HOME      FORUM      HELP      SEARCH      
News : The Surname Interests Table (SIT), the Database for Special Interests Groups (DBSIG) and Ancestral Anniversaries
are now "mobile friendlier" more here ...
The RootsChat Reference Library

RootsChat.Com »  RootsChat Reference Library »   Database for Special Interest Groups (DBSIG) »   British Home Children : Quick Search

Record #5491
Name :
: Florence ROBSON (1901 - )


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1901 (approx.)

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Northumberland, Newcastle
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 25 Jun 1913
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Corinthian

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Barnardos
NotesFlorence Robson was born into a family of seven children in a tiny village near Newcastle, England.

Florence might never have emigrated from England in 1913, if she and her father had been able-bodied. But her dragging leg, her father's tuberculosis, and her mother's latest pregnancy seemed like too many challenges for one family to handle alone.

Florence recalled, "One day, Mother said she was taking me to the Babies' Castle, a Barnardo home for crippled children. She said they would straighten my leg (which they did, by given me callipers), and then she would come for me. I never saw my mother again. One day, a nurse came and told me Daddy had gone to heaven so I would have to stay at the home."

At the age of 12, Florence Aulph wasn't asked whether she wanted to go to Canada. She was sent. That was in 1913, but she remembered being taken to the docks by carriage, and how she dropped her doll, which was smashed under the wheels. It was the end of her childhood.

In 1913, Florence Robson, 12, arrived at Quebec, Canada, in a group of 135 Barnardo girls en route to Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

After a three-week sea crossing, I ended up in a foster home in Hagersville,--just me and two little boys. I didn't play with the other children there as we weren't considered as good as them.

"We were just Home kids and weren't supposed to have any feelings. I got terribly withdrawn as it seemed nobody wanted me, only for the work I did.

"Later I was sent to another farm [in Fergus], a dreadful place. The man had a vicious temper and beat me if I forgot something or didn't do it right. I was the hired hand and housemaid, too. I worked my soul out for three dollars a month."

Florence was 18 before she "escaped" to become a ladies' maid in town.

On March 21, 1923, at Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario, Canada, a marriage was registered between Florence Robson, 23, born in Newcastle, Northumberland, England (her parents names were unknown to her); and Henry Lorne Aulph, 33, boilermaker, born in Alvinston, Ontario, Canada, to Richard Aulph and Theodosia Shultis. Witnesses were John Aulph of Inwood and Barbara Aulph of London, Ontario, Canada.

She was "as happy as a lark" in her marriage. Florence kept in touch with her family until her mum died. She had one sister left alive who came to visit Florence one time. But they were strangers, with no kinship left.

Then, in 1991, Florence went to live in an old people's home in Ontario.

"I started out life in a little orphan home at four, and I end up here in another home, and sometimes," she said, "I wonder if there is a God." 
ContributorsCreated : 2009-03-08 16:46:08 / From original database

Last Updated : 2009-03-15 21:16:38 /

Family History ResearchersRootsChatters with family connections to Florence ROBSON:



 
Readers Comments

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  16 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
19914 ROBSON, Albert1886ENG,     Apr 1897 : Labrador CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
16779 ROBSON, Bertie1897ENG,    , Grangetown Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
12830 ROBSON, Christopher1890ENG,     Sep 1898 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
20629 ROBSON, Doris1905ENG,     Oct 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
19030 ROBSON, Elizabeth Margaret1901ENG,     Sep 1912 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
3404 ROBSON, Emily1899ENG,     May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
23857 ROBSON, Ephraim John1893ENG, ESS, West Ham Oct 1906 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
5491 ROBSON, Florence1901ENG, NBL, Newcastle  Jun 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
3405 ROBSON, George1895ENG,     May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
23915 ROBSON, Jacob1907ENG,     May 1921 : Minnedosa CAN Middlemore  
19077 ROBSON, Jane1899ENG,     Sep 1912 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
16780 ROBSON, Jesse James1898ENG,     Mar 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
26836 ROBSON, Margaret1926 May 1934 : Ballarat AUS Fairbridge Homes  
3406 ROBSON, Robert1897ENG, ESS, Stratford May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
19116 ROBSON, Sarah Alexandria1902ENG,     Sep 1912 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
20188 ROBSON, W. H.1886ENG,     Jun 1897 : Labrador CAN Barnardos