Elizabeth (Gwydir) Bedford (abt. 1834 - 1886)

Born about 1834 in County Tipperary, Ireland

Ancestors

Wife of Job Frederick Noble Bedford — married 14 Jun 1870 in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia

Descendants

Died 19 Dec 1886 at about age 52 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Bessie Gwydir was born in County Tipperary, Ireland in 1834, the eldest child of Daniel Gwydir and Lydia Lamphier.

In Dublin in June 1853, Bessie had a daughter, Maria Josephine Hunt.

In May 1857 or 1858, Bessie had a son, William Clark. His place of birth is unknown.

In September 1860, Bessie - travelling as Elizabeth Clarke - with her young son, William, arrived in Melbourne, VIC, Australia onboard the ship "Champion of the Seas." Her brother, John Lamphier Gwydir, had arrived in Melbourne in 1857.

In April 1861, Bessie married John Briamato, at St Killian Catholic Church, Bendigo. At the time of the wedding, she declared that she was Catholic and had been widowed since August 1857.

In April 1862, Bessie gave birth to another son, Robert, in Melbourne. Robert died a few weeks later in June 1862, of exhaustion. It would appear that Briamato deserted Bessie. Nothing more is known of him.

Bessie married Job Frederick Noble Bedford at Fitzroy Registry Office, VIC, in June 1870. In February 1872, she gave birth to a daughter, Jane. Jane died the following day. Job Bedford died in December 1884 in St Kilda.

Late at night in December 1886, a police officer found Bessie in a bad state. She had fallen in the street. She was taken to hospital, but died early the following morning. She was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery.

Sources

National Library of Ireland, Catholic Registers

Victoria Births Deaths and Marriages

Public Records Office Victoria

• Colony of Victoria Coronial Inquest. 21 December 1886, index 1526.