Notes Barbara Dillon's father, George Ferrar, was born in 1889, the youngest of five in Scotland. He was fully orphaned by age 5. His older siblings could not sustain the remaining family on their meager wages. So George and one sister were signed over to an orphanage called Quarrier's, a noteworthy organization that housed children in home-like cottages with a mother & father figure for each. Pressing need forced Quarrier's to make room for more orphans by shipping some to Canada. Initially deemed too undernourished and frail for the journey, one year later, in 1896, George and his sister Jenny were sent abroad.George had to work hard but was well treated on the farm of John McIntire, on Donnelly Drive, near Kemptville. Jenny was sent to a Moffit farm in the Winchester area. Barbara says her Dad ?was one of the lucky ones?. He finished grade 8 and married Alice Crawford in 1917, where he and his wife continued to work on the farm. After Mcintire died in 1941, George learned he had been adopted and would inherit the farm.
Dillon recounted her father's return trip to Scotland in 1949 where he was warmly welcomed with open arms as a member of Quarrier's Village. (1937 had been the last time orphans were sent away from Quarrier's. After that they were kept in Scotland and taught trades.)
Barbara Dillon returned to Scotland herself where she enjoyed a number of tours that explored her family's history and the role of Quarrier's in the lives of so many. She recounts what she learned and experienced first hand left her most grateful for the humanitarian work of Quarrier's.
Contributors Created : 2012-11-01 19:45:24 / From original database Last Updated :
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