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Record #13346

Name :: : James William BLANCE (1880 - 1913)
aka : James Harris
Father: :
Mother: :

BMD and other details

Date of Birth: : 1 Sep 1880
Marriage (1): :
Marriage (2): :
Date of Death: : 7 Nov 1913 Notes : Creeping paralysis

Abode (1) : Place of BirthScotland, Midlothian, Edinburgh

38 New Street

Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada, Escott

Sailing Information

Date of Arrival: : 19 Jun 1884
Country: : Canada
Ship: : Buenos Ayrean
Placement Family: :

Homes / Agencys

Institution (GB): :
Agency: : Quarriers

NotesJames was 2 years old when he and his sisters and brothers were
placed in the Quarrier's Home in Bridge of Weir, Scotland. They were sent, likely by train, from Edinburgh to Glasgow and were first examined at the City Orphanage in Glasgow to determine their state of health. They were transferred after only 1 day because they were in good health. When James was 3 years old
he sailed to Canada and was taken from the
Marchmont Home in Belleville, Ontario by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Harris, who (
according to the orphanage records ) had recently lost their only son. Mr.
Harris was a builder and the
Harris's had a daughter named Ethel. Shortly, after they picked up James
at the Home, Ethel wrote the orphanage saying, " Mamma thought you would
like to know how Jamie is after his journey. He arrived safely. When
the cab drove up to the door, he put his head out of the cab window and
called out ' There's Papa ! ' He was very tired. Mamma put him to bed
about eight o'clock, but he would not stay without her. She laid down by
him; he said to her, ' Keep close to me, mamma. ' We thought him very
wise. Papa and I like him very much. We think he is a sweet little
fellow. I think I shall like him for my brother. Mamma would have
written herself, but she is so busy getting him some clothes. He is very
happy. Trusting you will not be anxious, Ethel Harris " The family
settled initially in St. Thomas, Ontario and the following are excerpts
from the Marchmont Home's records on James--Mrs. Harris came for him,
spent Sunday at the Home, and took him away Monday August 11, 1884. Mrs.
Harris writes Jamie is getting very fat, goes out walking 2 hours every
morning. Mrs. Harris writes James has had scarlet fever. Says his
little hymns. Dr. says out of danger. Enclosed photo with sister and
dog. Jamie is running about again and so happy. Ethel writes a nice
letter about Jamie. She is very fond of him. He weighs 38 lbs and has
grown 1 1/2 inches. Nice letter about our little sunbeam. Summer of
1885, Ethel writes Jimmy was jumping off the verandah and broke his leg
two weeks ago, otherwise he is well. We are going to the country in
August. Jimmy can walk around again. Miss Bilbrough of the Home spent
the day at Jamie's house, found him grown tall and rosy cheeks, nicely
brought up and parents and sister devoted to him. In 1888, wrote James
is doing very well at school. Is fat and well and growing such a big
boy. By November of 1889, the family had moved to Vancouver, British
Columbia and Ethel wrote, Jimmy is well and a good boy. When my mother
was at the point of death he did all he could to help me. At this time,
Ethel would have been 15 years old and James 9 years old. Five years
later in 1894, Ethel writes,I am now Mrs. MacKintosh. I thought you
would like to hear of Jim. He is now with father and my step mother at
Vernon, a town up in the mountains. They left Vancouver after mother
died. My step mother is very kind to Jim and he is very fond of her. He
has lately joined the Methodist Church for 3 months probation. He was
converted recently. I have a boy 9 months old and am very happy, but
should like Jim near me. He writes to me occasionally. " Our verbal
family history says that James did not learn until he was 18 years old
that he was adopted and what his true last name was and that he had 4
brothers and sisters. He had apparently become somewhat rebellious and had left school. After a run in over these things, Mr. Harris abruptly revealed that James was not his biological son. When James learned of his biological sisters and brothers, he, with the considerable help of Ethel Harris MacIntosh who contacted the orphanage and obtained information on where James siblings were last known to be living, set out to find them.
It is said that he advertised in newspapers and that Margaret Blance saw his ad
and answered it, being overjoyed to learn of her brother that she had
lost all contact with. James traveled all the way from British Columbia to
Ontario where his 4 siblings were still living. He got work at a resort in Rockport, Ontario. There he met Scillennia
Kirker, who was working in the kitchen at the resort. The Kirker Family asked him to stay
with them and he was thus able to locate and reunite with his long, lost siblings.
Scillennia's youngest sister, Annie, was still living when I began this
family research in the late 1970's and she told me her memories of James as being a very
well educated, gracious young man who was musically talented. She said
her whole family loved him ! James married Scillennia and they moved back to British Columbia where James had grown up. Shortly after their son, Harold, was born in British Columbia in 1908, James developed a progressive paralysis and the family returned to Ontario so that James might get the best medical care from doctors in Montreal, Quebec. Nothing was able to help him and he died in 1913.

ContributorsCreated : 2011-01-21 12:10:40 / From original database

Last Updated : 2011-05-11 11:25:57 /

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Surnames starting with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 30 Entries

Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 881 Entries

ID	Name	DOB	Place of birth	Arrivals & Ships	Dest.	Agency	Family links
3042	ABBOTT, John	1881	SCT,	Sep 1886 : Carthaginian	CAN	Emma Stirling
3075	ABERCROMBIE, Andrew	1878	SCT,	Mar 1891 : Hibernian	CAN	Quarriers
3076	ABERCROMBIE, William	1855	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Aug 1872 : St. Andrew	CAN	Unknown
3100	ABRAMS, Mary Ann	1898	SCT, , Dumfries	May 1913 : Victorian	CAN	Refuge Home, Cheetham Hill, Manchester
22560	ACTON, Philip John	1917	SCT,	May 1931 : Athenia	CAN	Quarriers
3159	ADAIR, Henry Bower	1895	SCT, , Dumfries	Apr 1906 : Sicilian	CAN	Quarriers
3164	ADAM, Allan Devrix	1885	SCT, , Govanhill, Glasgow	Apr 1897 : Siberian	CAN	Quarriers
3168	ADAM, Isabella	1897	SCT,	Jul 1910 : Southwark	CAN	Quarriers
3171	ADAM, Maggie	1887	SCT,	Jun 1897 : Sarmatian	CAN	Quarriers
3172	ADAM, Margaret	1899	SCT,	Jul 1910 : Southwark	CAN	Quarriers
3175	ADAM, William Butter	1884	SCT, , Govanhill, Glasgow	Apr 1897 : Siberian	CAN	Quarriers
25417	ADAMS, William	1889	SCT,	Jun 1897 : Sarmatian	CAN	Quarriers
9871	ADAMSON, Charles Daniels	1897	SCT, , Airdrie	Apr 1909 : Hesperian	CAN	Quarriers
6389	ADAMSON, Christina Alison	1894	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Jun 1907 : Sicilian	CAN	Quarriers
9872	ADAMSON, James Balfour	1892	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	May 1905 : Corinthian	CAN	Quarriers
7357	ADDISON, Hugh	1876	SCT, , Jamestown	Apr 1887 : Siberian	CAN	Quarriers
10483	ADDISON, Thomas Snowden	1905	SCT,	Apr 1920 : Scandinavian	CAN	Quarriers
3147	ADIE, Gregor McGregor	1880	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Apr 1894 : Buenos Ayrean	CAN	Quarriers
5358	AITKEN, Lawrence Gray	1909	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Aug 1925 : Montnairn	CAN	National Childrens Home
10484	AITKEN, Robert Plenderleith	1904	SCT, , Limefield, Wiston & Roberton	Apr 1920 : Scandinavian	CAN	Quarriers
3156	AITON, William Lyle	1888	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Apr 1907 : Sicilian	CAN	Quarriers
5679	ALCORN, Agnes Maxwell	1894	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Jun 1913 : Grampian	CAN	Quarriers
5680	ALCORN, Margaret-Ann Irwin	1897	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Jul 1910 : Southwark	CAN	Quarriers
3916	ALEXANDER, Agnes Barbour	1888	SCT, , Coatbridge	Aug 1906 : Corinthian	CAN	Quarriers
10339	ALEXANDER, Beatrice Carlisle	1889	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Jun 1897 : Sarmatian	CAN	Quarriers
6417	ALEXANDER, Charles	1894	SCT,	Oct 1910 : Cassandra	CAN	Unknown
3917	ALEXANDER, Janet Murray	1896	SCT, LKS, Glasgow	Jun 1906 : Corinthian	CAN	Quarriers
3915	ALEXANDER, Mary Eliza	1897	SCT, , Coatbridge	Jul 1905 : Corinthian	CAN	Quarriers
3918	ALEXANDER, Sarah Stewart	1890	SCT, , Coatbridge	Jun 1906 : Corinthian	CAN	Quarriers
6418	ALEXANDER, Thomas	1893	SCT,	Jun 1910 : Hesperian	CAN	Cossar (George Carter)
ID	Name	DOB	Place of birth	Arrivals & Ships	Dest.	Agency	Family links

Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 881 Entries

Surnames starting with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 30 Entries

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