An industry ‘fed children'

The Russell farm was run by Barnardo's, the most high-profile home children organization. Named for its founder, Dr. Thomas Barnardo, it operated across Canada and the U.K.

The Russell farm opened its doors in 1888. The first party of 50 boys arrived in April of that year to a large-scale operation, which included a dormitory for up to 100 boys, acres of farming land, a creamery and more. Local newspaper ads from the time encouraged farmers to apply for labourers.

"To the Canadian government, this was an opportunity to get much-needed population and much-needed farm labour, because there was a real shortage at farm labourers," said Ralph Jackson, whose grandfather Harry Jackson came to Winnipeg at 16.

"From the British standpoint, it was really kind of doing away with a problem [they] had, sending it abroad."

The Russell farm, seen here at an unknown date, opened its doors in 1888. (Davidson Bros./Library and Archives Canada/PA-117280)

The Russell farm, seen here at an unknown date, opened its doors in 1888. (Davidson Bros./Library and Archives Canada/PA-117280)

Oschefski believes the program was born of good intentions, as overburdened children's homes in the United Kingdom struggled to find ways to care for the rising number of children in need.

But philanthropy wasn't the only motivation — there was money to be made by sending the kids.

Archival records indicate the Canadian government started paying home-child organizations a bonus of $2 per child in 1875, and Oschefski says British governments made similar payments.

"It was all a money-making enterprise that [Barnardo] had going in the U.K. They published books, they published magazines," she said. "And over here in Canada … they actually sold a lot of this stuff to the kids."

In some cases, children were sent with their consent, or that of their parents. In others, she said, impoverished parents sent their children to homes for what were supposed to be temporary stays, only to have them sent away without the parents' knowledge.

"He really built himself a business," Oschefski said of Barnardo. "He built himself, like, an industry, and that industry had to be fed children."

Lori Oschefski's aunts Mary and Sarah were both 'Barnardo girls,' sent to a home in Peterborough, Ont. Mary was beaten and moved 20 times in eight years, Oschefski says. (Submitted by Lori Oschefski)

Lori Oschefski's aunts Mary and Sarah were both 'Barnardo girls,' sent to a home in Peterborough, Ont. Mary was beaten and moved 20 times in eight years, Oschefski says. (Submitted by Lori Oschefski)

Ralph Jackson's own grandfather, Harry, came to Canada as a home child by choice when he was 16, after the death of his mother. He wasn't a "Barnardo boy": he was sent to one of a handful of receiving homes in Winnipeg run by other home-child groups. In his case, it was one called Shaftesbury Homes.

Jackson doesn't know what his grandfather's living conditions were like in Canada. Like many Canadians — Oschefski estimates there are up to four million descendants of home children here — Jackson grew up with no idea about his grandfather's history. Most home children were reticent about their pasts with their families, he said, out of a shame they learned from Canadian adults when they arrived.

"[Public sentiment was] vilifying children, to the point where ... after a while, they don't want to talk about who they are, because they're ashamed," Jackson said.

In an 1891 journal article, then-Toronto MP Frederick Nicholls called the children "human warts and excresences."

"These 'waifs and strays' are tainted and corrupt with moral slime and filth inherited from parents and surroundings of the most foul and disgusting character, and all the washing and clean clothes that Dr. Barnardo may bestow cannot possibly remove," Nichols said.

"There is no power whatever that can cleanse the lepers so as to fit them to become desirable citizens of Canada.”

William Mintram Jr., seen as an adult, came to Manitoba as a British home child following the death of his mother and the imprisonment of his father, according to his great-granddaughter Joan Planedin. This image comes from his daughter Violet's collection. (Submitted by Joan Planedin)

William Mintram Jr., seen as an adult, came to Manitoba as a British home child following the death of his mother and the imprisonment of his father, according to his great-granddaughter Joan Planedin. This image comes from his daughter Violet's collection. (Submitted by Joan Planedin)

Among it all, Oschefski sees Barnardo's Russell training farm as a "shining star." She feels her own grandfather was genuinely saved from poverty by being sent there.

Joan Planedin believes her great-grandfather's experience was also positive at the Russell farm. She says William Mintram Jr. was "one of the lucky ones" — after his time at the Barnardo farm, he went on to the loving Westman family on a farm near Churchbridge, Sask.

She says her family's story, and others like theirs, speak to the resilience of the home children themselves.

"In many cases they thrived regardless of their conditions. They went on to have their own families, and their families went on to have their own families, and were really deeply woven into the fabric of Canada," she said.



"I feel that these children need to be celebrated for what they have overcome."

