James Alexander Lindsey grew up in Morant Bay, Jamaica, where he lived alone with his father Alex. His mother, Rosanna, died when James was young.
Eager to explore the world, James took on a job as a sailor on a ship called ‘Samuel’, which took him to the harbour city Hamburg in Germany.
By the time James arrived in Germany, he had enough of his adventures and desired to return home. He decided to go to England before finding passage back to Jamaica, believing it would be easier to find suitable travel in England.
James used one of his two gold coins to pay for his travel to England. He managed to get a few odd jobs to pay for his travels to London, but eventually found himself out of work, wandering the street for months tired, hungry and desperate.
In November 1887 James went to Barnardo’s for help. Unable to take him into the children’s homes because of his age, Barnardo’s donated him a shilling, worth approximately £4.10 today, to find a ship home.
But luck was not on his side. Being unable to find a ship to Jamacia, a few days later James returned to Barnardo’s. He was admitted into Barnardo’s care and agreed to stay at the Youth Labour Workhouse, where he worked, and part of his wages were used towards his board and lodging.
In March 1888 James was finally able to get on a ship and went back to Jamaica to reunite with his father.’
With thanks to Ripton Lindsay for the additional information about James, provided to Barnardo’s.
