Our Oral Histories of their Hobbies and Interests.

As a young person, my great grandfather “Papa” (Alex) seemed quite scary. I think of him as a bit grumpy but it was probably that, as little children, we were noisy and annoying. I remember that Papa and “Da”(Amy) always had a sleep in the afternoon which seemed out of the ordinary to me.

For part of the year Alex and Amy stayed with either Jean or Austin. Sometimes when we visited our grandparents, our great grandparents were staying there. Alex was always a really terrible tease. He had the bushy moustache, glasses and a “no nonsense” demeanour. Papa would chase us around the sunroom and clip us with his black leather slip-on slippers. I don’t remember if it hurt but remember being a little scared of those black slippers.

Da seemed to us different to Papa but it may have been because we got to know her as young adults. I can remember her thin sinewy hands, her earlobes and fine facial features. She was extremely skilled in crocheting, she never wasted any spare time as she always had a crotchet hook in her hand and a ball of fine yarn. Everyone in the family had items in their homes made by Da. These included bedspreads, large table cloths, baby clothes and jackets, doilies and smaller items such as handkerchiefs or jug covers made with fine crocheted edges.

Some of the first cousins once removed have better memories of William Alexander and Amy Caroline Rebecca Rutledge. They remember Alex as a quietly spoken, hard working man who after a full day working out of the home would maintain a very productive vegetable garden and poultry run.

They also remembered Amy with her main pastime of crocheting and her pleasant easy to talk to manner. Both Alex and Amy followed the Methodist religion which was central to their lives. Sunday was a day of rest, cooking was prepared in advance, no household chores such as laundry tasks could take place and had to be left for Monday. After church, family could visit but there was to be no frivolity even for small children.

Amy at Blackheath and at her 80th Birthday.

Contributing to the research information for the book From Convict Era to Modern Times, by E.J. Braggett, Amy was interviewed by Professor Eddie Braggett and she provided recollections to him, of her time at the school in the 1880s and her memories of Newcastle. In 1966, for the Newcastle East Public School’s Sesquicentenary celebrations, Da was the oldest living pupil and played a significant role on the day.

William Alexander Rutledge died 24th August 1957 and Amy, 4th December 1966. Alex was 83 years when he passed away and Amy was well into her 93rd year at the time of her death. They are both in Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, North Ryde, Ryde City, New South Wales, Australia.

Amy and Alex’s son and a daughter each had two children. The Rutledge’s also had two grandsons and two granddaughters . These families went on to produce eleven great grandchildren. We are also now seeing the descendants of Amy Smith and William Alexander Rutledge increasing even further with birth of children in the next generation.

Amy Smith herself came from a large family. We will investigate further.

Who were Amy Caroline Rebecca Smith’s siblings?