The disappearance of Fred DUCKHOUSE

[alhal]

Between 1 Apr 1901 & 10 Mar 1910 2 of my wife's greatuncles, brothers Stephen & Albert Edward DUCKHOUSE, were taken into Dr Barnardo's care.

On 10 Mar 1910 they were shipped out to Canada on SS Tunisian from Liverpool, arriving in Halifax on 18 Mar 1910 - part of the disgraceful British Home Children episode. Albert's name appears in the shipping lists as Alfred E DUCKHOUSE.

Apart from a 1911 Canadian Census entry for Albert, boarding on the THOMPSON family farm with 3 other British Home Children, nothing else is known of him. It is believed that his life there was traumatic and possibly short.

Conversely, the Canadian McPHAIL family with whom Stephen was placed treated him as one of their own, so much so that he appears in their Ancestry family tree. All that happened to Stephen from the time of his arrival in Canada is known about. They have his original Barnardos trunk in the barn of the farm which they still own. They have invited my wife to go and stay there with them on 4 Sep 2013 (in 4 weeks time) and have asked for as much family background information as possible - hence my sudden quest for information.

I have found the following post-1900 references to the family:-

31 Mar 1901 Census Ref / RG13 / Piece 2925 / Folio 144 / Page 46 / 304 Warwick Road, Greet, Worcs
- Frederick DUCKHOUSE - Head - Married - 29 -  Cycle packer - b. Wednesfield Staffordshire
- Ellen DUCKHOUSE - Wife - Married - 30 - b. Stratford on Avon, Warks
- John DUCKHOUSE - Son - 8 - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- George DUCKHOUSE - Son - 6 - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- Stephen DUCKHOUSE - Son - 4 - b. Acocks Green, Worcs

There is also an entry for the eldest brother, Fred, living with his grandparents:-
31 Mar 1901 Census Ref / RG13 / Piece 2933 / Folio 52 / Page 38 / 3 Poplar Ave, Acocks Green, Worcs
- William PARDOE - Head - 42 - Married - Labourer - b. Stratford on Avon, Warks
- Eliza PARDOE - Wife - 42 - Married - b. Stratford on Avon, Warks
- James PARDOE - Son - Single  - 14 - Errand boy - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- Frederick T DUCKHOUSE - Grandson - Single - 10 - b. Hednesford, Staffs

Q4/1901 Birth Registration at Solihull / 6d / 631
- Albert Edward DUCKHOUSE

Q4/1905 Birth Registration at Solihull / 6d / 593
- Walter DUCKHOUSE

2 Apr 1911 Census Ref / RG14 / Piece 18659 / SN 333 / Coronation Bldgs, Waterloo Rd, S Yardley, B'ham
- William PARDOE - Head - 63 - Married - gardener - b. Stratford on Avon, Warks
- Eliza PARDOE  - Wife - 63 - Married - b. Stratford on Avon, Warks
- James PARDOE  - Son - Single - 24 - butcher - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- William COTTERALL - Grandson - 10 - school - b. Birmingham, Warks
- Fred DUCKHOUSE - Grandson - 20 - Single - butcher - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- Hellen DUCKHOUSE - Visitor - 41 - Married - millinery warehouse cleaner - b. Stratford on Avon, Warks / Married 20yrs / 8 children / 6 still living
- John DUCKHOUSE - Visitor - 18 - Single - cycle polisher - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- George DUCKHOUSE - Visitor - 16 - Single - cycle polisher - b. Hednesford, Staffs
- Walter DUCKHOUSE - Visitor - 5 - school - b. Birmingham, Warks

1 Jun 1911 Canadian Census in Wentworth, Ontario - living on the McPHAIL family farm
- Stephen DUCKHOUS - single - b. Mar 1896 - age 14 - English - yr of immigration 1910 - domestic servant - "home boy" - no wages

1 Jun 1911 Canadian Census in Muskoka, Ontario - living on the THOMPSON family farm
- Albert DUCKHOUSE - single - b. Oct 1901 - age 9 - English - yr of immigration 1910 - boarder

5 Nov 1911 Marriage at St James the Less, Ashted, Birmingham
- Groom: Frederick Thomas DUCKHOUSE - age 20
- Bride: Emma BARLOW - age 20
- Groom's father: Frederick Thomas DUCKHOUSE
- Bride's father: Thomas BARLOW

Q4/1911 Marriage Registration at Aston / 6d / 370
- Frederick T DUCKHOUSE
- Emma BARLOW

Q2/1919 Marriage Registration at Aston / 6d / 1185
- Ellen DUCKHOUSE
- John BAGGOTT

The 1911 Census shows Ellen DUCKHOUSE's status as "married" but I can find no trace of the father, Thomas Frederick DUCKHOUSE, after the 1901 Census - no death, re-marriage, census, electoral register, migration, military, poor house, prison record or anything else - he just disappeared into the ether. Perhaps he changed his name again - maybe to HOUDINI.

We have requested information from Barnardos but this will not be forthcoming until months after my wife's return from Canada.

Can anyone throw any light on this matter, please.

[miriamkinga]

Both Stephen and Alfred are listed on the following website: -

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~britishhomechildren/ud.htm

Looks like a really interesting site, perhaps they could point you in the right direction.

[josey]

A couple of years ago I helped someone in Canada research her grandfather Charles Henry Smith, story was that he had been sent to Canada in 1889 from a 'boarding school' with a friend George Edward Smith after they had 'stolen some chickens' & supposedly sent to Dakeyne Farm in Mt. Denson (which was a boys’ work farm).

Won't go into the details of the research [very interesting it was though] but I eventually proved, mainly through the records of The Royal Philanthropic Society School Redhill and The Royal Philanthropic Society Farm School that 'Charles Henry Smith ' was actually Henry Darcy from Hull & 'George Edward Smith' was actually Charles Shaw from Hastings. And in fact a bird theft had been involved at some stage! They were both discharged to General Laurie at Oakfield, Nova Scotia.

My point is that these 'boys' managed to cover their tracks very well by changing their names, only to be discovered 130 years later. They cannot have been the only ones to have done so.

Josey

Edit: Parents' forenames may have been given correctly on any marriage certificate [as in the case of Charles Shaw] even if Alfred had changed his surname. 

Have you tried tracing the other 3 home children on the farm to see if their descendants have any stories of Alfred?

[miriamkinga]

Makes them that much harder to find but I do hope that if Alfred did change his name he lived a long and happy life not a traumatic short one as alhal fears.

[alhal]

Thanks, Miriam and Josey for your interest.

We have exhausted all of the Canadian resources.

We know what happened to Stephen - he was killed during WW1 fighting with the Canadian troops. His story is out there on the internet.

As far as Albert is concerned, I can find nobody showing any genealogical interest in the 3 boys boarding with him at the THOMPSON's farm.

A director of the British Home Children's Canadian forum is offering to help once my wife arrives in Toronto.

What I need to understand is what happened to Fred, the father. By 1919 his wife has re-married, but I can find no trace of him after the 1901 Census.

And how does a mother chose which of her children are to be put in Barnardos? Presumably the elder boys - Fred, John & George were all able to work and support the family.

I'm sure Barnardos will come up trumps and provide all the answers - eventually, but I'm trying to find info for my wife to give to the McPHAILs, the Canadian host family, early next month when she meets them to thank them for their kindness.

[alhal]

Update to Albert DUCKHOUSE.

The newly released 1921 Canadian Census shows the THOMPSON family living by themselves - no sign of Albert and his 3 co-boarders.

[josey]

I know you have checked all the Canadian resources, but are there no online bmds for the area that you can check to find out whether Albert did die young? Perhaps he made his way to the USA?

As to Thomas/Fred Duckhouse - it is always a possibility he was in some kind of institution [prison/workhouse] that recorded 'inmates' with only their initials.

Josey

[Clever clogs]

There's a picture of Stephen's trunk online, along with a photo of him in uniform.

http://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/childrens-trunks--bibles.html

There is an ancestry public tree (a lady called McPhail has compiled this) listing Albert, speculating that he died in British Columbia. Couldn't see a listing in the death index for him for that state though.

[Annette7]

Thomas Frederick (or Frederick) was according to census bc.1872 Wednesfield, Staffs.   His parents are shown as George Norton and wife Martha.    George Norton married Martha Duckhouse but not until the June quarter of 1874 Wolverhampton (I'm guessing you know this already).

I can't find a birth entry for Frederick under Duckhouse or Norton but as his parents not married at the time of his birth his legal name would be Duckhouse. 

Think he simply left his first family and changed his surname to that of his (supposed) father, Norton.

Sending a PM.

Annette