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Record #3912
Name :
: Alice Maud GOWLLAND (1901 - )
  aka : CUNNINGHAM


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

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

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

33 Burton Crescent
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 28 May 1909
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Corsican

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesIn 1909, Alice Gowlland, 7 (and her sister W(inifred) Gowlland, 12) arrived at Quebec, Canada, along with a group of 92 girls en route to Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. (The outbound British manifest of the Corsican, however, on May 20, 1909, shows Alice and Winifred as "Gowland", not "Gowlland"; but there is no doubt they are the same children. Winifred, at 12, is considered an adult, whereas Alice is shown as a child. The ship was carrying a total of 1,346 passengers, of whom the overwhelming majority were children.)

On the immigration record, for both girls the country of birth is stated as "England". However, going through the complete English birth records for the years 1895 to 1897, and 1901 to 1903, there are no Gowlland births. The children?s births, it was discovered, were registered in the name of the ?Putative Father? whose name was Arthur Cunningham. There were siblings, who were recorded on the files but did not enter the Home, presumably because they were adopted: their details are: Gowlland, Arthur, born c1892; and Gowlland, Elsie, born c1898. Her mother's name was Alice Maud Gowlland, who was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Richard Gowlland (1823 ? 1863) and Louisa Ann n?e Mayes: she was born at 13 Fulford Place, Southgate Road, West Hackney on 30th October 1861.

In the 1891 census Arthur Cunningham was shown living at No 22, Cambridge Place, Paddington, London, with Alice Maud Gowlland . Arthur's occupation is now shown as "Clerk" and Alice's the same. In the 1901 census (click here) they are living at No 55 Queen Street, Marylebone. Arthur's occupation is now shown as "Accountant" and Alice's as "Book-keeper". Barnardo's records state that Arthur was fifty-six when the children entered the home, which corresponds with the age of fifty-three declared in this census.

In both the 1891 and 1901 censuses, Arthur and Alice are described as "Married" although no marriage certificate has been traced, and in fact Barnardo's records state that they never married, possibly for the reason that Arthur was already married. In the 1901 census none of the three living children appears.

It is understood that the couple had been together for fourteen years, and that they had never married. With Alice dying in 1903, this implies that it was in 1889 that the relationship began. Alice Maud (the mother) died after twelve months suffering from "aortic valvular disease" on April 17, 1903. The family had to be split up nine months later. Interestingly the records also state that at the time of Alice Maud's death Arthur's occupation was "canvasser - of no fixed abode". This seems a very rapid come-down from his census declaration of ?accountant? of just three years earlier. Barnardo's records state that the children were handed over to their Portsmouth Home. The information implies that Arthur asked for help from the family, particularly the maternal grandmother Louisa Ann; but, whether because she did not like him, or because of inability to cope, she was either unable or unwilling to accept them.

The "Admissions History" on the Barnardo's files confirms that the procedure in those days was that an application for assistance had to be made to Dr Barnardo's, and then enquiries were made; and it was only after completion of these enquiries that a decision was made whether to admit or not. In this case, the files state that Arthur and the children, after being refused help by the maternal grandmother, were referred to the workhouse while enquiries, usually lasting two or three weeks, were made as to the validity of their application; and so we are attempting to trace their entry into a Portsmouth workhouse in the last weeks of 1903. As a result of a favourable decision, Winifred and Alice entered Barnardo's home, and, as mentioned earlier, Arthur and Elsie seem to have left their sisters by this time.

Barnardo's records also mention the names of the siblings of the mother (Louisa, Florence and Ellen), and also the grandmother Louisa Ann Remy (married to Hermann Wilhelm Remy). The procedure in those days was that illegitimate children entering the Home were given their mother?s surname, and thus their immigration documents for Canada were in the name of Gowlland.

In 1911, Cunningham, 9, (no first name given but almost certainly Alice Maud Gowlland Cunningham) was shown as a home girl residing with Hannah Jones, 73, South of Jones Street, Brock Township, Sunderland Village, Ontario, Canada. Her date of birth was shown as July 1901 and her immigration year as 1903.

Alice Maud Cunningham married Abraham (Abe) Ecker in Ontario on November 12, 1924. She used the surname of her putative father and the certificate is in the name of "Alice Cunningham". Alice Maud gave the bride's father's name correctly as "Arthur Cunningham", but was wide of the mark with the bride's mother shown as "Alice Dowlands".

The couple subsequently had four children, the oldest of whom, John Everett Ecker, was born on 6th December 1925 and died on 17th February 1956: he married Jean Helen Shepherd on 3rd March 1951 and they had two sons. Alice and Abraham's other three children were born between 1927 and 1931.

Barnardo's archives mentioned that Alice Maud Gowlland Ecker had been in touch with them in 1993, seeking information about her background, in order ?to set her mind at rest?. She must have been about ninety-two at the time. Alice Maud and the daughter who wrote on her behalf still lived in the Ottawa area.

(Sources include J.G. Gowlland October 2006) 
ContributorsCreated : 2008-07-23 16:51:56 / From original database

Last Updated : 2015-08-28 18:56:12 / alanmack

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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  2 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
3912 GOWLLAND, Alice Maud1901ENG, MDX, Pancras, London May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
3913 GOWLLAND, Winifred1897ENG, MDX, London May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos