Who were Amy’s Five Brothers?
As the saying goes –It is an ill wind that blows no good. Because of World War One (WW1) documentation, we do have more records of Amy’s brothers than we do of her sisters. The photo included shows the three youngest boys – Arthur, Cecil and William. Her brother Robert did not serve in the Armed Forces, maybe due to his age or his occupation. However, he did have children who went to war as teenagers.
Robert Emmanuel 1877 and his family
While the family was living at Sand Hills Newcastle, Robert Emmanuel, the third child and first son of Robert and Maria, was born on 8 May 1877. It appears from birth records that he was born at home. Their home would have been close to Newcastle harbour where his father Robert was employed as a harbour inspector and also worked on the lifeboats.
By the time he was 20, Robert(Bob) was married to Ann(Annie) Elizabeth Lorn Pattison originally from Carrington. Annie’s father, Dickie Pattison, was a well-known sportsman at the time. Life wasn’t always easy for Robert and Annie as reported 28 April 1909 in the Government Gazette.
Annie and Bob had a home in Railway St Wickham. It was in this suburb they had their six children and Robert worked on the railway. Of their family Robert Jr, Amelia, Frederick, and William survived, but Gladys and Henry sadly did not outlive their parents. The surviving children attended Wickham Public School.
In 1913 when the world war started, Robert was only in his thirties, but maybe his occupation kept him at home. Did two of Robert Emmanuel’s sons serve in the War? I know Robert Christian Smith was reported to have had two grandsons fighting overseas and Bob’s sons were around that age. We do have records for his son Robert, born in October 1899, who was too young to join at the start of the war like his uncles, but joined when he was eligible too in 1918.
His father Robert Emanuel, Amy’s brother, outlived his wife, Annie. He was 85 years of age when he died on 20 November 1962 at his home at 16 Ida Street Mayfield. He is buried in the Church of England Section of Sandgate Cemetery Newcastle NSW.
Robert Smith 1899 (son)
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate(NSW)-20 Sep 1919 page 5
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate(NSW)-20 Sep 1919 page 5 
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate(NSW)-23 Sep 1919 page 6
Carl Auguste Smith 1883
Carl Auguste was born in Church Street Newcastle on 23 October 1883 and was the sixth child of Robert Christian and Maria Rebecca Smith. Just a few years before the family had lost a little daughter Rose Bine and by 9 April 1885, their son Carl also died. He was just a little more than seventeen months old. He had been suffering from congestion of the lungs for the past three months and died at home off Wolfe Street Newcastle.
William Albert Christian Smith 1886
On 14th January 1886, a third son was born to Robert and Maria while they were still living off Wolfe Street Newcastle. The new baby was given the names William Albert Christian Smith. Robert was listed as being 43 and Maria 33. As we do not have birth certificates for either of the parents, we are using the children’s vital records to give us clues.
William went to school at Wickham Superior Public School, then trained as a carpenter before serving in WW1. His name is on the school’s honour board which has been put on display at the Newcastle Transport Interchange in 2018. This Memorial Roll is now only a few blocks away from 6 Bishopgate Street, Wickham where William lived as a child.
Cecil John Frederick Smith 1892
When Cecil John Frederick was born 20 February 1892, the family had been living in Wickham Newcastle NSW for some time. His father Robert Christian Smith now listed as 49 years of age, already had six children living and he had lost two daughters, and one son before fourth son Cecil was born.
Schooling was at Wickham Public School, and Cecil married Maria Gwynn when he was just 20. They went on to have a son David in 1911 and a second son who did not survive. With the outbreak of WW1, Cecil also, like his brothers, signed up in Sydney for active service.
During the war he served in Europe remaining in Europe after the war with the Army.
By 1933 he had married for the second time to Gladys Lola Larkin at Woollahra, Sydney when he was 41. Cecil and Lola had one son John Frederick Smith.
Arthur Roy Smith 1895
Arthur was born in Bishopgate Street Wickham 4 April 1895. Amy was at that time 22, Amelia 20, Robert 18, Emma 14, William 9, Alice 7 Cecil 3 and Maria was 43. The copy of Arthur’s birth certificate provided more information besides the children’s age. Robert the father, 53 as the informant, this time listed his birthplace not just as Denmark, as he had on the other children’s certificates but as Aarhuur Denmark which we feel is a transcription error for Aarhus Denmark.
Like William and Cecil, Arthur attended Wickham Public School, and after leaving school, he became a baker. He also served in WW1in Europe.
.
Just after returning from the war in 1919, Alfred married Elsie M. Leneholme in Wickham NSW then moving to Sydney where a son Alfred R was born. I do not know any further information on the family for more than twenty years.
In 1941 Arthur, at Tamworth, married Evelyn Irene Berry. They had two daughters Judith and Shirley, and records show that Arthur and Evelyn were living in Gloucester NSW in the 1960s.
Arthur died on 28 May 1966 at his home in Church St at the age of 71. He is buried in the Church of England Cemetery in Gloucester.
In conclusion, we know a little more now about Amy’s five sisters and five brothers and, that of the eleven children born into the Smith family, eight outlived their parents. Four girls and four boys.
We still have more questions. What do we know about their mother, Maria Rebecca Millerd?
And…what do we know about Robert Christian Smith, their father?
