Mary Janeway: The Legacy of a Home Child

June M. Blurton is a retired speech/language pathologist.

The British government thought they were giving orphaned children a
better chance in life when it sent them to the “colonies” between
1870 and the 1930s. However, funds to provide adequate supervision of
their placements were lacking, and many children were very badly
treated.

This novel is based on the life of one of these “home children.”
Born in Scotland in 1883, Mary Janeway was sent to Canada with her three
youngest siblings in 1891. The children were split up and Mary was sent
to live with the Jacques family on their farm in southwestern Ontario.
Mrs. Jacques was a semi-invalid, confined to a wheelchair, and her
illness contributed to her short temper. Eight-year-old Mary cooked,
cleaned, mended and, tended the fire for the whole family, but nothing
she did elicited praise from them. She worked 14- to 16-hour days, did
not have enough to eat, and was seldom included in social events. In the
nearly eight years she spent on the farm, she made only two real
friends. One was her beloved cat, Mustard, that lived in the barn; the
other was Josie, a classmate she met when she was grudgingly allowed to
attend school.

Although not particularly well written, the book (which includes very
good photos of places and people Mary would have seen) will appeal to
anyone interested in Canadian social history.