George Frederick Harman (born July 6, 1883) and James (Jim) Walter Harman (born June 14, 1885) came to Canada from England in 1898 as British Home Children. They lived with Paddy Nolan at Brudenell, Ontario until 1902. That is where George (Pa Harman) learned to play the violin. In 1902 George came to Cobalt, Ontario and worked in the mines until he caught pnemonia. George and Jim bought farms at Heaslip, Ontario. Both brothers were married in Canada. They had a sister Rose that came to Canada later and an older brother Bill (born July 14, 1881) who also came to Canada but lived most of his life in USA.
A humorous quote from the Temiskaming Speaker Newspaper from March 10, 1911 under the heading:
HEASLIP
Some of the boys and girls attended the ball in the Oddfellows Hall at Englehart. Mr. George Harman and Mr. Peter Flannigan acted as violinist. They are very fond of lemon pie and they absolutely refuse to play for any more parties unless they get lemon pie for lunch. Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Harman spend Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. P. Flannigan.
Little was known about the Harman family in England until the National Archives of Canada put up a British Home Children web page. On that site I found:
Home Children
HARMAN , George
Age: 14
Sex: M
Year of arrival: 1898
Microfilm reel: C-4542
Ship: SS Carthaginian
Port of departure: Liverpool
Departure Date: 9 Jun 1898
Port of arrival: Quebec
Arrival Date: 20 Jun 1898
Party: Southwark Cath. Emig. Com.
Destination: Ottawa, Ontario
Home Children
HARMAN , Walter
Age: 12
Sex: M
Year of arrival: 1898
Microfilm reel: C-4542
Ship: SS Carthaginian
Port of departure: Liverpool
Departure Date: 9 Jun 1898
Port of arrival: Quebec
Arrival Date: 20 Jun 1898
Party: Southwark Cath. Emig. Com.
Destination: Ottawa, Ontario
From this information I contacted the Southwark Catholic Emigration Society. They obtained birth certificates for the children and a marriage registration for the parents.
The parents were William Harman and Rose Constable. William was born in 1862 in Canterbury, Kent County, England. He died in the first quarter of 1890 in Canterbury. Rose was born in 1862 in Canterbury and died in 1897. They were married on March 20, 1881.
Much more Harman information would emerge over time.
Good to hear about your Harman family connections with the BHC. Thanks for sharing this information with us. My grandmother was also a BHC and came out in the early period of the BHC immigration program. 1872. She came out with a Maria Susan Rye and was placed out in Pontiac County across from Renfrew, Ontario. It was in this area that she met my grandfather Reuben Gilchrist and was married to him in 1892.