Through the eyes of Children: finding Home in Brome County
May 20, 2023 - April 6, 2024
Produced by the Lac-Brome Museum, this exhibition presents the history of the British Home Children.
This mass immigration program was organized by Annie MacPherson, along with support from a few different organizations including Barnardo's and some church-run charities. It ran from 1869-1936 and sent nearly 100,000 children from the United Kingdom to Canada as hired labourers, as well as to Australia and what was then Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe).
One of the Distribution Homes founded by Annie MacPherson was located in Knowlton, on the corner of Lakeside and Hillside. This home welcomed almost 5000 children to Canada until it closed in 1915, with many (though not all) being settled in Brome County. This important part of our local history has touched nearly every person in the area in one way or another, either as a descendant of a Home Child or as a host family. The exhibition presents the history of the Home Child program, in addition to stories of real Home Children as shared by their descendants and from the collections of local archives.
Exhibition & Curatorial Credits
Through the eyes of Children: finding Home in Brome County was produced by the Lac-Brome Museum. The exhibition was curated by Rachel Lambie, with art design, graphic design, and exhibition design provided by Taís da Costa. All photographs are courtesy of our accredited archives centre and our archivist, Anne-Marie Charuest, unless otherwise stated. We also want to recognize the families who gave us their stories to display: The Partingtons (Mason family); the Wesbrooms (Krainyk family); the Roberts-Burcombes; the Wilsons; the Joneses; the Windles (Barnes family); the Bests; and to the archives of Heritage Sutton.
Exhibition installation support was provided by Jack and Jane Walker, Kevin Crouse, John Davidson, Tristan Caron, Lisa Belanger, and Gabe Paglia. Translation provided by Anne-Marie Charuest.
Financial & In-kind Partners
The installation of this exhibition would not have been possible without the incredible generosity of our donors and sponsors. The Lac-Brome Museum extends its profound thanks to Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications, the Pacte Rurale Brome-Missisquoi, the Town of Brome Lake, and some private donors.
Home Child Descendants
Interested descendants are invited to get in touch with us with their family’s story or for help with further research. See details.