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- In the 1901 Census living at 147 Mere Lane, Walton on the Hill, Liverpool, Lancs was Thomas Atherton Head M 51 Seaman b. Preston, Lancs, Ann Atherton Wife M 50 b. Scotland, Thomas Atherton Son 16 Tramway Points Boy b. Liverpool, Charlotte Atherton Dau 15 b. Liverpool, Henry Atherton Son 12 b. Liverpool, Alice Atherton Dau 10 b. Liverpool, Esther Atherton Dau 8 b. Liverpool. Also at home was Minnie Dean Step Dau 17 b. Liverpool, Edith Dean Step Dau 14 b. Liverpool.1911?
Esther (Atherton) KING was a British Home Child (Barnardo's). Both she and her sister Alice apparently were placed in the home in Liverpool by the stepmother Ann when Thomas was away at sea. After 3? years in care Esther at age 13 was sent to Canada but Alice was ill at the time of sailing and stayed behind. There was a stigma attached to being a home child - lots were abused physically and emotionally - but Esther went to a good family. Unlike a lot of BHC, Esther kept in touch with her English family. She was in England during WW1 when her husband was serving in the Canadian Over-seas Expeditionary Force. She sailed to and from England during the war, which would have been a harrowing experience.
As well as marrying William KING's grandnephew, I grew up across the street from Esther's house in Streetsville, Ontario (there is a photo of the house on my tree). The portrait of Thomas & Margaret ATHERTON hung in their living room. It was quite large - my husband's cousin had to get it copied at a commercial store because of the size.
Make sure to look at the WW1 embroidered postcards in William KING's profile. They may not be of interest as far as your tree or one-name study goes, but they surely are beautiful and the sentiments & messages are sweet. There is a Canadian writer Jennifer Robson who published a book called 'Somewhere in France' and Thomas often writes that on the postcards to not give away a soldier's location.
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