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Record #16538
Name :
: Thomas REDFERN (1884 - )


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1884 (approx.)

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialAustralia
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 23 Apr 1899
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Dominion

Placement Family
: Walker; Cook; Lochett
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
: Fegan's Home for Boys

Agency
: Fegan Homes for Boys
NotesIn 1899, Joseph Redfern, 11, arrived at Quebec, Canada, in a group of 52 Fegan boys en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Thomas was separated from his brother Joseph upon arrival to Canada and never saw him again.

Records received from Fegan's showed:

Thomas was placed in 3 different homes. He started with John Walker in May 1899. Notes from Fegan's stated "Boy has a good home. Gives satisfaction. Boy says he has to work rather hard at times." He was re-engaged to W. Cook in Rossmount Ontario in September 1900. Notes state "Not a very desirable place but boy was not inclined to leave." He ran off in 1901. In 1903 he was with W.Lochett in Clarke Ontario and was "Doing fairly well". In 1904 the Fegan's records listed him as "left for parts unknown".

I was given a letter from Fegan's from Thomas looking for Joseph. The letter was sent in 1931, and was unanswered. From information in this letter I was able to determine that Thomas was in Australia and had served in the Australian army. His military records stated he was discharged due to alcoholism. [EDITORS NOTE: Thomas Redfern had joined the Australian Armed Forces: Australian Imperial Force # 1045 6th Battalion, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.]

This is a very sad story. Until I received the records from Fegan's Joseph's family did not know of Thomas' existence, as he never talked about his past. 
ContributorsCreated : 2012-08-01 07:05:09 / From original database

Last Updated : 2012-08-26 22:03:07 /

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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  5 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
20016 REDFERN, Charles Hy1872ENG,     Jun 1886 : Lake Superior CAN Barnardos  
16537 REDFERN, Joseph1886ENG, LDN, London Apr 1899 : Dominion CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
23559 REDFERN, Peter Ronald1918ENG, LND, Marylebone Mar 1928 : Benalla AUS Fairbridge Homes  
16767 REDFERN, Robert Andrew1898ENG, LDN, London May 1907 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
16538 REDFERN, Thomas1884ENG,     Apr 1899 : Dominion CAN Fegan Homes for Boys