Church of England Incorporated Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays

Intake Form

TRANSCRIBED INTAKE FORM:

* See # 21:  Consent for emigration was known as the Canada Clause.  

An organization could make a child’s admission contingent upon the parent signing the consent to emigration.

Letterhead:  Patrons

- Their Majesties the King & Queen

- Patron of the “Children’s Union”

- H.M. Queen Alexandra

- Presidents - His Grace the Lord Bishop of Canterbury and His Grace the Lord Archbishop of York

- Secretary - Rev. Prebendary Rudolf Secretary’s Assistant - H. M. Fowle, Esq.

Instructions:  APPLICATION FOR THE ADMISSION OF A CHILD

NOTE: This form, when filled up and certified by a Clergyman of the Church of England, should be returned with the medical certificate to Rev. Prebendary Rudolf, Secretary, Waifs and Strays Society.

IMPORTANT:  This page must be filled up (as concisely as possible) with a full and particular account of the child, its parents, family, etc. Details should be added here if Question 17 is answered in the affirmative.  The guarantee for payment (if any) should also be written here.  When signing this page please state permanent address and whether “Rev.,” “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” or “Miss.”  Please do not write on page 4.  Any additional particulars of the case should be written on foolscap.  Acknowledgment of the receipt of this application will be sent, but the Committee’s decision will be forwarded with the least possible delay.

QUESTIONS TO BE REPLIED TO.

1. Give the child’s christian names and surname in full.

Frederick George Snow. In the event of an application being made on behalf of more than one child, separate forms should be asked for.

2. State the exact date and place of birth: Please forward birth certificate if possible. September 1909, Larch Road, Balham. Birth Certificate:  No.

3. Legitimate? (Yes or No): Probably no (See Letter)

4. State exact date and place of baptism. St. Peter’s Church, South Croydon, October 1913

5. Are parents living? Yes

6. If either or both are dead, state nature of disease and give date of death: No

7. If living, give their exact places of abode, how long they have resided there, and rent paid.   Mother ___ Father ___ (See Letter)

8. Give the christian names and surnames of parents in full, and state their ages. Mother: Annie Gifford Age 39. Father: (See Letter)

9. What was, or is, the nature of the father’s occupation and the amount of his weekly earnings? Give the name and address of his present or last employer. (See Letter)

10. What was, or is, the nature of the mother’s occupation and the amount of her weekly earnings? Give the name and address of her present or last employer. (See Letter)

11. Have the parents or guardians ever received parish relief? If so, to what extent? No

12. Give the names, addresses, and ages, of all the brothers and sisters of the child and occupations and earnings (if any). Replies to this question must be very full and exact. No application can be received without full enquiry as to earnings having been made, and result stated. The name of the child upon whose behalf this application is being made should not be given here.

Probably sort of step brother and sister. Name: Amy Alice Snow Age: 6. Name: John Allen Snow Age: 8

13. At what address and with whom is the child now staying? C/o Miss Westoby, Children’s Convalescent Home, Brighton Road, South Croydon.

Give in full the names, addresses, occupations, and earnings of each living relative the child is known to possess, either on the father’s or mother’s side, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts. Replies to this question must be very full and exact. No application can be received without full enquiry as to earnings of relatives having been made, and result stated.

Please see letter. It is impossible to answer this question correctly as will be seen from the letter, only the mother’s own rightful husband (on whom the child has no claim) has very uncertain employment, often being out of work, at best he has about 30 shillings per week for 8 months out of the 12 months. He is Mr. Snow, the Stables, Dean Road, Croydon.

15. State whether any of the child’s relatives are, in your judgment, in a position to maintain the child or to contribute in any degree? No

16. Can payment for the child be guaranteed from any source exclusive of the relatives? If so, by whom? State full name and address. No

17. Has the child ever been convicted? Has his or her character been affected in any way by exceptional knowledge of evil? No

18. Ever attended day school? If so, where and for how long, and in what standard? Too young.

19. Ever attended Sunday school? If so, where and for how long. No

20. Ever been in the Workhouse? If so, where and for how long. No

21. I, J. G. Snow of Dean Cottage, Dean Road, South Croydon (guardian) of Frederick George do hereby commit him wholly to the care of the Society, and promise to obey the rules in force, and to permit the said child to be brought up in the Faith of the Church of England, and when fully trained to be sent to any situation in the United Kingdom, which may be obtained for him by the Committee.

Signature: John George Snow. Date: October 3, 1913.

Signature of Witness: V. Inez Reeve Address: St. Peter’s Vicarage Croydon

22. I also hereby give my consent to the child being emigrated to Canada, if he or she is found suitable and if the Committee consider it advisable.

Signature of Witness: V. Inez Reeve

Signature: John George Snow.

(If consent to emigration is not given, this space should be left blank)

N.B. - Preference will be given to those cases in which consent to emigration is expressed.

I certify that the foregoing questions have been correctly replied to, to the best of my belief.

Name: Arthur Reeve Address: St. Peter’s Vicarage, Croydon. Incumbent of St. Peter’s, Croydon.

Date October 2, 1913

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:

7. It is not known where the father and Mother of Frederick George Snow are?

9. Nothing is known about the child’s own father.

10. It is not known as to whether the Mother earns anything or not. She took to drinking dreadfully, & the short time she was home last, she tried to pawn everything she could, to buy drink.

12. The only real brother (or sister) is a tiny baby.

14. Being an illegitimate child it is difficult to answer all this question, but the Mother’s Mother is known to be dead, and the Mother’s Father is a very old man, receiving Old Age Pension.

21. The Mother having deserted the child, has no right to say where the child shall now go or not go, & as she has run away & it is not known where she is, it would not in any case be able to ask her.  The poor man with whom the child was left, is only too thankful for the child to be taken care of anywhere in England or abroad, & he naturally never wishes to see it again, for although he is a most kind man with children, (& was to this one too) this Frederick, naturally only causes him pain.

N.B. It has only just been found out lately that this child - Frederick - has not been baptized, but he is going to be next week when the Matron, who is now away, returns home. He will be baptized in the name of Frederick George.

The mother of Frederick George Snow, is the second wife of John George Snow, by whom she had two children, Amy Alice Snow & John Allen Snow. Her husband had a grown up son by his first wife, called William Henry Snow - who is nine years younger than his stepmother Annie Gifford.  Annie Gifford turned out a very bad woman, & behaved very disgracefully with her stepson, in such a manner that when Frederick George was born, this woman’s own husband did not own this child, but says it undoubtedly is his eldest son’s child. 

Shortly after this the woman ran away with her stepson, taking only Frederick (the baby) with her. About a year ago the woman returned, bringing Frederick with her, and another baby William Henry born 29/8/1912 (hers and her stepson’s).  She stayed with her own husband, and her two eldest children for a month or two, and ran away again to join her stepson again, this time taking only her baby with her and deserting Frederick - leaving him to the mercy of - not his own father, but his wife’s legitimate husband, John Snow.

This man was very good to the child, although it was not his, and he had been so wronged, but having the two children of his own to work for & feed & clothe, and having very little work to do, they were almost at starvation’s door.  The Reverend A. Reeve, Vicar of St. Peter’s, Croydon then sent this deserted waif to the ‘Children’s Convalescent Home’, Brighton Road, South Croydon, where he has been ever since. This is such a drain on St. Peter’s Poor Fund, that Mr. Reeve finds he can do it no longer.

NOTE:

This Intake Form contained many mistakes and inaccuracies.  It did provide small clues that proved to be vital in establishing the truth regarding my father’s “coming into care” and ultimately identifying his parents and six siblings.