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Record #4728
Name :
: Robert John WILLIAMS (1901 - )


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1901

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Newport
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 22 Sep 1907
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Dominion

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesA birth registration was found for Robert John Williams: Year of Registration: 1901; Quarter of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep; District: Newport M; County: Glamorgan, Gwent, Monmouthshire; Volume: 11a; Page: 254. (Parents: Robert and Lewsia Williams.)

His father, Robert Williams, was a dockworker, not a wealthy man, but from photos it is apparent the family was clean, well fed and well housed. They lived in one of the many stone row houses that still line the streets of Newport, near Cardiff, Wales. They were Church of England. The children attended school.

On the second of March, 1906, Robert John's father was struck by a piece of timber at the docks and killed. His mother was 31 at the time and pregnant with her ninth child. The eldest girls were 11 and 12. There was a year-old baby girl and a little boy of maybe three. Robert would have been five.

In the official report, the Barnardo `relieving officer' spoke of Lewsia Williams as "a striving, respectable woman who elicited much sympathy." The ten shillings a week in relief she got from the parish was paid away in rent. Her attempt at setting up a business with one of her brothers trading in fruits and vegetables failed. Still, she managed to keep the family together for a whole year. It was somebody from the parish who said, `I'm going to see if I can get help for you.' That's when Lewsia was approached by the orphanage.

The lady from Barnardo's must have been as convincing as Lewisa Williams was desperate. Lewsia had no intention of giving up her four middle children permanently; the arrangement was to last only until she could get back on her feet. The two older girls would look after the younger three while she worked.

The family would never be whole again. Someone somewhere in the Barnardo organization made the decision that the four Williams children, ages six to ten, should be included with a group of orphans scheduled to emigrate to Canada.

In 1907, Robert John Williams, 6 (along with brother, Gilbert C. J. Williams, 7), arrived at Quebec, Canada, with a group of 252 Barnardo children en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 1990, his grandniece, Barb Perkins, went to Wales to do more research, people who knew the family described the way it had been ripped apart. They said Lewisa Williams never got over it. Even in her old age, after she had remarried and had a tenth child, she still wept for her four lost children.

In Canada the children were separated. One boy was shot (but survived) trying to run away. One sister seemed to have fared fairly well. The other did not.

Eventually the Canadian siblings were reunited and for a time they all lived together as young adults. Relatives in Wales remember receiving packages from them. 
ContributorsCreated : 2009-02-16 14:48:04 / From original database

Last Updated : 2009-02-16 14:50:08 /

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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  24 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
3062 ABEL, Abraham1892WAL,    , Newport Apr 1908 : Kensington CAN Unknown  
6256 ADDIS, Herbert1897WAL, MON, Newport Jul 1909 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
13440 BRIDGES, James1873WAL, MON, Newport Apr 1886 : Dominion CAN Board of Guardians (Various)  
10312 BRITTON, Lily May1898ENG,    , Newport Mar 1909 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
9138 BROWN, Herbert James1892WAL,    , Newport Aug 1905 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
16584 BUTCHER, Gladys Ruby1894WAL, MON, Newport Aug 1906 : Tunisian CAN MacPherson Homes  
16583 BUTCHER, Milicent Florence1901WAL, MON, Newport Jun 1912 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
4128 CLUTTON, Charles H. J.1914WAL, MON, Newport Apr 1928 : Andania CAN Waifs & Strays eclutton  
3444 DOVER, Beatrice May1895WAL,    , Newport Oct 1905 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
5374 FORRESTER, William1910ENG,    , Newport Aug 1925 : Montnairn CAN National Childrens Home  
12834 GATEHOUSE, Henrietta Maud1888WAL, MON, Newport Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
16623 GATEHOUSE, Mary Louisa Edith 1890WAL, MON, Newport Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
7913 GOULD, Joseph A1912ENG,    , Newport Mar 1930 : Baltic CAN Canadian Government Scheme  
21805 MAYO, Gertrude Blodwin1896WAL, MON, Newport Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
6744 PLIMMER, Jack1912ENG,    , Newport Mar 1927 : Montrose CAN National Childrens Home  
6353 RADMORE, Colin1891ENG,    , Newport Jul 1903 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
4887 SELF, Elsie Maud1913WAL,    , Newport Apr 1925 : Montclare CAN Barnardos  
23312 SUTTON, George1890WAL, MON, Newport Apr 1902 : Dominion USA Barnardos  
9560 WALKLEY, Edmond1906WAL,    , Newport May 1922 : Melita CAN Barnardos  
10176 WILKINS, Aloyisius1890ENG, HAM, Newport Sep 1901 : Parisian CAN Canadian Catholic Emigration Committee  
4727 WILLIAMS, Gilbert Charles John1900WAL, MON, Newport Sep 1907 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3922 WILLIAMS, Hilda Winifred1898WAL, MON, Newport Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
3923 WILLIAMS, Lavinia Ellen1896WAL, MON, Newport Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
4728 WILLIAMS, Robert John1901ENG,    , Newport Sep 1907 : Dominion CAN Barnardos