Thomas John Barnardo
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Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish, Christian
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
and founder and director of homes for poor and deprived children. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, nearly 60,000 children had been taken in. Although Barnardo never finished his studies at the
London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and London Borough of Tow ...
, he used the title of 'doctor' and later secured a licentiate.


Early life

Barnardo was born in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland (then part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...
), in 1845. He was the fourth of five children (one died in childbirth) of John Michaelis Barnardo, a furrier who was of Sephardic Jewish descent, and his second wife, Abigail, an English woman and member of the
Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...
. Sometime before his first marriage in 1827 to Elizabeth O'Brien, John Michaelis emigrated from
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
via
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
to Dublin, where he established a business; he married twice and fathered children with both wives. The Barnardo family "traced its origin to
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, followed by conversion to the Lutheran Church in the sixteenth century". Barnardo wrote that, as a child, he was selfish and thought that everything that was not his should belong to him. However, as he grew older, he abandoned this mindset in favour of helping people experiencing poverty. Barnardo moved to London in 1866. It was during this time that he became interested in becoming a missionary.


Philanthropy

Barnardo established 'Hope Place'
ragged school Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th-century Great Britain, Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts and intended for society's most impoverished youngste ...
in the East End of London in 1868, his first attempt at aiding the estimated 30,000 'destitute' children in Victorian London. Many of these children were not only impoverished but orphaned, as the result of a recent
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
outbreak. For those unable to afford private education, the school offered education which although Christian-based, was not exclusively religion-focused, and worked to provide tutelage on various common trades of that time (for example,
newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band that has existed in various permutations since its founding in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tenness ...
and shoe-shiners). In 1870, Barnardo was prompted to form a boys'
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
at 18 Stepney Causeway after inspecting the conditions within which London's orphaned population slept. This was the first of 122 such establishments, caring for over 8,500 children, founded before he died in 1905. Significant provisions were available to occupants; infants/younger children were sent to rural districts in an attempt to protect them from industrial pollution, and teenagers were trained in skills such as carpentry and metal work, to provide them a form of basic financial stability. Barnardo's homes did not just accommodate boys; in 1876, the 'Girls' Village Home' in
Barkingside Barkingside is an area in Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes the major road junction of Fullwell Cross, which also gives its name to the locality near that roundabout. The area is situated 10.6 miles (17km) north east of Ch ...
was established, and by 1905, accommodated 1,300 girls who were trained for ' domestic occupation'. Another establishment, the 'rescue home for girls in serious danger', aimed to protect girls from the growing tide of
child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...
.R Praszkier & A Nowak. Social Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2012, Pp. 171 In addition to the various homes and schools established by Barnardo and his wife, Sara Louise Elmslie, a seaside retreat and hospital were also founded. From the foundation of the homes in 1867 to Barnardo's death, nearly 60,000 children had been taken in, most being trained and placed out in life. At his death, his charity cared for over 8,500 children in 96 homes.


Personal life

In June 1873, Barnardo married Sara Louise Elmslie (1842–1944), known as Syrie, the daughter of an
underwriter Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...
for
Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...
. Syrie shared her husband's interests in evangelism and social work. The couple settled at Mossford Lodge,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, where they had seven children, three of whom died in early childhood. A fourth child, Marjorie, had Down syndrome. One daughter, Gwendolyn Maud Syrie (1879–1955), known as Syrie like her mother, was married to wealthy businessman
Henry Wellcome Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome (21 August 1853 – 25 July 1936) was an American and British pharmaceutical entrepreneur. He founded the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Company with his colleague Silas Mainville Burroughs, Jr., Silas Bur ...
, and later to the writer
Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
, and became a socially prominent London interior designer. Barnardo died of
angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of part ...
in London on 19 September 1905, and was buried in front of Cairns House,
Barkingside Barkingside is an area in Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes the major road junction of Fullwell Cross, which also gives its name to the locality near that roundabout. The area is situated 10.6 miles (17km) north east of Ch ...
, Essex. The house is now the head office of the children's charity he founded, Barnardo's. A
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
stands outside Cairn's House.


Alleged Jack the Ripper suspect

At the time of the
Whitechapel murders The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel District (Metropolis), Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unso ...
, due to the supposed medical expertise of
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...
, various doctors in the area were suspected. Long after his death, Barnardo was named a possible suspect by Donald McCormick (1970) and Gary Rowlands (2005). Rowlands proposed that Barnardo's lonely childhood and religious zeal led him to kill prostitutes to clear them from the streets and to encourage them to place their children into his care. Only because of an accident in a swimming pool that left him deaf shortly after murdering Mary Kelly did he stop killing, as being deaf left him more vulnerable to capture. There is no evidence that Barnardo committed the murders, and critics of this theory have also pointed out that his age and appearance did not match any of the descriptions of the Ripper. Barnardo was well known in the East End, however, and would visit cheap boarding houses to talk to underprivileged customers. During one of these visits, he spoke to a group at 32 Flower and Dean Street, Whitechapel, during the period of the murders. One of the women drunkenly cried, 'We're all up to no good and no-one cares what becomes of us; perhaps some of us will be killed next.' He later viewed the body of Elizabeth Stride, Jack the Ripper's third
canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...
victim, at the mortuary and confirmed that she had been among those present.


Legacy – Barnardo's

After Barnardo's death, a national memorial was instituted to form a fund of £250,000 to relieve the various institutions of all financial liability and permanently place the entire work. William Baker, formerly the chairman of the council, was selected to succeed the founder of the homes as honorary director. Barnardo was the author of 192 books dealing with the charitable work to which he devoted his life. Barnardo's work was carried on by his many supporters under the name ''Dr Barnardo's Homes''. Following societal changes in the mid-20th century, the charity changed its focus from the direct care of children to
fostering Fosterage, the practice of a family bringing up a child not their own, differs from adoption in that the child's parents, not the foster-parents, remain the acknowledged parents. In many modern western societies foster care can be organised by t ...
and
adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...
, renaming itself ''Dr Barnardo's''. Following the closure of its last traditional orphanage in 1989, it took the still simpler name of ''Barnardo's''.


Controversies

There was controversy early on with Barnardo's work. Specifically, he was accused of kidnapping children without their parents' permission and of falsifying photographs of children to make the distinction between the period before they were rescued by Barnardo's and afterwards seem more dramatic. He openly admitted to the former of these charges, describing it as 'philanthropic abduction' and basing his defence on the idea that the end justified the means. In total, he was taken to court on 88 occasions, usually on the charge of kidnapping. However, being a charismatic speaker and popular figure, he rode through these scandals unscathed. Other charges brought against him included presenting staged images of children for Barnardo's 'before and after' cards and neglecting basic hygiene for the children under his care.


The charity today

The official mascot of Barnardo's is a bear called Barney.
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
was Barnardo's Patron from 1983 to 2016, when she handed over the role to The Duchess of Cornwall, who is now
Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...
. Its chief executive is Lynn Perry.


See also

*'' The Likes of Us'' *
Charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...
*
Orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
* Ragged School Museum *
List of Freemasons This page provides links to alphabetized lists of notable Freemasons. Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation which exists in a number of forms worldwide. Throughout history some members of the fraternity have made no secret of their involvem ...


Notes


References

;Attribution *


External links


British Home Child Group International – research site


{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnardo, Thomas John 1845 births 1905 deaths Adoption, fostering, orphan care and displacement Founders of orphanages Irish evangelicals Irish Protestants Irish Freemasons Irish people of Italian descent Irish people of German-Jewish descent Irish people of English descent Philanthropists from Dublin (city) Child welfare in the United Kingdom Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England 19th-century Irish philanthropists Irish Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in China People of Sephardic-Jewish descent Founders of charities