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Record #3832
Name :
: Francis BINGHAM (1910 - 1989)
  aka : Edward Frank Hazlewood, E


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 21 May 1910

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 1989
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Middlesex, London

Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Marylebone Road
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 26 Sep 1924
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Melita

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesFrancis Bingham was the name given to Edward at the Foundling Hospital in which he was raised. When Edward came to Canada, he called himself Earl MacWilliams. According to his daughter, Barbara MacWilliams:

Edward "talked little of his past and what stories he told were not always true. Perhaps they were stories he made as a child to comfort himself or stories designed to hide his past. Our family had no idea of my father's origins or his upbringing. We knew only that he came to Canada when he was 14 and worked on farms in southern Ontario.

My father's story began in 1909, in London, England, when Dora Louise Hazlewood, who lived with her family in Tottenham, London, met Edwin Wheeler. Edwin worked as a valet for Mr. Middleton who lived at 111 Park Lane, W London. Dora and Edwin began walking out together in 1909 and became very fond of each other. Sometimes Dora visited Edwin at his place of employment.

When Dora discovered her pregnancy, she asked for Edwin's help. Edwin said that he was sorry that he could not marry Dora as he had to support his crippled mother and could not afford to marry.

Dora then confided in her family. Dora's mother and sister went to see Edwin at Park Lane. They were informed that Edwin no longer worked for Mr. Middleton and it was not known where he had moved, perhaps to Scotland.

Dora was 18 and living at home. Since finishing school, she had been working at home with her sister doing needlework. Dora's family lived at 23 Wingmore Road in Tottenham, North London. Dora's father, Alfred, was a carpenter and had worked for a firm in Gray's Inn Road, Holburn for 16 years.

Dora, born in 1891 was the youngest of 5 girls who were between the ages of 28 and 18. Their parents, Alfred and Sarah were 55 and 56 years of age. The family had lived at their home on Wingmore Rd for over 20 years.

Dora was helped by her family, who arranged for her to go to Queen Charlotte's Hospital on Marylebone Road.

Edward Frank Hazlewood was born May 21, 1910.

Dora cared for her child in the first days of his life before he went to live with a foster mother in east London. Dora's mother paid Mrs. Downes 5 shillings a week for Edward's care.

Edward may have been cared for by a foster mother to protect Dora's reputation and prevent too many people in the neighbourhood from knowing she had a child. Society, at that time, could be harsh to a girl who had a baby outside marriage. But Dora finally had to face the sadness that she could not care for Edward and bring him up herself without the support of Edwin Wheeler or her family.

In June 1910, Dora approached the Foundling Hospital in London for assistance. The Foundling Hospital accepted babies into their care only after careful enquiry as to the reputation of the mother and whether acceptance of the child would return the mother to respectability. The Enquiry Officer interviewed the butler at Park Lane and was told that Edwin Wheeler was believed to be in Scotland. Since Edwin could not be found, it was not possible to help Dora to take court proceedings against Edwin to enable her to receive financial support. Dora was interviewed by the committee of Governors, who approved her request and assured her that the Governors would take care of her child's future welfare and education.

On July 5th, 1910, when Edward was 6 weeks old, his mother brought him to the Thomas Coram Foundling Hospital.

On the day he was admitted to the Foundling Hospital's care, Edward was baptised into the Church of England and given the name Francis Bingham.

Children's names were changed in order to protect mothers and children and to enable them both to make a fresh start in life. No contact was allowed from the mother and enquiries from the mother were discouraged. The children brought to the Foundling Hospital were fostered out to families, usually in Kent, Surrey or Essex until they were 5 or 6 and returned to the hospital for their education. Francis, for the first five years of his life, went to live with his foster mother Sarah Anne Humphreys, who lived in East Peckham in Kent.

I have found no information about Edward's early childhood in Kent. At the age of five, Edward had to leave his foster mother's home and come into the Foundling Hospital. The Governors placed great emphasis on training and education and that is why the children did not stay with their foster families.

It is not known if Edward ever saw his foster mother again. There were occasional days in the year known as "Mothers Days" when foster mothers were able to visit their children in the Hospital but, because of the distance and expense, it was not always possible for foster mothers to maintain contact with the children they had cared for through their early years.

If the family had fostered several children, foster siblings were often at the Foundling Hospital together. However, because boys and girls were always separate, siblings of the opposite sex were not allowed contact. Foster parents, when visiting, had to divide the available visiting time between the boys and the girls.

My father did not say much about his life. I have visited the Coram Family Buildings and stood where the Foundling Hospital once stood. The Hospital was torn down in 1925. On the old site are Coram's Fields; a park with large old trees and an arena where children only can play. I looked at the trees my father played under and cried."

In 1924, Francis Bingham, 14, arrived at Quebec, Canada, along with a group of 88 children en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

His reports from Barnardo's showed:

Oct 1924 - placed with Jacob MILLSOP in Creemore, Ontario (did not get along with Mrs Millsop)

April 1927 - placed with Harry BRYAN in Ida, Ontario (too small for the work at Ida)

May 1927 - placed with John BAYLEY in Clinton Ontario (did not get along with Mr Bayley)

Oct 1927 - placed with Howard STEWART in Duntroon, Ontario (left the end on Oct, no reason given)

Jan 1928 - position arranged with Nelson CRICK in Clinton, Ontario (wanted to make a change)

Jan 1929 - moved to Jim FERGUSON in Clinton, Ontario

Mar 1929 - moved and address unknown but in same neighbourhood

Nov 1930 - working for John BATTY in Varna, Ontario

July 1931 - address unknown

My father told my mother about going to the US, working as a chauffeur for a rich woman who "liked him a lot" and also working as a bookie in either Detroit or Chicago. He had a scar that he said was a gunshot wound. He wasn't allowed in the US. Says he and a "brother", both using the surname "MacWilliams", went to the US and the brother stayed there.

Earl Lionel MacWilliams (Edward Frank Hazlewood) married, had worked as a transport truck driver, and had five daughters. He died in 1989 in Canada.

Copyright Barbara MacWilliams
{website}silk.net/personal/bjmacwill/homechild.html 
ContributorsCreated : 2008-05-12 10:32:15 / From original database

Last Updated : 2015-07-02 11:08:26 / alanmack

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