Fearless Female Ancestor Tender Moments

My grandmother, Ma, born Caroline Elizabeth Baker but known as Bessie was an amazing person. Somehow she raised 12 of her children in a house in Box Hill and cared for 2 other family members. I knew her in her later life. She had in excess of 50 grandchildren. She was always busy when I was a child. I loved visiting the family home and watching the trains on the line over the back fence. As I went back and forth to secondary school on the train I always looked into the backyard as my train passed by. I don't know how Ma kept up with her large family but I loved to visit. This may seem a strange tender moment, but the first funeral I attended was Ma's.

Fearless female ancestor

My 2nd great grandmother, Sarah Gunn. She arrived in Australia 16 September 1863 at the age of 12. It is well known that she traveled unaccompanied on the Robert Small. Her parents met her when she disembarked at Hobson's Bay.

She was a nursemaid and records show that she could read and write.