Friday 15 May 2015

Uncovering the records of those in care in the 19th century ........ from the Together Trust

Now many of us tracking down a family member, who went into care or was sent abroad often stumble at the first hurdle.

Even if you can locate the official records it can be difficult to access them and in many cases the file was either destroyed or worse just lost.

All of which makes the latest post from the Together Trust so interesting because it focuses on those very reports and unlike those of my great uncle who was sent over to Canada in 1914 they still exist*.

The blog only published one but it is a revealing document and is far more detailed than the simple one line entry on my great uncle.

I had never seen one of these before and I suspect anyone who also has encountered the problem of discovering why their relative went into care will find the post fascinating.

It records that the father "is a drunken idle scamp, has been prison for neglect of children.” and that there was no one else to care of the child.

"Consequently two children were in Dr. Barnardo’s Homes, four had been adopted by individuals in varying locations and the sixth, a 5 year old girl, had ended up in Tetlow Grove Home, owned by the Manchester Refuges."*

It does make for easy reading but it is an insight into the problems faced my some young people.

And it offers up far more than the one line entry on my great uncle, and his siblings which just simply stated "mother unfit to have control."

Now as painful as that is I wish I had more on my great uncle and hsis brothers and sisters one of whom was grandfather.


The Together Trust was the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges’ began helping young neglected and destitute children in 1870 and their archives are extensive and their archivist most helpful.**

So I shall just leave you with the link.

Picture; courtesy of the Together Trust

*Separation in the nineteenth century, from Getting down and dusty, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/

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