| No. in Admissions Register: | 462 |
| Age: | 12 |
| Whence received: | Stafford Gaol |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Brown |
| Eyes colour: | Grey |
| Visage: | - |
| Particular marks: | - |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission and term: | 13 January 1872 4 years |
| Late residence: | West Bromwich |
| Parish he belongs to: | West Bromwich |
| Customary work and mode of life: | Iron work |
| Whether illegitimate: | - |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Imperfectly |
| Writes: | - |
| Offence: | Stealing 20s |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Reported to be a regular young thief |
| Date of sentence, by who and court: | 23 December 1871, West Bromwich Petty Sessions, J A Kenrick and W Williams |
| Where imprisoned: | Stafford |
| Sentence: | 21 days prison (hard labour), 4 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | One |
| Length: | 7 days and whipping |
| For what: | Stealing money |
| Father’s name: | William Bliss |
| Occupation: | Shoemaker |
| Mother's name: | Helen Bliss |
| Occupation: | - |
| Parents dead? | Neither |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents’ treatment of child: | Good |
| Character of parents | Good |
| Parents’ wages: | 16s per week |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | 1s per week |
| Parents address: | Overend Street, West Bromwich |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | - |
| Person making this return: | - |
[brother to Henry, 'Harry', boy 497, to see his record click here ]
30 January 1875 Emigrated to Canada
10 August 1875 Received a long and interesting letter from him. Lives with a gentleman at Malton, 18 miles from Toronto: July 18th 1875, Sir, It is with best love and wishes I write this letter to you, hoping you are well, which I am happy to say I am myself. I send kind love to you and mistress, and wish you many thanks, Mr Birkmire as well. I shall never forget the last time when the mistress squeezed my hand - I thought she was never going to release it. I wish you and Mr Birkmire many thanks for teaching me what you have. I am working for a kind old gentleman, and he likes me very much. I am up 5 o'clock morning, milking cows, feed horses, work in fields, harvesting. I have fell in with a few friends, who came out of the old country. My master had me a week on trial, after, he wanted to hire me for the year. He asked me how much I wanted. I said 8 dollars per month, and he said I was rather too strong, so I said 7. I told him I would try and do my best, and so I have, and they like me very well indeed. I have all kinds of nice things to eat, such as custary cherry pie, jam tart, milky tea or coffee, every meal, whichever I like, and as much bacon and meat as ever I like. If ever you tell the boys this, it will make their mouths water, I know. Please tell Mr Birkmire all particulars, so that I need not write a letter to him, as the old saying is, a penny saved is a penny gained, so I think of him all the time. I send kind love to brother Harry, and tell him I shall not forget him, and when his time expires I may come over to dear old England again, and when I do see him again I hope that we shall both be men and know right from wrong. And also know I feel a brother's love. I think of him every last night. I know all the boys think it very hard to be be there, and I thought so myself, but when you do have liberty again you will find it sweeter to you than it was before. Sir, men are looking for boys every day, and I am sure that if the boys meant to stop over here they would soon get a farm of their own. Married men are allowed 200 acres of land; single men over 18 years of age. I am sure I am as happy as the days are long, for if I ever do come over to England, I shall never stop, not if things go on as they are now.
June 24th 1875, Left Liverpool on board steamship Sarmatian 4800 tons registers under Neville. Ireland on the morning of the 25th. Laid to for 17 hours, waiting for mails from London
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