Home is always where the heart is. For Ernest Vickerman, a part of his heart stayed in Canada long after he returned home to England.
Ernest, then a young lad of 12, arrived in Canada in May of 1906 on the ship SS Tunisian. He was a Home Boy from England, an orphan travelling with many other Home Children including his brother Lewis.
His parents and siblings had been admitted to the Hackney Workhouse (Poor House) in 1895. After the parents died Ernest and Lewis, like so many other orphans and impoverished children in England at the time, were sent to Canada. The brothers were separated upon arrival.
While some Home Children had very sad stories to tell, Ernest was a decidedly good news story.
Ernest Vickerman, Emigrant Number 6242, was sponsored by Werner J. Yungblut and his father-in-law, Henry Diehl. The Diehl family lived on Concession 5 (Sebastopol Road), Lot 28 in South Easthope Township. It’s not certain where the Yungbluts farmed but it would have been in the general area.
Ernest was placed first with Werner and Maggie Yungblut and then with Henry and Margaret Diehl and their many children. The Diehl’s story is told in “Country Roads - The History of South Easthope”. The homes were, in every respect, wonderful placements. The little boy Ernest, orphaned, all by himself, English speaking in a home where German was the spoken language not only survived, he thrived.
Official reports were kept on all the Home Children. They were visited on a regular basis and their sponsors were paid on a regular basis.
Extracts from official reports written about Ernest over the years state:
November 19, 1906 ... Ernest is a bright cheerful lad, likes farm life. Is well cared for. The people are kind to him. Does chores. Attends Church and School.
March 18, 1908 ... Ernest has gone to live with H. Diehl. Terms $40 from April 1908 for one year or $35 and winter’s schooling.
September 1, 1909 ... Mr. D. speaks well of Ernest. This is a very comfortable German home and EV says they are kind to him. He is getting fair wages. Attends church regularly.
December 1910 ... EV says that he likes his home and had a good time at Christmas.
May 27, 1912 ... He seems a strong, well set up lad. He has charge of a pair of horses. Speaks German well and is a regular attendant at the Lutheran Church where he was confirmed last year. Bought a bicycle last year for which he paid $45. He has about $40 saved.
1913 ... Ernest called today. He is attending Business College here (Stratford) and boards on Waterloo Street, going home to the Diehl’s on the weekends.
In June 2023, some 117 years after Ernest Vickerman arrived in Canada as a Home Boy, his descendants and their friends came from Australia and New Zealand to see Canada and specifically to see first hand where Grandad had lived during his formative years.
They brought with them Official Records, some of which are described above, a picture of Ernest in his later years and wonderful stories of how his life unfolded after he left Sebastopol Road.
They wanted, if at all possible, to learn more about his time as a Home Boy. The Historical Society was happy to oblige. The “Country Roads” story painted an excellent detailed picture of the Diehl family. That was the start. The Vickerman family learned what Tavistock was like in the early 1900s ... Saturday nights when all the farmers and their families came to town to shop and to socialize, the importance of church in a rural community, schooling and so much more. Then it was time for a road trip to see Trinity Lutheran Church and travel up Sebastopol Road to the former Diehl farm. Thanks to the kindness of the current owners, the family walked the land that Grandad had helped farm all those years ago. Lots of photos ... some Lemp Studio Collection pictures of Tavistock long ago, some Diehl farm photos kindly provided by the subsequent owners, and many new pictures taken to show what the community looks like today.
What happened to Ernest? Granddaughter Pat spoke highly of Grandad. She knew he had enlisted for WW1 but was turned down because of his flat feet. Instead of serving in the army, Ernest moved to Buffalo to work in a munitions factory. In 1925 Ernest returned to England to see a brother who had never left the country. He married an English girl named Edith. True to his work ethic, they were married at 8 am in the morning at Heybridge Church near Malden ... an early hour so that Ernest would not miss a day’s work. Ernest tried to convince his bride to move to Canada, a country where he had such good memories. Edith wasn’t moving. Ernest and Edith had one daughter, Joan, in 1926. Edith died in 1945 and Ernest passed away in 1979.
Pat remembers that Grandad was a Bible reader, a gardener and enjoyed half a beer each week. Whenever he whistled it was almost always to the tune “Onward Christian Soldiers”. This is a good Lutheran hymn, most likely learned when young Ernest lived with the Diehl family and attended Trinity Lutheran Church on Sebastopol Road.
Good memories, old and new.

** The photo shows Ernest as a young man.