As part of the events being planned to celebrate my Village's 150th Anniversary in 2008 I am undertaking to write a piece on the British Home Children who came to this area.
I have discovered a brother and two sisters from Chetnole, Dorset by the name of Bowditch who came here in 1897....Harry, Mary & Harriet.
On the marriage certificate of one of the girls she listed her parents as Nicodemus Bowditch & Lucy Peach.
I have found out from the marriage of Nicodemus that his parents were John Bowditch, son of Matthew and his wife was Mary Bowditch, daughter of William, all of Thorncombe.
I found Nico & Lucy on the 1881 census and have John & Mary in 1861 in Pilsden Village, on the 1871 in Melbury Bubb and on the 1881 census, they are in Melbury Osmond.
1881 says thar John was born in Thorncombe and Mary was born in Wooten-Fitzpaine.
I found a baptism for a Mary BOWDIDGE to William & Elizabeth 27 Jan 1828 and a marriage in the same place for William Bowdidge & Elizabeth Newberry 25 Jan 1809. Have no idea if these are the right folks or not!
I did find a marriage in Sherborne District Dec Q 1880 For Nico & Lucy and the births of several possible children in the same district.
Also found a death for Lucy Peach Bowditch at age 37 in Sept Q 1894 in Sherborne and the birth of Arthur Edward in the same Q and his death in the Dec Q of the same year. I am assuming that Lucy die din childbirth and that Nico was forced to put his children in an orphanage. They were sent to Canada from The Canadian Emigrant Society in Bristol, Gloucester in 1897.
Any help greatly appreciated. Would love to hear from anyone who might be descended from this line as well.
Pat Marshall
Stirling, Ontario