mary Duddy, ex Panama
Mary Duddy has an intriguing, but ultimately tragic story.
Age 19 and from Ballinrobe, Mary's parents, William and Honora, were both dead. Mary Duddy was sent with 8 other girls from the Panama to the Wollongong Immigration Depot, south of Sydney, a few weeks after her arrival in Sydney (see Irish Famine Memorial Database). It appears that at some stage Mary Duddy was employed in the town of Kiama (south of Wollongong) by Mr Percy Owen, solicitor, however by early 1856 she had left Kiama, somewhat under a mystery, as she was being sought out via the newspapers. What is known is that Mary Duddy married Patrick Lee in Wollongong on 26 March 1856 (see Illawarra Family History Group). She gave her residence as Dapto (now a suburb of Wollongong and near Lake Illawarra – “the Lake” mentioned in the Illawarra Mercury, 14 April 1856). Patrick Lee was the son of Patrick and Bridget Lee, publicans, the Harp of Erin, Sussex Street in Sydney. Unfortunately, by the end of 1856, Mary (Duddy) Lee, age 25, had been killed in a tragic accident. The Sydney Morning Herald (29 December 1856) reported that on Friday 26 December, Mary and Patrick Lee were returning from an outing to the races in a horse-drawn gig, when their horse bolted. The wheel of the gig got caught in “a rut in the side of the road”, and both Patrick and Mary were thrown onto the road. Mary, heavily pregnant, went under the wheel of the gig, sustaining internal injuries. Even more tragically, the newspaper notes: “Mrs Lee survived till next morning”. |
© Barbara Barclay (2015)