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Isabella Smith Downey

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Isabella Smith Downey

Birth	:	1863 England
Death	:	25 May 1899 Bowmanville, Durham Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada
Burial	:	Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Arlington, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate	:	42.4172630, -71.1483002
Description	:	British Home Child Isabella (aka Mary) Smith is from the Greater London area, not Scotland as passed down through oral history. Also based on unconfirmed oral history from her son Samuel; as a young girl she lived with a Scottish family named Beith or similar name as a maid, helper or family friend in the Bowmanville area. He believed she had immigrated with the family. Isabella's family attended the Presbyterian Church which later merged into The United Church of Canada. British records list her religion as Church of England. The Canadian 1881 census indicates she was a 'Miss Rye Emigrate'... Read More	British Home Child Isabella (aka Mary) Smith is from the Greater London area, not Scotland as passed down through oral history. Also based on unconfirmed oral history from her son Samuel; as a young girl she lived with a Scottish family named Beith or similar name as a maid, helper or family friend in the Bowmanville area. He believed she had immigrated with the family. Isabella's family attended the Presbyterian Church which later merged into The United Church of Canada. British records list her religion as Church of England. The Canadian 1881 census indicates she was a 'Miss Rye Emigrate' and is found in the 1878 Doyle report as a Miss Rye child living in Durham County. Many of the 100,000 plus British Home Children (BHC) were treated as secondary citizens and did not share details about their past with future family members. She married William George Downey on August 6, 1882 in the All Saints Anglican Church in Whitby. In Canada she was only known as Isabella. The BHC databases maintained by both the Library and Archives Canada and Home Children Canada list her as Isabella Mary. Her early life in Victorian England is a story of survival and overcoming hardship to having a family of her own in a new country. After careful review; it was concluded Isabella, Mary, and Mary Ann are very likely the same person in the British records. As a ward of the state, all the records indicate she was chargeable to the parish of Newington in the Southwark Borough of London. At the time, pauper children were housed away from the workhouses in one of three schools in the area; Central London at Hanwell, South Metropolitan at Sutton, and North Surrey at Upper Norwood. At the age of 4, Mary Ann Smith was admitted to the South Metropolitan School on June 1, 1864 and discharged 'To Hanwell' May 13, 1870. The admission record indicates she was 'illegitimate' and 'mother in prison' while the discharge record states she was 'deserted'. Mary Smith was admitted to the Central London School District in Hanwell on May 12, 1870. The Parents column states 'from Mitcham'. Mitcham was a large industrial school run by the Southwark parish of St George the Martyr and was sold in early 1870. Mary Smith is listed as a 'Pauper Inmate' and 'Scholar' on the 1871 census for the Central London School District in Hanwell. The school housed over 1,000 destitute children. In the Saint Saviour's School Register, Mary Smith was discharged 'To Canada with Miss Rye' on June 12, 1873. On the same day Isabella Smith was admitted to Saint Saviour's Workhouse. On June 25, 1873 Isabella Smith was discharged 'to Canada' and would have traveled by train to Liverpool. Mary Smith departed England on June 26, 1873 on the ship Polynesian traveling with three other girls ages 9-12 from the workhouse. The ship arrived in Quebec City July 6, 1873 where the children would have travelled to Maria Rye's "Our Western Home" located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Most children were indentured to a family within weeks of arrival. This Miss Rye's group consisted of 80 children. Of the 1,100 girls Maria Rye brought to Canada between 1869 and 1875, all but 200 were pauper wards of the British state which sponsored their emigration. Based on the age information in the records, it is likely she was born during the second half of 1860 or first quarter of 1861. It is doubtful she would have known anything about her father or had significant memories of her mother as she was 4 years old when entering the South Metropolitan District School in 1864. Many of the records sited are held in the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) and are available online at Ancestry.com in databases titled 'London, England, Poor Law School District Registers, 1852-1918' and 'London, England, Workhouse Admission and Discharge Records, 1764-1930'. A Senior Information Officer at LMA also provided valuable research assistance. The passenger list and 1878 Doyle report can be found at the Library and Archives of Canada. NOTE: At the time of Isabella Downey's death in 1899, the Ancestry.com Database "Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869 - 1939 lists her as 37 years of age. The stone placed in the Bowmanville Cemetery was created after the death of her husband in 1938, almost 40 years later, therefore birth year doesn't appear to be correct.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Isabella Smith Downey's memorial?
Isabella Smith Downey's memorial is located at: Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Arlington, Middlesex County, USA.
When did Isabella Smith Downey death?
Isabella Smith Downey death on 25 May 1899 in Bowmanville, Durham Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada
Where are the coordinates of the Isabella Smith Downey's memorial?
Latitude: 42.4172630
Longitude: -71.1483002

Family Members:

Spouse

William George Downey

(1855 - 1938)

Children

Robert Alex Downey

(1884 - 1884)

Hector James Downey

(1888 - 1963)

Mary J.I. Downey Gould

(1892 - 1960)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Mount Pleasant Cemetery
Arlington, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4172630, -71.1483002

2. Old Burying Ground
Arlington, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4147682, -71.1543884

3. Prince Hall Cemetery
Arlington, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4102100, -71.1354300

4. Saint Pauls Cemetery
Arlington, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4073143, -71.1354218

5. Veterans Cemetery
Somerville, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4064700, -71.1318300

6. Oak Grove Cemetery
Medford, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4294000, -71.1332500

7. Revolutionary War Monument
Medford, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4193000, -71.1131400

8. North Cambridge Catholic Cemetery
Cambridge, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3933220, -71.1339417

9. Salem Street Burying Ground
Medford, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4185410, -71.1074066

10. Cross Street Cemetery (Defunct)
Medford, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4182900, -71.1040400

11. Highland Meadow Cemetery
Belmont, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3989334, -71.1854401

12. Elm Street British Soldier Burial Site
Somerville, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3910900, -71.1185300

13. Belmont Cemetery
Belmont, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3821411, -71.1578369

14. Wildwood Cemetery
Winchester, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4557991, -71.1461029

15. Robbins Cemetery
Lexington, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4279500, -71.2019400

16. Mount Auburn Cemetery
Cambridge, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3731800, -71.1453100

17. Old Burying Place
Watertown, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3719270, -71.1560390

18. Catholic Mount Auburn Cemetery
Watertown, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3713684, -71.1499100

19. Metfern Cemetery
Waltham, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3997570, -71.2065030

20. Old Burying Ground
Cambridge, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3752930, -71.1196840

21. Saint Patricks Cemetery
Watertown, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3815460, -71.1937027

22. Milk Row Cemetery
Somerville, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3816300, -71.1020100

23. Saint Marys Cemetery
Malden, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4310112, -71.0836487

24. University Lutheran Memorial Garden
Cambridge, Middlesex County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3719200, -71.1200700