Stirling Archives Document of the Month July 2014
To give some idea of the archives available for access, we highlight a range of examples over the year by choosing a document of the month and publishing them on this local history web site.
The documents are selected by one of the members of staff at the Archives and help make visible the vast and varied historical sources available to researchers at the Archive.
The documents are selected by one of the members of staff at the Archives and help make visible the vast and varied historical sources available to researchers at the Archive.
Children of the Whinwell Home, Stirling: Mary, James & Isabella Reid
Whinwell was a Children’s Home in Stirling opened by Miss Annie Croall (1854-1927) in the 1890s. The Stirling Council Archives collection provides an insight into the social conditions and attitudes of the time, as well as revealing segments of the life stories of the individuals connected to Whinwell.
Mary Reid was born on 28 Dec 1897 in Causewayhead to parents James and Jane Reid. In 1899, James dies of stomach cancer, leaving Jane pregnant and with two children to care for. In Nov 1899, Jane admits Mary’s brother, James, to Whinwell. The application declares that the mother is not strong and the grandmother is on her deathbed. A letter from a local, Miss Balfour, speaks of the mother having been temporarily separated from her husband before he fell ill and she goes on to comment that “the boy of four is running wild... Of course, the father’s illness was brought on by drink but that is not the child’s fault”. She also claims that the Inspector of the Poor, Mr Morrison, “said she [the mother] was not fit to be trusted to bring up little girls”. However, in a letter written many years later Mr Morrison states “their father was an exceptionally decent man”.
Over the following two years, both James and Mary enter and leave Whinwell at the request of their mother. Jane finds work and is keen to keep the children at home but she struggles to control James who often stays out late at night despite his young age. Another child, Isabella Georgina, was born on 26 Feb 1900. By Oct 1901, their case file reads “another child born – father will not own it – no support, nothing coming in, starvation and trouble staring them in the face”. On Sat 19 Oct, Jane hands over James, Mary and Georgina “entirely with no after claim”.
The photos below show Mary, aged 4, and Georgina, aged 2. Both photos were taken in 1902 but it is clear the sisters have gone down different paths already.
Georgina was adopted on 20 May 1902 by Mr & Mrs Saunders in Liverpool. However, by 1908 she returns to a Children’s Home in Liverpool after Mr Saunders is unable to support her, having lost his wife and being out of work. Less than a year later she is adopted by Mr & Mrs Clarke. Georgina (now known as Isabella or Isa) speaks fondly of Mrs Clarke as a mother to her. Sadly, Mrs Clarke dies in June 1913 and by August Isabella has reported Mr Clarke to the Police for assault. At the court case, Isabella claims “he twice indecently assaulted her but she got away from him and on both occasions he was in drink... Clarke tried to choke her and when the doctor examined her there were marks of it round the neck.” The doctors couldn’t find evidence of indecent assault. Thomas Clarke was fined or to receive two months imprisonment.
The Whinwell case files reveal that “James and Mary have given a great deal of trouble, they are both delicate... Among all our 40 children resident at present in the Home, there are not two more needed a decided and prolonged change as the two Reids. They need constant care and attention. In fact I doubt if any medical man would certify them as fit subjects to live in a private family of their mother’s class.” On 23 Feb 1903, both James and Mary left Whinwell to enter the care of Barnado’s Homes in London. As was common at the time, both James and Mary were boarded out to families in Canada in 1906 and 1907, respectively. Miss Croall continued to receive updates on the children’s circumstances long after they had left Whinwell. In 1912, James was reported to have left the farm he had been placed at in Widder, Ontario to get work in town, saying he did not like farm work. Mary was living with a Mrs Vasey in Ontario and was reported to be “very much liked. She is not a strong girl but is making good progress.”
SCA Reference: PD41/5/12/606 & 607
Whinwell was a Children’s Home in Stirling opened by Miss Annie Croall (1854-1927) in the 1890s. The Stirling Council Archives collection provides an insight into the social conditions and attitudes of the time, as well as revealing segments of the life stories of the individuals connected to Whinwell.
Mary Reid was born on 28 Dec 1897 in Causewayhead to parents James and Jane Reid. In 1899, James dies of stomach cancer, leaving Jane pregnant and with two children to care for. In Nov 1899, Jane admits Mary’s brother, James, to Whinwell. The application declares that the mother is not strong and the grandmother is on her deathbed. A letter from a local, Miss Balfour, speaks of the mother having been temporarily separated from her husband before he fell ill and she goes on to comment that “the boy of four is running wild... Of course, the father’s illness was brought on by drink but that is not the child’s fault”. She also claims that the Inspector of the Poor, Mr Morrison, “said she [the mother] was not fit to be trusted to bring up little girls”. However, in a letter written many years later Mr Morrison states “their father was an exceptionally decent man”.
Over the following two years, both James and Mary enter and leave Whinwell at the request of their mother. Jane finds work and is keen to keep the children at home but she struggles to control James who often stays out late at night despite his young age. Another child, Isabella Georgina, was born on 26 Feb 1900. By Oct 1901, their case file reads “another child born – father will not own it – no support, nothing coming in, starvation and trouble staring them in the face”. On Sat 19 Oct, Jane hands over James, Mary and Georgina “entirely with no after claim”.
The photos below show Mary, aged 4, and Georgina, aged 2. Both photos were taken in 1902 but it is clear the sisters have gone down different paths already.
Georgina was adopted on 20 May 1902 by Mr & Mrs Saunders in Liverpool. However, by 1908 she returns to a Children’s Home in Liverpool after Mr Saunders is unable to support her, having lost his wife and being out of work. Less than a year later she is adopted by Mr & Mrs Clarke. Georgina (now known as Isabella or Isa) speaks fondly of Mrs Clarke as a mother to her. Sadly, Mrs Clarke dies in June 1913 and by August Isabella has reported Mr Clarke to the Police for assault. At the court case, Isabella claims “he twice indecently assaulted her but she got away from him and on both occasions he was in drink... Clarke tried to choke her and when the doctor examined her there were marks of it round the neck.” The doctors couldn’t find evidence of indecent assault. Thomas Clarke was fined or to receive two months imprisonment.
The Whinwell case files reveal that “James and Mary have given a great deal of trouble, they are both delicate... Among all our 40 children resident at present in the Home, there are not two more needed a decided and prolonged change as the two Reids. They need constant care and attention. In fact I doubt if any medical man would certify them as fit subjects to live in a private family of their mother’s class.” On 23 Feb 1903, both James and Mary left Whinwell to enter the care of Barnado’s Homes in London. As was common at the time, both James and Mary were boarded out to families in Canada in 1906 and 1907, respectively. Miss Croall continued to receive updates on the children’s circumstances long after they had left Whinwell. In 1912, James was reported to have left the farm he had been placed at in Widder, Ontario to get work in town, saying he did not like farm work. Mary was living with a Mrs Vasey in Ontario and was reported to be “very much liked. She is not a strong girl but is making good progress.”
SCA Reference: PD41/5/12/606 & 607
Mary Reid 1902
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Georgina (Isabella) Reid 1902
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