Sometimes, when I want to learn more about a database, like what kind of information it is going to return, I’ll so a search for a name. Any random name will do. But I get tired of “John Smith.” Why does it always have to be a man anyway? So, I’ve gotten into the habit of being a bit more creative with the names I use.

I was doing some research on the different migration groups into Canada and happened upon the British Home Children. England developed a system of shipping orphaned or poor children to Canada to find them homes with families. Similar to the Orphan Train system that happened in the U.S. Some of the children found themselves in good homes and were treated like part of the family, and others, not so much, being treated more like servants or worse.

There is a database at the Library and Archives Canada website that contains information on various British Home Children. (Note: When I first did this research, her name was spelled Birdwistle in the database. A search today on their new site shows the name as “Birdwhistle.” Also, the digital image would not load last time I tried. So much for website “upgrades.”) So here is a screenshot of the old version for Elizabeth Birdwistle’s entry:

So, not only is Elizabeth Birdwistle an orphan who has been shipped off to a whole new land, she also forgot her brother’s picture and was hoping to get it back. I don’t know if she ever did. I don’t know if she ever saw her brother again. But I can tell you that I researched her forward in time and learned some more about her.

Elizabeth was living with the Kempster family in Chicago in 1880. By 1900, the Kempsters had moved to Seattle, but Elizabeth did not go with them. She stayed in Chicago where she lived and worked as a washwoman. She never married. On 18 April 1921, she was crossing the street near her home and was struck by a car and killed. Her death certificate tells the story:

If you can’t read it, it says that the cause of death was “From shock and injuries caused by being struck and knocked down & run over by a Hudson Sedan 5 Passenger while deceased was crossing from West to East on Broadway & Granville Ave.”

She never had children. No one is looking for her. So I check in on her from time to time, finding a new tidbit about her life every now and then.

Have you adopted any ancestors? You should give it a try. It can help learn new things and bring some stories to life for people that may have been forgotten.