Annabella Smyth

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Isabella Shiels – how she earned a living in Townsville

I’ve been wondering how Isabella earned a living when John died.  It turns out she worked as a Laundress.

I found the information on the QLD State Archives website (I searched under Images) and was looking at old photos when I came across the Townsville Orphanage Register files – which are scanned in as images.  isabella admitted two of her daughters, Annabella and Eliza, to the Orphanage in 16 Oct1886 (following her earlier admission of daughters Margaret and Annabella 6 Aug 1884 – 16 Apr 1886).  On the admission form, Isabella’s occupation is listed as ‘Laundress’.  So that’s it then – that is how she made a living -obviously not enough to support 5 daughters.

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Smyth Children – Schooling

There is a group of dedicated people who are transcribing all Queensland School Registers – showing historical records of Schools and the list of children who attended the school, including the year of attendance.   I believe the registers will show school attendance records up until the 1940s  (not sure if they are going to record details beyond the 1940s).  It is a work in progress – they haven’t completed all schools, and when I looked at the School register  databases early last year, it appeared none of the Townsville School registers had been done.  Some work has now been done, and there are now some Townsville schools on the database.

Townsville West State School celebrated its centenary in 1987.  In a book produced by the school, included in the class of 1887 were the following names:

Smith, Maggie

Smith, Martha

The school register database is divided into 5 parts – I found Maggie and Martha in Part 5 of the database.  I also did a name search using the surname ‘Smyth’ but it didn’t turn up anything.

The School database can be accessed through the local library, if the library has family history research facilities, if not either both the State Library and QLD Archives have the database available.

Hopefully the transcribers get South Townsville and Railway Estate Schools done this year, as this is where the Colemans (I think) and the Raynors attended school.

At the time Maggie and Martha were attending school, Annabella and Eliza were in Townsville Orphanage.  Annabella discharged from the Orphanage 11 May 1893, and Eliza was discharged 7 Aug 1894.  They must have had it pretty tough.

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Isabella Smyth (nee Shields)

Well I’ve received some new information on Isabella Smyth (nee Shields), mother of Mary Jane Raynor.

John and Isabella Smyth and their four daughters Martha, Margaret, Anna Bella and Eliza Jane departed Glasgow on 10 August 1882 on the ship “Stirlingshire” arriving in Townsville on 7 November 1882 (IMM/117) The Log entry states that John’s age is 32, Isabella 33, Martha 6, Margaret 3, Annabella 1, Eliza inf.  Their destination in Townsville was listed as ‘Mr Robinson, Milkman’. Possibly John had an assisted passage and was indentured to work for Mr Robinson.

John died on 16 December 1883 at the Townsville Hospital of dysentery.  This was just over a year after arriving in Townsville (arrived November 1882). Isabella was then five months pregnant. She would have been unable to work at this time, and there was no Government welfare assistance as there is today. So she must have had a very difficult time, and I had previously said in an earlier post that I wondered how Isabella fared.

Jane Mary Smyth was born on 10 April 1884.  Isabella was left to raise 5 girls on her own.  The new information I received was that Isabella admitted Margaret and Annabella to the Townsville Orphanage on 6 Aug 1884 and they were discharged to her on 16 April 1886.  On 16 October 1886 she admitted Annabella and Eliza.  Annabella was discharged on 11 May 1893 and Eliza on 7 August 1894. So Isabella probably did not fare too well in the earlier days in Australia.

Townsville Orphanage extract

Isabella had a tough life. John and Isabella probably came to Australia to escape poverty in Ireland. On arrival, John died, and Isabella would have spent many years working hard in low paid employment to make ends meet. When she couldn’t make ends meet, she had to put her daughters in the Townsville Orphanage. Her hard life must have taken its toll because she eventually died 12 April 1909 aged 63 years. In the last 7-8 years of her life she suffered an illness which eventually took her life.

Thanks for the information on Isabella, it does explain a lot.  While her life was difficult,it is credit to her that she managed to raise her daughters, and all went on to live good lives.  I know that Mary Jane and Joseph Raynor must have been a very unlikely match, but all the Raynors I’ve ever met turned out well, so Isabella must have done something right.