group -England .
Following on from a previous post...... This is a copy of my great uncles deportation under the Middlemore homes scheme.
It's heartbreaking really..... You will note that his applicant has crossed out clothing, medical attention and education...... Paying him $4 a month....... This was a result of my great grandma dying in the workhouse and leaving 4 children, including my Grandma who was taken into service....... He told my grandma that he would never set foot in England again due to this despicable act. Sorry it's not very clear...
On the reverse.... Which I have not copied..... It states..... "This boy has run away " ....Very chilling.....

He managed to make a life in Canada..... Married, had kids, this is him in uniform, he joined the Canadian Army in WW1


The Building is still there in St Lukes Road......in splendid isolation.....

 

[Pedrocut]

Interesting to see that Jeanie calls it as it was, deportation. I don't think that the man himself, John Throgmorton
Middlemore has featured much on the Forum, even though he was an MP for North Birmingham.

 

[Phil]

A couple of early engravings, one of the Children's Emigration Home on St Lukes Road as Dennis says, and another of the Guthrie Home in London, Ontario, Canada. I'm not sure of the function of the latter, but I believe it was a reception centre for the immigrant children.

 

[Pedrocut]

A rather biased description of John Throgmorton Middlemore and the homes...

http://www.newmanlocalhistory.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/JohnThrogmortonMiddlemoreAndTheChildrensEmigrationHomes.pdf

 

[Brock]

Does anyone know how it came about for children to become Middlemore Home children? Were struggling families approached by the homes or did families apply to the homes believing that it would give their children a better chance in life?

 

[Pedrocut]

Does anyone know how it came about for children to become Middlemore Home children? Were struggling families approached by the homes or did families apply to the homes believing that it would give their children a better chance in life?

An interesting question, but the the emigration homes started in 1872 and only aquired the name Middlemore in 1925, they ceased around 1955. The way the children were “accepted" may well have changed over the years. Back at the start it was described “to pick up the waifs and strays of our dirty back streets.” The first boy was said to have been in prison three times. The aim were to rescue children, supervise and then send them abroad.

1909 it was described as rescuing boys and girls from lives of crime and poverty.

Jump to 1941... “They are sometimes illegitimate, or only one parent left, or orphans, all from poor homes. Typical applications... Mother of one boy dead, father at work, and housekeeper unsympathetic. Another legally adopted, but adopted parents had separated.... They must be strong before they emigrate, have a normal intelligence quotient...”

 

[Brock]

Many thanks for your reply.
I have 4 ancestors who became Middlemore Home Children. Two brothers went out to Ontario in 1881 & their ship's passenger record shows all of the children listed within a huge bracket with the wording Middlemore alongside the bracket. They had a brother who travelled out the following year as a Middlemore Home Child with their young sister following suit in 1887. I have now learned that their parents were drunkards who used to beat the children with a strap & I wondered if it was the drunken parents who gave their children away to the home or whether their plight became known about leading to them being taken away from their parents.
I know that not all children were treated well in their new lives in Canada but fortunately my ancestors seemed to fare well.

 

[Pedrocut]

Many thanks for your reply.
I have 4 ancestors who became Middlemore Home Children. Two brothers went out to Ontario in 1881 & their ship's passenger record shows all of the children listed within a huge bracket with the wording Middlemore alongside the bracket. They had a brother who travelled out the following year as a Middlemore Home Child with their young sister following suit in 1887. I have now learned that their parents were drunkards who used to beat the children with a strap & I wondered if it was the drunken parents who gave their children away to the home or whether their plight became known about leading to them being taken away from their parents.
I know that not all children were treated well in their new lives in Canada but fortunately my ancestors seemed to fare well.

Were the relations living in Birmingham? We can search around 1881 for mentions of the Emmigration homes. Would you be willing to quote the names, as it is sometimes easier to find things from the petty sessions?

 

[Pedrocut]

Do you know the ships that the relations sailed in? It is sometimes possible to find info from the shipping news.

 

[Pedrocut]

Birmingham Daily Post, April 1881...

 

[carolina]

Before and after

 

[Pedrocut]

Before and after View attachment 134660

Interesting comparison, but where did the pictures come from?

 

[carolina]

A

Interesting comparison, but where did the pictures come from?

Archives of Canada

 

[Pedrocut]

The Emigration Homes seem to have issued an annual illustrated report. The pictures of the children are four months apart, which may suggest that they were taken before they set sail for Nova Scotia?

I wonder if the children were related, and if so were they split up in Canada?

 

[jmadone]

Before and after View attachment 134660

Ernest seems to have grown a lot taller in 4 months, or else Mary Jane has shrunk!!

 

[Pedrocut]

Out of interest a report from January 1909 shows that adult emigration is not wanted unless you have money...

 

[Brock]

Were the relations living in Birmingham? We can search around 1881 for mentions of the Emmigration homes. Would you be willing to quote the names, as it is sometimes easier to find things from the petty sessions?

Thank you all.
I actually have been able to discover records to learn of when they travelled out & of what became of them in Canada, etc so help is not needed concerning that. My query is just how they came about becoming children within the Middlemore system.
I have discovered that their parents were drunkards & that their father would often use a belt on them so their home life would have been awful. I now wonder if their plight became known about with the home stepping in offering to take the children in or did the parents quite literally give their children away? I have read various records of how the streets were full of poor children who obviously were seen as being the very type of child who needed the help of the homes but none have referred to exactly how children were taken in by the Middlemore Homes in Birmingham.

 

[Pedrocut]

This is from the Balsall Heath History Society, but the Society do not inform us of the source.

The Lost Children, a project about the Children’s Emigration Homes – Balsall Heath Local History Society

 

[Pedrocut]

Have you tried the Balsall Heath History Society? This would be local to St Luke’s Road, and as they have a specific project on the subject, it would be interesting to see what their take is on the question of how children came to end up in the home.

 

[Brock]

Have you tried the Balsall Heath History Society? This would be local to St Luke’s Road, and as they have a specific project on the subject, it would be interesting to see what their take is on the question of how children came to end up in the home.

I wasn't aware of the history society & their interest in this subject so thank you for bringing it to my attention. The photos really pull on your heartstrings don't they.
Thank you.

 

[Pedrocut]

There is a connection between Middlemore Homes (as they became known) and Wycliffe Baptist Chapel in St. Luke's Road, which featured in the epic “Bus location" Thread.

The father of Thomas Middlemore was William Middlemore who died in 1887. He donated to many needed causes.. It was in 1859 that the Wycliffe Baptist Chapel was commenced, the conception and execution of the work was practically his alone. He bought the site and gave a preliminary donation £1,000 to the building fund. He also gave £1,400 towards the site and buildings of new schools in connection with the chapel.

 

[Pedrocut]

Thank you all.
I actually have been able to discover records to learn of when they travelled out & of what became of them in Canada, etc so help is not needed concerning that. My query is just how they came about becoming children within the Middlemore system.
I have discovered that their parents were drunkards & that their father would often use a belt on them so their home life would have been awful. I now wonder if their plight became known about with the home stepping in offering to take the children in or did the parents quite literally give their children away? I have read various records of how the streets were full of poor children who obviously were seen as being the very type of child who needed the help of the homes but none have referred to exactly how children were taken in by the Middlemore Homes in Birmingham.

Brock, I have uncovered something from 1883 that disturbs me. I would not like to post it in a fashion that might imply that it has a direct relation to your relatives, but the circumstances are very similar, and it is close in a time frame.

So the bottom line, for me, is that JT Middlemore was a JP for Birmingham and Worcestershire. He would be present when children were brought to the Court. Although in this case he doesn’t seem to have been presiding, he has promised a place in the Home to this child. The mother is in Court and pleads that her child is not taken away from her, she has lost three already. The child was sent to the Workhouse for a week so that the mother could consider Mr Middlemore's offer.

This is only one case and therefore can’t be taken as the norm, but nonetheless it seems very callous to send a child so far from home with probably no chance of seeing her mother again.

 

[Pedrocut]

Another who led to the emigration of many children...Thomas John Barnardo...
Barnardo's was implicated in the scandal of forced child migration, in which children from poor social backgrounds were taken to the former colonies (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa) by churches and charities, without their parents' consent and even under false claims of death. Although this was a legal scheme, favoured by Government and society, in many cases the children suffered harsh life conditions and many also suffered abuse. This practice went on until the 70's. This merited an apology by PM Gordon Brown in 2010.

Thomas John Barnardo - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Pedrocut]

George Dixon (1820-1898) was a supporter of the Middlemore Emigration Homes as a complement to the role of the Government.

[Out of Birmingham: George Dixon (1820-98) Father of free education, James Dixon]

 

[Janis McCahill]

I have researched several children that were sent by the Middlemore Home. Each family had its own set of unique circumstances for placement of the children. One family I researched sent one boy into care in 1873. They had had 10 children in total - 5 boys and 5 girls. 4 boys and 1 girl died in infancy another girl died as a young mother before they put their last son into care. The parents were extremely poor and both ended up in the workhouse after the boy was sent to Canada (both died there). I believe Middlemore's gave them hope that their child was going to have a better life. Attached is the write up in the paper describing the 2nd group of children going to Canada. Birmingham Daily Post Thu April 30 1874 I wanted to do some research into how the Home changed over the years, information collected etc.. I found this book an excellent resource. I ordered the PDF of the book as it was quite large and didn't want to get into mailing charges. Great Expectations: The Middlemore Experience by Patricia Roberts-Pichette http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/home-children/resources/1012045.htm

 

[Brock]

Excellent information ~ thank you so much for posting this.

 

[Pedrocut]

If you consult the link provided the following is stated...

“The author concludes that John T. Middlemore’s motivations were truly altruistic and that his organization’s procedures were in accord with the best contemporary social practice. Her book explores government policy changes over the whole period of juvenile immigration and reveals the influence of eugenicists in helping end the juvenile immigration movement in Canada. It is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the movement’s causes and evolution.”

Middlemore homes was one of many institutions that provided children for emigration. Also essential reading would be the book “Empty Cradles” by Margaret Humphreys which deals with the emigration of children from Britain in the 1940s, 1950s, and even into the early 1960s. Her campaign, and setting up the of the Child Migrants Trust, eventually led in 2010, to the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown issuing a public apology in the Commons for the “shameful episode...this failure in the first duty of a nation: to protect its children.”

 

[Pedrocut]

Taking the example highlighted from 1873 it suggests that it was the family that placed the child in to care, as opposed to the child being taken from them. As the family ended in the workhouse after the boy was sent to Canada, can it be presumed that they were consulted?

It seems Mr. Middlemore had been questioned about the children in his care. He stressed that the Children's Emigration Homes did not compete with industrial schools, because the children he accepted were inadmissible". It was believed that such children had "an idle, vagrant and criminal life open to them unless somebody intervened.”

 

[Janis McCahill]

Taking the example highlighted from 1873 it suggests that it was the family that placed the child in to care, as opposed to the child being taken from them. As the family ended in the workhouse after the boy was sent to Canada, can it be presumed that they were consulted?

That is a question I cannot answer. The Middlemore paperwork in the early days of the Immigration Homes was sparse. It did not indicate the boy's circumstances in Birmingham only the circumstances once he was placed in Canada. I could only assume by researching the family and the information in the above news article that some families were involved with the placement of their children. It says they gave a "tea" and meeting with the children's friends and relations. There was no indication in the paperwork that the boy or his family kept in touch with each other. As in many cases the descendants of the boy had no idea their gr grandfather was a British Home Child so he must not have ever spoke of it. I have sent the files on the Moore / Moraghan family to The Lost Children Project and they have indicated that the file will be part of their display at their exhibition on September 14th to 22nd. They also have a facebook page and are posting a "case study" of a different BHC each week. Very interesting information. The author of the Middlemore book "Great Expectations" is speaking on the 14th. I wish I could attend but I am in Canada.

 

[Pedrocut]

That is a question I cannot answer. The Middlemore paperwork in the early days of the Immigration Homes was sparse. It did not indicate the boy's circumstances in Birmingham only the circumstances once he was placed in Canada. I could only assume by researching the family and the information in the above news article that some families were involved with the placement of their children. It says they gave a "tea" and meeting with the children's friends and relations. There was no indication in the paperwork that the boy or his family kept in touch with each other. As in many cases the descendants of the boy had no idea their gr grandfather was a British Home Child so he must not have ever spoke of it. I have sent the files on the Moore / Moraghan family to The Lost Children Project and they have indicated that the file will be part of their display at their exhibition on September 14th to 22nd. They also have a facebook page and are posting a "case study" of a different BHC each week. Very interesting information. The author of the Middlemore book "Great Expectations" is speaking on the 14th. I wish I could attend but I am in Canada.

Very interesting as I had noticed the talk advertised for the Lost Children Project, but had not heard of the book until your mention. I see that the book is from 2016 but not easily obtained. I have read a few reviews of the book, one of which is below...

Great Canadian Expectations: The Middlemore Experience | ColeValleyGirl

www.colevalleygirl.co.uk

As mentioned it seems that the author makes a case that the Middlemore Emigration Homes should not be viewed as negatively as other emigration agencies, but emphasises that Middlemore were only responsible for 5% of the emigrants. “All of which sounds as if emigration via the Middlemore Homes was in the best interests of the child, and the book presents numerous success stories to back up its argument. It does refer to a few children who didn't succeed in the new environment and ran away or returned home to the UK. However, I would like to hear a contrasting argument about the Middlemore homes, so I have a balancing set of opinions on which to make a judgement.”

Maybe one of the Forum members may be able to attend? It would certainly be interesting to see how she tackles the other 95% of children. The review by Charlene Elgee, retired library manager, Citizenship & Immigration Canada, includes...
British Home Children—the Latest Word (written Sep 2017)

Through a collaborative effort between British Home Child Group International and Gilles Duceppe, former leader of the Bloc Quebecois and grandson of a British home child, on 15 February, a private member’s motion brought forward by Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault was passed in Canada’s House of Commons. The text reads:
That the House recognize the injustice, abuse and suffering endured by the British Home Children as well as the efforts, participation and contribution of these children and their descendants within our communities; and offer its sincere apology to the former British Home Children who are still living and to the descendants of these 100,000 individuals who were shipped from Great Britain to Canada between 1869 and 1948, and torn from their families to serve mainly as cheap labour once they arrived in Canada.