This is my grandma, to me this is how she always looked; soft white
hair, thick glasses and knitting.
Margaret
Jane Kerr:
Born: May 2,1889 Ballystrudder,
Died: August 28, 1987 Langley, BC, Canada
Kerr Family
from Northern Ireland
Margaret Jane Kerr was my grandmother. She had a difficult youth but persevered to become a productive member of the Canadian society.I have some information on Maggie and her family but not a lot. As we find with genealogy, family stories are often woven together from bits of information. It is only when one looks at the family records that you can tell what really happened. (although I approach some of the non-legal information with skepticism, especially when someone gives their view of what was happening)
Maggie's Birth
Maggie Jane Kerr was born on the 2nd of May 1889 in a very small village called Ballystrudder, Islandmagee (map). Islandmagee is not an island, but rather a peninsula. It is located on the East coast of Ireland, in the County of Antrim. It is north of Belfast and Carrickfergus; on a clear day you can see Scotland.Maggie's birth certificate notes that John Kerr, her father, lived in Scotch Quarters, Carrickfergus. Jane Haveron was present at the birth, she lived in Mullaghdoo, Ilsandmagee. Maggie was the first born to John and Martha. Maggie's mother, Martha Kerr (nee Haveron) probably gave birth to Maggie at her mother's house; Martha's mother's name was Margaret Haveron (nee Hamilton.) So Jane Haveron may have been Martha's paternal aunt. It seems that Maggie was named after her grandmother Margaret and Jane who was at her birth.
If you look on the map (linked above) you can see that Ballystrudder is not far from Carrickfergus (yes, like the song). Maggie was baptised in the Joymount Presbyterian Church in Carrickfergus.
Interestingly, it is her baptismal register that lists her more formal name - Margaret Jane Kerr - and also states that her place of birth is Carrickfergus not Ballystrudder as listed on her birth certificate. The birth cert gives her name as Maggie Jane Kerr.
I suspect her parents, John Kerr and Martha Haveron, thought that the baptismal record was more formal and that they should write her name as Margaret. Regardless, she was known as Maggie at least for her first 12 years of life, the 1901 census shows her as Maggie Kerr. So I will call her Maggie until she gets married in 1910.
John Kerr and Martha Haveron- Maggie's parents
Her father was John Kerr of Scotch Quarters Carrickfergus. This area of town, right by the castle, was a place where many immigrants from Scottish decent lived so he may have been of Scottish decent.
There is a well known song about Carrickfergus.
On the birth information John's profession is listed as labourer, although the family stories say he was a seaman.
John and Martha were married at the 1st Presytyerian Chruch in Islandmagee.
John and Martha's wedding entry.
Martha was born on the 6th of March 1867 to William Haveron and Margaret Hamilton.
John and Martha had two children - Maggie Jane and Marry Annie
Martha died in 1895 from tuberculosis. She had a sister Nancy Laverty (age 38 in 1899). Nancy's husband was a quarryman, he earned 16s. per week, had 4 children and lived in Whitehead which is close to Carrickfergus.
Mary Annie Kerr
Mary was born on the 23rd of June, 1891. She married James Cunninghamin on June 4th, 1913 in the city of Ottawa in the county of Carleton, Ontario Canada.
At the time, James, a batchelor, was living in Eastview, an area of Ottawa Ontario and was 29 years old. His occupation is listed as lithographer. He was a Baptist. He was born in Isle of Man and did not know his mother or father's names. James had lived in the municipality of Ottawa since 1893. (I wonder if he also was a homechild, as he didn't know his parent's names and he would have only been 9 when he moved to Ottawa)
Mary was a 22 year old spinster of the Baptist faith. She lived in Hurdman's Bridge, also in the Ottawa area. She lists her parents as John Kerr and Martha Haveron. (so I know this is the correct document) Mary states that she was born in Dublin, although it is more likely she was born in Belfast or Carrickfergus.
Mary and James had at least two children: Jimmy and Audrey. Jimmy married and had a daughter Joan Cunningham. Joan was born July 15 , 1941.
I'm not sure if Mary or Jimmy was born first, but I do know that the first born was born in about April 1914. (listed on Attestation papers page 1, and page 2)
In October 1915 when James enlisted for the Canadian over-seas expeditionary forces he had already served 3 years in the 2nd C.A.A. and 2 years P.L.D.G. (5th).
We have a Christmas card from Pte. James Cunningham, written on Thrusday November 28, 1918. 4th Canadian division France and Belgium. The inside of the card is here.
How did the kerr girls end up in Canada?
Between 1869 and the late 1930s, over 100,000 juvenile migrants were sent to Canada from Great Britain during the child emigration movement (they were called homechildren and many were sent to Canada and Austrailia by an organization headed up by a man named Thomas Barnardo). Motivated by social and economic forces, churches and philanthropic organizations sent orphaned, abandoned and pauper children to Canada. Many believed that these children would have a better chance for a healthy, moral life in rural Canada, where families welcomed them as a source of cheap farm labour and domestic help. (collectionsanada.gc.ca)
The family story that I heard from relatives, goes that when Mary was born their mother Martha died. John knew someone in Canada and sent the girls to live abroad with this family.
But the reality is that both Maggie and Mary were Homechildren and were taken from their father.
Although this is different from the family story, I believe that it is true. In this document received from the Barnardo's children's society in England, you can see the purported conditions that they lived in and the details of their removal. Barnardo's send me photographs of Maggie and Mary when they were accepted into a boarding home in England and they are listed on the English 1901 census. They had been living with their father John Kerr (age 33 in 1899) in less than desirable conditions in Carrickfergus. John was considered to be "quite unfit to have the care of girls" On September 27, 1899 the girls were taken from their father and sent to the boarding home in England. From there they were sent to a boarding house called the Girls Village Home in Barkingside England.
In those days 'well meaning' people
took children from motherless families
because living with your father was not a proper way to bring
up girls. We will
never know if the living situation
described in the document was true or an exaggeration of the truth to
give the
girls 'a better home'.
Maggie lived with and worked for Mrs. W. S. Snedden in Blakeney near Almonte Ontario. Mary lived with another family, Maggie was 12 and Mary was only 9. From the Barnardos’ records it seems that Maggie didn't see Mary until after Sept 26, 1904. It also appears that after this time Maggie may have moved or had someone else taking care of her, as the Barnardo records show a Mrs. L in Nov 1905 and Mrs. R in 1906, 07and 08.
On September 11, 1908 Maggie went to
work for
Mrs. H. H. Galloway in Alameda, Saskatchewan N. W. T. It was difficult
for
Maggie to correspond with her father as she had to send the letters to
Barnardos first and they forwarded them to John.
John's letters were forwarded to Maggie but
the return address was erased.
On January 12, 1913 a letter was sent from Fort William by a W. F. McLeod asking about where Margaret was living. The reply dated 20 January from Peterboro states she is married and living in Saskatchewan.
In 8.1. 1946 Mary replies to a letter from Barnardo's telling them that her sister Margaret is living in Alameda Saskatchewan is married and has 5 children.
The next document states that Margaret is now Mrs. William Davis. (sorry they are sideways)
