Her short life deserves to be remembered
There may have been many possibilities in the short life of Eliza Babbage. Sadly, she died at 19 years old, a farm servant who never married. She never had children, so her legacy went no further than herself.
As time continues at its slow relentless pace, the person and name of Eliza Babbage will eventually disappear, as no marker is left to show where she lies.
Lisarow cemetery, where Eliza Babbage lies. Courtesy Remembering Lisarow Cemetery Facebook page.
Eliza is the representative of so many missing people, lost because their names are no longer written or spoken. Their memories die with the loved ones who knew them and the gravestones that crumble and crack and eventually disappear.
Eliza Babbage was the first child born to farm labourer, John Skeates Babbage and his wife, farm house servant, Sophia Davis, who were married in 1838 in Wiltshire, England. Their daughter was born two years later in June, 1840.
Eliza, her parents and five siblings, made their way across the ocean to Australia in 1857 when she was 18 years old. Eliza managed to find work as a farm servant.
Her life in the new country was cut short when she fell ill and died in late January 1858. Eliza never married, nor was she able to establish any type of life in the colony.
She was buried on January 31, 1858 in the area known as 'Orb 3490' in Lisarow cemetery on the Central Coast, north of Sydney. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any headstone marking her final resting place.
We will never know what life Eliza could have lived, but today I honour her memory and the short life that she lived.
References
'Eliza Babbage', Remembering Lisarow Cemetery Facebook page, accessed 6th July, 2023, https://www.facebook.com/lisarowcemetery/posts/pfbid02X7zgDyFtWPrMfs3aRQC5TFicTvPACvntCsmrTzm26XeVZvKmQvSVKooix64yJSi8l
'Eliza Babbage', Wyong, New South Wales, Australia, Headstone Images, 1800-2020, Ancestry, accessed 6th July, 2023.
'Eliza Babbage', New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896 Passenger Lists, Ancestry, accessed 6th July, 2023.
'John Skeates Babbage', England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915, Ancestry, accessed 7th July, 2023.
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