Lizzie Webber Jane Gray (1852 - 1854)

Born 19 Aug 1852 in At Sea

Ancestors

Died 6 Dec 1854 at age 2 in Emerald Hill, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Lizzie Gray died young.

Lizzie Webber Jane Gray was born on 19 Aug 1852 in At Sea. Her parents were Lawrence Gray (1828 - 1914) and Dorothy (Ferguson) Gray (1826 - 1905). Lizzie was born aboard the sailing ship, a brig named 'Lizzie Webber', between England and Cape Town, South Africa, on the way to Port Phillip, Australia. She was named after the ship which in turn had been named after the daughter of the vessel's builder.^[1][2]

Her siblings were...

1. Sarah Jane Gray (1851 - 1851)
2. Lizzie Webber (Gray) Tabley (1856 - 1939)
3. Sarah Jane Gray (1858 - 1859)
4. Mary Jane Gray (1860 - 1862)
5. John Thomas Gray (1863 - 1925)
6. Mary Ann (Gray) Fyfe (1866 - 1951)

Lizzie died on 6 Dec 1854 in Emerald Hill, Victoria, Australia aged 2. She is buried in Old Melbourne General Cemetery.^[3] and was buried in the Old Melbourne General Cemetery ^[4] The gradual encroachment of what is now known as Queen Victoria Market saw cemetery land being taken over by the market.

In 1917 the Melbourne General Markets Land Act (No:2913) was passed by parliament allowing the Melbourne City Council to reclaim cemetery land for the use of the market. The council had the responsibility of overseeing the operations of the cemetery through the appointing of trustees. The Melbourne City Council were co-trustees of the cemetery with the Board of Land and Works (VA 669).

Exhumation of bodies began in 1920. Only marked graves were exhumed, however, Lizzie's grave had fallen into disrepair and any markings or headstone were missing. George Simms of the Melbourne City Council had the responsibility for the exhumations and he identified 525 marked graves. Human remains were found in the early 1990s during excavation work for the market car park, the site of the major part of the Old Cemetery grounds, so it's reasonable to assume that Lizzie's remains were amongst those. As part of the exhumation process bodies were reinterred at cemeteries around Melbourne.

No burial records exist prior to 1866. A letter from the then Secretary of the Trustees of the Old Melbourne Cemetery in 1895 (Outward Letterbook p 180) apologises for records not being available due to them having been destroyed in a fire at the gatekeeper's lodge in 1865. Records of burials prior to 1866 were destroyed by fire in 1865.

Burial

Burial:

Date: 7 DEC 1854

Place: Old Melbourne General Cemetery

Sources

1. ↑

   Lawrence Gray's Spouse and Children
   Lizzie Webber Jane Gray	Child
   Name	Lizzie Webber Jane Gray
   Baptism Date	23 Jan 1853
   Baptism Place	South Africa
   Birth Date	19 Aug 1852
   Father's Name	Lawrence Gray
   Father's Sex	Male
   Mother's Name	Dorothy Gray
   Mother's Sex	Female
   Dorothy Gray	Wife

   "South Africa, Church of the Province of South Africa, Parish Registers, 1801-2004", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DX3F-BXZM : 13 December 2020), Lawrence Gray in entry for Lizzie Webber Jane Gray, 1853.
2. ↑

   St. Georges Cathedral Cape Town Baptisms, 1849 - 1970; Page: 130; Entry: 1283.
   Name:	Lawrence Gray
   Gender:	Male
   Residence Date:	23 Jan 1853
   Residence Place:	Riebeck Street
   Occupation:	Blacksmith
   Spouse:	Dorothy
   Child:	Lizzie Webber Jane Gray
   Church:	St. Georges Cathedral Cape Town
   Officiant:	M.A. Camilleri
   Collection:	St. Georges Cathedral Cape Town Baptisms, 1849 - 1970

3. ↑ Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria (Australia)
   GRAY, Lizzie Webber Jane. CD 341761 Death
   Father: Lawrance Gray
   Mother: Dorothy Ferguson
   Age at Death: 2
   Reg Year: 1854
   Reg State: Victoria
   Ref Number: 5409
   
   
4. ↑ : Burial:

   Date: 7 DEC 1854

   Place: Old Melbourne General Cemetery.