This is Part 3 of a three-part series about human trafficking in the 19th century. To read Part 1, click here. To read Part 2, click here.
The readers of this column have spent an anxious seven days wondering what became of a local girl who was spirited away from the Barrie Fair by a pair of human traffickers in 1928.
Although last week’s little cliffhanger was intentional, I didn’t anticipate so many would become so invested in the story and feel a strong need to learn her fate.
This was interesting to me and presented a bit of a parallel to the wait for news 95 years ago. Imagine how the girl’s mother felt, looking out the window, across dark farm fields, and waiting for word to come. The not knowing is the worst.
Fortunately, the wait for the Amos family was much shorter than that of the readers of this column, and the news was good. In fact, the story broke and was resolved so quickly that the Northern Advance reported on the disappearance and the outcome in one single issue.
“Between eleven and twelve o’clock Thursday night, a Barrie taxi drove up to the gate of the Amos farm and the girl was let out. Mr. Amos had not yet returned from Collingwood and many friends were trying to comfort his wife, who was on the verge of collapse.”
The reunion in that house must have been something to witness as the young woman was in a similar state as that of her mother.
“After her return, in a state bordering hysteria, it was impossible to get a clear statement of what had occurred, but by the afternoon of Friday, she was recovered sufficiently to inform her parents of meeting the other girl and being introduced to the man.”
The Amos girl was enjoying a ball-throwing game at the Barrie Fair midway when her newly met friends suggested she might also enjoy working for the midway outfit. She declined.
Soon, they were joined by a fourth person, a man who offered her $15 a week, plus expenses, to join them. Talk of furs and dresses further sweetened the pot, but the Amos girl was not taking the bait.
At last, the strangers remarked they would drive her home. Due to the lateness of the hour, she believed she had most likely missed her chance to ride home with her family. Still, she hesitated.
The second man had an answer for everything. He was a first cousin of a well-known Shanty Bay family and he had met the girl’s father on several occasions.
The young girl began to warm to the idea of getting into a car with these recently made acquaintances. They all had a lovely meal at one of the cafés near Five Points before their intended journey.
As they stood by the car, she showed some hesitation, and it was then that the door was opened and she was roughly pushed inside. At that moment, the Craighurst farm girl knew she was in trouble.
As the car headed up Bayfield Street, the girl protested that this was the wrong way. She was assured they intended to take a Midhurst route, but when an easterly turn became a westerly one, her heart sank again.
Whether overcome by emotion, or somehow drugged, she passed out and didn’t awaken until they were gassing up at Stayner. The next stop was the Globe Hotel in Collingwood, where she spent her night wide awake and terrified.
The plan wasn’t working out as hoped, it would appear, and the perpetrators were looking for a way out. Was it conscience or a desire to avoid arrest? In any case, the second man gave the girl some money to call home. He then drove her back to Barrie and hired a taxi to take her to her Craighurst home.
The outcome was anticlimactic, as the Northern Advance reported.
“The main conspirator had fled and the father was informed by the police that nothing more could be done. The fact that she had been returned to her home, and the man had not been found with her, would make it difficult to convict.”
Members of the Amos family have contacted me in the past few days and reported no mention of this episode was ever spoken of in their circles, in regard to any of the girls in the family. The story came as a complete surprise to them.
Each week, the Barrie Historical Archive provides BarrieToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past. This unique column features photos and stories from years gone by and is sure to appeal to the historian in each of us.
