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Record #17082
Name :
: Francis Henry ATKINS (1878 - 1952)


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 5 Oct 1878

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 10 Aug 1952
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Berkshire, Reading
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialCanada, Aldershot
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 5 Apr 1891
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Parisian

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Fegan Homes for Boys
NotesEliza Jane Atkins was born in 1855. She lived with her Grandfather Thomas Atkins, parents William and Susannah (nee Histed) Atkins and eight siblings in a cottage in Tupwood, Caterham, Surrey. The area was unspoilt countryside and life was simple. The cottage had three large rooms in it. The boys of the family shared one room with their Grandfather. The girls shared another whilst Mum and Dad, (William and Susannah), slept in the third, a large living room with an alcove where their bed was placed. There were very large fireplaces where they could almost sit and windows, though small, looked out onto the beautiful countryside. Eliza, along with her siblings would have to walk four miles every day to school and on Sundays the whole family would walk two miles to church where they sung in the choir. Their Grandfather was a lime burner and would bake loaves of bread and cook large pots of potatoes in the kiln to feed the large family.

At the age of 12 Eliza was sent out to work and, like so many other working class girls, found employment as a domestic servant. Sometimes the girls were lucky enough to find employment close to home and could, on their day off, go home to visit their family but others had to travel further away. Eliza was one of the unlucky ones and by the age of 16 was working in Stoke Newington, Hornsey, Middlesex, many miles from her family home.

By the age of 21 Eliza found herself unmarried and expecting a baby. Times were hard and unmarried mothers were frowned upon and sent away. Eliza was no exception and went to Reading Berkshire where she gave birth to her son Francis Henry Atkins in 1878. With the need to support herself and her son Eliza moved to Wimbledon where she found work as a Domestic Servant but life was difficult for her alone so she returned to Caterham where her brother John and his wife Emma (nee Skinner) gave Francis a home whilst she found further employment with a Dr Pratt in Bletchingly.

Francis, or Frank as the family called him, lived with his Uncle and Aunt in Caterham until the age of 10 when a decision was made that was to change his life.

At about this time James William Condell Fegan, a devoutly religious man, came to Caterham to preach and make his work for improving the lives of destitute children known. Frank?s family heard of this man and what he was achieving for the boys and, with his Uncle and Aunts growing family and times being hard his Uncle, Aunt and Mother decided that he would be better placed in the care of the ?Fegan Home for Boys? where it was hoped that he too would attain a better life.

Eliza took Frank to Southwark Street, London and signed him over to the ?Fegan Home for Boys? as ?Mrs? Atkins in 1890. Life in the home was very strict and structured with little or no contact with the outside world. At Christmas time there were no presents or cards although the boys were given a special Christmas dinner. The boys were taught the Gospels and the love of God and also taught agriculture so that they could work on the land.

Having been in the home for approximately one year and having had agricultural training, Frank was taken, in March 1891, along with 107 other boys to Euston Station where they boarded a train which took them to Liverpool. Each boy was sent with a trunk or box which contained clothing, including 2 shirts, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 sets of underwear, 1 pair of shoes and two books. The two books being a missionary book and one other book of the boys choice. Having arrived in Liverpool Frank and the other boys were shepherded on board the Allan Line ship the SS Parisian which sailed on the 26th March 1891. The party of travelling boys were cared for and conducted on their journey by Mr. J. W. C. Fegan and Mr. J. Butland. Records show that Frank was just 11 years old at the time.

After 10 days at sea, the ship docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 5th April 1891 where the boys disembarked and were then transported by train to a ?Receiving Home? in Toronto, Canada. This home was established in 1886 and was where the boys would live until a placement on a farm could be found for them. Frank was only there for a week when a farm placement was found for him.

On the 13th April 1891 Frank was engaged by Mr. C.W. Utter to work on his farm in Merton, Ontario. The terms of Frank?s engagement was that Mr. Utter should provide Frank with food and clothing and ensure that his schooling and education continued. The Fegan institute did not abandon the boys once they had been placed. Periodical checks would be made to ensure that the boys were being well treated, fed, clothed and educated. The work was hard, the hours long but Frank did very well and Mr. Utter was a good employer. On one visit from Fegans Frank was described as ?A splendid boy. Doing very well, much liked and happy as a king? and of the place and people, ?hard place ? good people?.

By 13 April 1893 Frank?s terms of engagement with Mr. Utter were changed. He now had finished his education and worked full time on the farm and the terms were that he should be paid $40 per year. Once Frank begun to earn a wage Fegan?s Canada managed his account for him to ensure that he was paid properly although he did have access to it. Fegan?s asked of each boy that earned a wage that they pay back to them the ?10 boat fare so that other boys could go to Canada and have the same opportunities that they were enjoying. It wasn?t compulsory but if they did this they received a bronze medal inscribed with their name and year on it. Frank did this by 1894.

Frank remained with Mr. Utter until July 1895 when he transferred to Mr. Inglehart also in Merton, Ontario. Again, Frank was fortunate to have been placed with good people on a good farm and continued to thrive. The last entry in Frank?s record is for May 1900 in which it simply says ?Still at Merton. Doing very well?. Frank was now 21 years of age and Fegan?s care for him had come to an end.

It is not known when Frank left Mr. Inglehart?s farm but Frank returned to England to visit his family in Caterham sometime after 1900. Whilst ?home? he spoke in a raw Canadian accent of the good life there was to be had in Canada. In 1910 his cousin George Atkins, of whom he had lived with when he was younger, took his wife Ethel (nee Howard) and two daughters, Dorothy Ethel, known as ?Doll? and Edna May over to Canada to live. By this time Frank was in partnership with Albert Smith, his future Father in law, owning a farm in Wentworth, Flamborough, near Aldershot, Ontario Canada and George and Ethel and their two daughters joined him there. In a letter written on the 25th September 1910 to his sister Eliza Jane, George wrote ?Frank has gone away for the week end to sing. I drove him as far as Burlington and I don?t know whether he will be back tonight or not. Young Doll does miss him?. Frank enjoyed being part of an amateur operatic and theatrical company and was a sought after soloist in the Hamilton area of Canada and later encouraged his cousin Edna to study piano and have voice training. She too became a sought after soloist and she and Frank performed many duets together.

Frank continued to thrive in his life and enjoy the partnership of the farm, and married on 30th April 1914 at the Smith home farm in Burlington, Aldershot, Ontario to Ida Louise Smith. Ida was the daughter of Albert William Smith and Emma Jane Bannister, both born in Ontario although Alberts origins were Welsh and Emma?s were English. Ida was an amazing artist doing large paintings, mostly in water colours, and it is said by family members who knew her that she had been to Paris for an art exhibition and was returning home on the ?RMS Titanic? and survived its sinking in 1912. Sadly, this cannot be confirmed as no trace of her can be found in the ships passenger or crew listings.

Frank and Ida were happily married for 34 years and had three daughters of whom all married and, between them, made Frank and Ida the proud Grandparents of 11grandchildren. Sadly, Ida died in 1950 and Frank, just two years later, in 1952. Their children were: Alice May Atkins, born April 30, 1916, at Aldershot, Ontario, Canada, died May 9, 1959, at Aldershot, Ontario, Canada; Marion Ethel Atkins, born June 30, 1918, at Aldershot, Ontario, Canada, died October 7, 1991, at Norfolk General Hospital, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada; and Frances Ruth Atkins, born May 2, 1923, at Aldershot, Ontario, Canada, died March 21, 1988 at Joseph Brant Hospital, Burlington, Ontario, Canada.

Frank?s Mother Eliza Jane eventually married in 1897 to James Champion a widower with three children. Frank had gained 2 step brothers and a step sister and in 1900 his mother gave birth to another son, James, a half brother to Frank. Sadly, Frank?s step father died in 1900 so they never met but his half brother James immigrated to Canada living nearby to Frank. 
ContributorsCreated : 2012-10-06 07:14:33 / From original database

Last Updated : 2012-10-19 17:00:10 /

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