Mary Pellow - British Home Child

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

This page was created to hold ongoing research into the true identity of Mary Pellow, a British Home Child sent to Canada in May 1902.

Contents 1 What We Know For Certain 2 Admission Details from Barnardo Homes (Extracted) 3 Obituary 4 Possible sighting in England? 5 Mrs Devereux - the Aunt 6 Mrs Devereux's sister Jane Evans - possible mother of Mary 6.1 Mary Evans or Mary Pelew / Mary Ann or Mary Jane ? 7 Sources 8 Resources

What We Know For Certain

Name: Her family called her Mary Jane. Mary Jane is the name on her gravestone. Her obituary gives her name as Mary Jane.

Date of Birth: 21 Mar 1889

Place of Birth: England

Admission Date: 17 Mar 1892, pending enquiry and formally on 18 Oct 1892.

Emigration Society: Barnardo Home for Girls

Emigration Place: Liverpool, England

Departure Date: 1 May 1902

Arrival Place: Quebec, Canada

Arrival Date: 11 May 1902

Transport Ship: Dominion (2)

Receiving Home: Hazelbrae in Peterborough, Ontario.

Date of Marriage: 5 Jun 1907

Place of Marriage: Oso Township, Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada

Spouse's Name: Robert Francis

Date of Death: 21 Oct 1974

Place of Death: Great War Memorial Hospital, Perth, Ontario, Canada

Admission Details from Barnardo Homes (Extracted)

Mary Pellow, born March 1889, was admitted to Barnardo House pending enquiries on 17 Mar 1892, at Stepney Causeway. The enquiry did not provide any new information as to her circumstance. She was formally admitted to the Barnardo Homes system on 18 Oct 1892, at age 3. She was moved several times before her arrival in Canada:

• 2 Apr 1892 - transferred to Babies Castle, in Hawkhurst, Kent, at age 3
• 12 Aug 1896 - boarded out to foster parents in Gouldhurst, Kent, at age 7
• 5 Sep 1899 - boarded out in Damerham, Hampshire where she lived for 2 1/2 years, between age and 10 and 12.
• 14 Apr 1902 - transferred to Girls Village Home in Barkingside, Essex, at age 13
• 1 May 1902 - departed Liverpool for Canada.

Obituary

Mary's obituary was published on page 35 of the The Kingston Whig-Standard on Wednesday 30 October 1974.^[1] The obituary gave her name as Mary Jane and that she was born in Damerham, England. It is unknown who submitted the obituary for publication so it's not clear what the source of the information especially the birth place, is.

MRS. MARY J. FRANCIS

CLARENDON: Mrs. Mary

Jane Francis, 85, of Oso

Township, who died recently

at the Great War Memorial

Hospital at Perth following a

lengthy illness, was buried in

Christ Church Cemetery at

Oso.

She was born at

Damerham, England, but

had been an Oso Township

resident for 73 years. Mrs.

Francis attended Christ

Church at Oso where she

was organist and was an ac-

tive member of the Women's

Institute.

Surviving are her husband,

Robert Henry Francis,

whom she married 67 years

ago; a son, Albert, and a

daughter, Mrs. Alex (Jean)

Crawford, 14 grandchildren

and 29 great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by a

daughter, Mrs. Hilyard

(Elizabeth) Lutz, and a great-

grandson.

Pallbearers were her

grandsons Francis Craw-

ford, Gerald, Carl, Robert,

Earl and John Lutz.

Possible sighting in England?

There is a possible sighting in England. Mary's obituary says she was born in Damerham, England. This possible sighting has "Mary Jane" in South Damerham, but as a boarder who was born in London, Middlesex. If Mary spent time in Damerham before she left for Canada, especially at a young age, it is possible that she believed she was born there rather than in London which she may have had no recollection of. Being a "boarder" could be consistent with being in foster care in England until she was old enough to be sent to Canada to work on a farm.

In the 1901 census Mary (age 10) was the boarder of Ellen Marvell on High Street, South Damerham, Fordingbridge, Wiltshire & Hampshire, England.^[2]

Ellen Marvell Head Widowed F 56 Redlynch, Wiltshire, England

Alfred Marvell Son Single M 11 Damerham, Wiltshire, England

Lily Gillan Boarder Single F 12 London, Middlesex, England

Mary Jane Pelew Boarder Single F 10 London, Middlesex, England

Mrs Devereux - the Aunt

Mrs Devereux was Mary's Aunt and it was she who placed Mary into the care of the Barnardo's Homes in Stepney. Mary was her sister's daughter, her sister having died. Mrs Devereux was travelling with a Mrs Hagan whose address was 5 Livingstone Place, New York. They were in England for a "few months" and returned to the United States shortly after Mary was placed into care. It is thought she was placed into care circa March 1892 pending investigations and them formally admitted on October. Mrs Hagan had a neice, Mary Ann Murray, who had already been placed in the home.^{[citation needed]}

Lizzie arrived in Liverpool in December 1891 on the Germanic. On the same ship was Mary Haggan. LIzzie's birth year was given as about 1857, aged 34. Mary's age was given as 21, birth year about 1870.^[3][4]

One of these girls could be Mrs Hagan's neice, a Miss Mary Ann Murray: https://britishhomechildrenregistry.com/Person/search.

Also see: Elizabeth (Evans) Devereux (abt.1860-1937). This could be the Mrs Devereux referred to in the Barando's paperwork. Research is underway to triangulate this.

Mrs Devereux's sister Jane Evans - possible mother of Mary

Work in progress: Jane Evans

Mary Evans or Mary Pelew / Mary Ann or Mary Jane ?

• There are no marriage records between a Jane Evans and a Mr Pelew (various spellings tried) in either Wales or London, England which is the most likely place for them to have been if not in Wales, and where Mary was when she was taken to Barnado's home in 1892.
• Her parents not being married would be supported by the notion that Mary's aunt did not report who Mary's mother was - had she, surely it would be in Barnado's records? It's seems improbable that had they been married, it would not have been called out by Mrs Devereux as she would have nothing to hide about her sisiter. She could have just said her sister died and her husband was now unable to care for their daughter etc, with Barnado's recording the parent's information.
• If Mary's parents were not married her birth registration would show mother's maiden name as Evans or blank.
• It is also possible her birth was not registered at the time, and was registered later in order to get her paperwork tidied up for Barnado's; or they went looking for a registration at some point and could only turn up Mary Ann Pellow, mother's maiden name Rodgers,^[5] which has then influenced her record on the British Home Children Registry. It has been determined without doubt that this birth registration does not belong to this Mary.
• Her father was most likely Mr Pelew, as told by Mrs Devereux to Barnados.
• Pelow, aka Pellow, is used on her BHCR record mentioned below.
• Pelew is the spelling used on the probable 1901 Census sighting mentioned above.
• Mary Pelow was used on her voyage record.
• Mary Ann is used on the BHCR record.
• Mary Jane is used on her obituary and how her family knew her and was used in the 1901 Census.
• Her family also knew her as "Annie", perhaps an affectionate turn of phrase for "Orphan Annie".
• She was formally, according to the BHCR, Mary Ann Pelew but on balance, it's probably likely that her birth name is Mary Jane. Closer inspection of the Barnado's contemporary paperwork might reveal there's been a mix up and that Mary Ann was introduced on the assumption the Rodgers registration was Mary's. There is also a Mary Ann Murray, neice of Mrs Hagan who was Mrs Devereux's travelling companion, mentioned in the paperwork, perhaps another opportunity for transcription errors and name mix ups.
• Where has the birth date of 21 March 1889 come from? Mary herself would not have remembered that so it must have come from Barnado's records, received from someone...from Mrs Devereux? It is not the date on the birth record for the Rodgers child - that was 20 December 1888. Any other explanation would seem unlikely, further suggestive that Mrs Devereux obfuscated the identity of her mother. Total conjecture of course.
  • This is the birth date Mary herself identified with and which is on her headstone.

Mary Ann/Jane Pelew: There are no probable records for a Mary Jane/Ann "Pelew" in Wales or England +/- 1889 using phoentic and sounds like search engine in GRO, other than the record showing mother's maiden name as Rodgers.

Mary Jane Evans TBA

Mary Ann Evans TBA

Sources

1. ↑ "Canada, Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current," database, (Ancestry Record 62226 #992459835 : subscription required, accessed 18 August 2023), Spouse Robert Henry Francis, Burial Place Oso, Death Place Perth, Obituary Place Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Name Mary Jane Francis, Death Age 85, Obituary Date 30 Oct 1974, Birth Place Damerham England, Residence Place Clarendon, Gender Female, Death Date Abt 1974, Newspaper Title The Whig-Standard, Child Albert Alex Crawford Hilyard Lutz, Birth Date abt 1889; citing The Whig-Standard, Publication Date 30 Oct 1974, Publication Place Kingston, Ontario, Canada, URL https://www.newspapers.com/image/728715170/?article=e4962e0e-cc25-4f3a-9a66-2705126c5381&focus=0.022795713,0.29970953,0.14829949,0.5020793&xid=3355.
2. ↑ "1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census," database with images, FindMyPast Image - (FindMyPast Transcription : subscription required, accessed 18 August 2023), Sub-district Fordingbridge, Country England, Birth town London, Parish South Damerham, Ecclesiastical parish or district St George South Damerham, Birth year 1891, Other household member first name(s) Alfred, Ellen, Lily, Town South Damerham, Sex Female, First name(s) Mary Jane, Parliamentary borough or division South Wilts Wilton, Full address High Street, South Damerham, Fordingbridge, Wiltshire & Hampshire, England, Birth place England, Last name Pelew, Marital status Single, Birth county Middlesex, Enumeration district 12, Registration district Fordingbridge, Birth county as transcribed LONDON, Age 10, County Wiltshire, Hampshire, Other household member last name Marvell, Gillan, Relationship Boarder, Street High Street; citing Reference RG13, Piece number 1049, Folio 63, Page 5, Schedule 30.
3. ↑ "UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960," database with images, Ancestry Sharing Link (free access)
   (Ancestry Record 1518 #45455 : subscription required, accessed 18 August 2023), Port of Arrival Liverpool, England, Ship Name Germanic, Arrival Age 34, Ports of Voyage Queenstown, Ireland, Birth Date abt 1857, Arrival Date Dec 1891, Name Lizzie Devereux, Shipping Line White Star Dominion Line, Official Number 70932, Port of Departure New York, New York, USA; citing The National Archives in Washington, DC, London, England, UK, Board of Trade Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors Inwards Passenger Lists, Class Bt26, Piece 15, Item 18.
4. ↑ "UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960," database with images, Ancestry Sharing Link (free access)
   (Ancestry Record 1518 #45456 : subscription required, accessed 18 August 2023), Port of Arrival Liverpool, England, Ship Name Germanic, Arrival Age 21, Ports of Voyage Queenstown, Ireland, Birth Date abt 1870, Arrival Date Dec 1891, Name Mary Haggan, Shipping Line White Star Dominion Line, Official Number 70932, Port of Departure New York, New York, USA; citing The National Archives in Washington, DC, London, England, UK, Board of Trade Commercial and Statistical Department and Successors Inwards Passenger Lists, Class Bt26, Piece 15, Item 18.
5. ↑ *UK GRO Birth Registration Index: Mary Ann PELLOW - Mother's Maiden Surname: RODGERS - Registration Year: 1889 - Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar - Registration District: Okehampton - Inferred County: Devonshire - Volume: 5b - Page: 394

Resources

• Hazelbrae Girls Index
• Barnardo Home Records received by E. Lutz (deceased) and now in the possession of his daughter, R. Neeteson, who shared images with A. Gilpin.