Rebecca Lee: Great-great grandmother.

Rebecca appears to be heavily pregnant in this photo. It has been suggested by family that it was her wedding day photo, along with that of Sydney, below. 

Rebecca is a great-great grandmother on our mother's father's side of the family. She was born on 8 July 1828 in Gilscot Cottage in the village of Alwington, on the banks of the Yeo River near Bideford, in Devon, England. She had a sister, Ann, before her mother died in 1833. There were other siblings, Mary, Thomas, George and William. Some were half-siblings, as Rebecca's father was married three times. Her mother was the second wife. There were no children with the third wife - they were in their 60s when they married, both widowed, in order to care for each other.

At age 20, on 16 May 1849, Rebecca married John Matthews, and they had a baby daughter on 8 Sep 1849. Perhaps because she was pregnant, the marriage was recorded as being at the Registry Office.

John suffered from what was called "Miners' Disease"(probably tuberculosis) and it was thought that the climate might be better for him in Australia, which was at that time keen to have assisted and unassisted immigrants. On 2 Oct, 1849, when their baby was less than a month old, they left Plymouth aboard the ship "Maitland" for their new life in the Colony.  Accompanying them was sister Ann and her husband, Abraham Glover.

The Maitland arrived at Port Phillip on 9 Jan 1850. It must have been a gruelling journey for Rebecca, with a very young baby, and a husband whose condition must have been deteriorating during the 3 month journey, for he died 3 days after arrival, still on board the ship. The cause was given as Phthisis - a term for tuberculosis.

This left Rebecca destitute. The ship's passenger list shows that was assigned as a servant to a Mr Glass for a period of 3 months, at payment of 10 pounds per annum plus rations.

She must have left that his employ, because some time later she working for a family named Scales, at Wollert, near Epping, north of Melbourne.

Here she met Sydney Smith, who had come from Staffordshire in England. He had been trained to take the place of his father in business in England, but before commencing, had been sent to Australia for one to two years. It is thought that he arrived in Tasmania on a "Henty" ship called the H Rockwell, along with some friends, on 22 February 1844. He was so taken by the different kind of life that he wrote home and asked his father if he may remain longer. Permission was refused. He wrote again, and receiving no reply, decided to stay anyway.

For six years Sydney was employed as chief harpooner on a Henty whaling ship. He eventually tired of the roughness of the work and the quarrelsomeness of the men, so left the boat, sailed to Victoria and found work near Epping.

Rebecca and Sydney married on 5 August 1850 in a church at Janefield (now called Morang), near Epping.

Rebecca found herself living in a small bluestone farmhouse which Smith purchased in 1853 for 325 pounds. Here she bore 12 children (5 daughters and 7 sons), and buried perhaps two. Her first child, Mary Ann was treated as Sydney's child, and was called Mary Ann Smith. Mary Ann died in 1906 of tuberculosis. Her eldest son, also named Sydney, became our great-grandfather.

See further photos below

Rebecca Smith, nee Lee, died on 19 April, 1880 aged only 51. The cause was "polypus uteri septicaemia", ie septicaemia caused by uterine polyps. As with all early dignoses, care must be taken to equate it to a modern diagnosis. She died at the "lying-in-hospital" in Melbourne, which was to become the Royal Women's Hospital. It sounds as if it were something gynaecological. Perhaps she had an operation to remove polyps and an infection ensued? Whatever the case, she would have experienced much discomfort, including bleeding, discharge and pain.

As for her siblings,  sister Mary went to Adelaide with her husband, a cousin of sister Ann's husband. Youngest brother William went to Tasmania where he farmed. Their eldest brother Thomas was a sailing ship captain, trading from Liverpool to New York. The ship disappeared on a voyage. Their other brother, George, stayed in England and farmed, or perhaps he went to America. Rebecca never saw Mary, William, Thomas or George again. In 1940, Rebecca's daughter, Rebecca, wrote from her home in Brisbane that she remembers when word came that her grandfather in England had died [it was 1875].

I often marvel at the strength and forebearance of women such as Rebecca. Not only did she leave her family in England, upon arrival she was immediately destitute - widowed, with a tiny baby, who stayed with her. There was no going back. She was at the mercy of what fate would deliver. The best prospects for a woman in her situation was to marry again quickly, which she did. It is impossible to know whether there was any such thing as "attraction", but a breadwinner and protector was an outcome. Sydney Smith seemed steadfast. There was no further contact with his family, and hers was far away. To raise close to 10 children (some died early) in a tiny cottage took guts. Rebecca died 6 years before Sydney - when the children were aged between 9 and 3. Two of the older sons were married, but it is evident that Mary Ann, Rebecca's first child, looked after the younger children after her mother died. She never married. Another woman whose fate was to care for others.

Sydney died in 1886,aged 65. He was attempting to pull a neighbour's savage bull off the road before school children came along. He was badly gored. He took refuge under his dray to avoid further injury. He then stayed at home for some time before going to hospital where he died from an infection in the wound.

Rebecca, Sydney and daughter Emma Jane (b 1874, died 1875 at 6 months) are buried together at Epping Cemetery.

Note on source: Much of the information here comes from a family history : Sydney Smith Family History by Irene Wilson (2010). The recollections about Rebecca were written by her daughter, Rebecca James to the latter's niece, Maud Lade (born Rebecca Edith Maud Smith).

Son William, born in 1853, died in 1854. He was the twin of Sydney Jnr. A daughter, Emma, born in 1851 may also be buried here, but it is unknown when she died.