Notes A birth registration was found for Mary Lea Plant: Year of Registration: 1894; Quarter of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec; District: Prescot; County: Lancashire; Volume: 8b; Page: 663. (Parents: George and Sarah E. Plant.)
In 1901, Mary L. Plant, 6 years of age, was shown residing at 32 Gossage Street, Widnes, Lancashire, England. Other family members included: aunt Louisa Hirst, 25, wash launderess; father George Plant, 29, chemical (chalk) labourer; sister Ivy Plant, 4; and mother Sarah E. Plant, 31. (Source: 1901 Census of England; Class: RG13; Piece: 3514; Folio: 44; Page: 29.)
In 1906, Mary Plant, 11 (along with her sister, Ivy Plant, 9) arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, with a group of 100 Barnardo girls en route to Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
On April 30, 1907, at Barnardo Home, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Mary Plant, 12, servant, died of heart disease (mitral), and syncope (partial or complete loss of consciousness with interruption of awareness of oneself and ones surroundings), 6 months duration.
On February 16, 1913, at Barnardo House, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Mary's sister, Ivy Plant, 16, domestic, died of heart disease, 7 months, and ansthenia (a medical term denoting symptoms of physical weakness and loss of strength), 48 hours.
Both girls are buried at Little Lake Cemetery, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, along with 46 other Barnardo children who were a part of Hazlebrae House.
Around the same time Ivy and Mary were sent to Canada, their mother's sister Alice Hannah Hirst immigrated to Canada with her husband Arthur Lines. They would settle in Barrie, Ontario, Canada just a two hour drive from Peterborough. Sadly Alice would have had no idea that her deceased sister's children would have been so close to her. Sadly the girls would have never known that they indeed had family close by. In October of 2011 we found Ivy and Mary's family in Canada and they are keen to learn more about these girls and their connection to the British Home Children.