The Story of Ernie Buckingham: A British Home Child Comes of Age in Early 20th Century Western Canada (LEIBRECHT GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH SERIES Book 3) [Print Replica] Kindle Edition

This is a story about Canadian immigrants in the early 20th century who braved the wilderness of western Canada in search of their dreams to become independent landowners. The book focuses on the harrowing story of Ernie Buckingham, a British Home Child who was orphaned by age 5, taken into foster care, and eventually deported to the harsh plains of Saskatchewan to work as an indentured servant for a homesteading couple who barely noticed him and mistreated cruelly. In spite of this inauspicious beginning, young Ernie eventually escaped his servitude and embarked on a 10-year series of challenging adventures that required his utmost ingenuity in order to survive countless hardships. Along the way he found solace in an unexpected companion, a violin that became his lifelong partner and ultimate salvation.Ernie’s long, perilous journey finally led him to the Shuswap Lake region of British Columbia, where he established a homestead, met the love of his life, and flourished in ways that undoubtedly exceeded his fondest hopes, even as tragedy continued to daunt him.In this book I have attempted to capture as many details of Ernie Buckingham’s remarkable tale of courage and redemption as I could obtain from available resources, which at times seemed to materialize almost magically, one after the other, from family members, newspaper clippings, and a tape recording that Ernie made a few months before his death in 1977. Each of these new discoveries add richness and dignity to the already colorful tapestry of Ernie’s life.Regrettably, I never got to know Ernie, never really got to meet him in a personal way, yet I have undertaken to write his story late in my life, more than 45 years after Ernie’s death, when the only people remaining with direct memory of Ernie are his grandchildren (one of whom is my wife). Even then, much of this story must be left to the selectivity of individual memories, subject to the haziness of time. I have become his grateful advocate, and it is my intent to honor Ernie with as much love, kindness, sensitivity, respect, tenderness, and objectivity as possible.Ernie Buckingham's story is one of loss and sadness, grief and yearning, hope and inspiration that has provided Ernie’s survivors and admirers with a special richness and poignancy that has changed us all for the better. We hope this tale will enrich the reader's life as well. Read more