top of page
Heading 5
Emma Amelia Smith, Reuban Victor Smith & Ray Kropp
My dad talked about his aunty Emma Amelia with great fondness, so much so we named our daughter after her-Amelia. She was dads great aunt. My cousin inherited the 2 acres at Native Dog Creek which Emma lived on and her will indicates she had other land also. Alas, history has not been kind in leaving us a lot of information about Emma and her children.
In 1968 dad took me out to Native Dog Creek and Rockley as I wanted to see where his family came from. This started my lifetime interest in family history. I was able in those days to go into the Oberon RSL with mum and dad and I was standing at the pokies when an old woman next to me asked what I was doing in Oberon. I told her excitedly I was tracing the Smith family who lived at NDC. Oh she said " the fence hoppers". I went and asked dad what that meant and many years later assumed it was relating to dear Emma Amelia who had at least 2 children out of wedlock. Gloria Armstrong [descendant of Margaret Jane Barsden] recounted this as her mother telling her that 1 illegitimate child could be excused, 2 was pushing the envelope but 3 was utterly disgraceful. Did Emma have 3 children out of wedlock?
Emma Amelia was the 11th child of William Richard Smith and Mary Ann Barsden. She was born at Native Dog Creek on 20th August 1864 and would live her whole life there. Her younger brother Charles died at 3 weeks so Emma was the baby of the family. The photo below of 2 young women / girls we believe is Victoria Adelaide and could well have Emma standing by her side given that all of Emma's older sisters died young. We will never know. On the back of the photo obtained from Donald Hocking it says Vicki. Victoria Adelaide married a Hocking.
When Emma was 27 years old she had a child we believe called William Albert Smith born 18th May 1891 [NSW BDM 20377/1891]. Cousin Lynn a family researcher found on Williams baptism record the following:
Ref: William Albert's baptism record May 24th 1891 in Oberon. The father is listed as Artery but his first name could be John as the writing is very difficult to read. Terence and Catherine Hartigan were sponsors and the abode is listed as Wisemans Creek.
She goes on to pose : Henry Artery could in fact be Henry Arthur Neville who married Mary Jane Hibbard at Bathurst in 1895. He had been born at Hovells Creek in 1861. A Family Group Sheet for this family listing Emma Amelia and William Albert exists at Bathurst Family History Society.
Artery's did live in the vicinity of Native Dog Creek as maps show a William Albert Artery owning /leasing land in the parish of Adderley south of Joseph Sewell's main property. See 1901 maps below. Henry Artery also owned/leased property in this area at the same time , 1884. There are 9 children born to William Albert Artery and Ann Artery between 1864 and 1885. The boys were William b 1872, James W b. 1876, John J. b 1878 and James O born 1885. We assume from James O's birth that James W may have passed, leaving William and John as viable father's for William Albert. It is probable that John J was known as Joseph Artery and murdered his wife Hannah Ann Artery at Chain of Ponds before committing suicide at his father William's residence. Refer articles below. He had married Hannah a few months before but one newspaper suggests she may have been pregnant to another man at the time. They had been separated pretty soon after the marriage. This still puts John Artery probably known as Joseph into the mix for fathering William Albert.
The Artery's were known to the Smiths as C. Artery was a pall bearer in 1916 at Bertha Smith's funeral. [ daughter of Tom and Kate Smith]. We cannot find a birth record for Henry Artery. We know a Henry Artery aged 12 years in 1875 ie born around 1863 had a warrant issued for his arrest for stealing a horse, hog skin saddle, new bridle and oilskin suit from Robert Ashe of the Lagoon. It states he went to Cowra or Forbes perhaps to evade arrest! This is the right age for a father of William. Perhaps naughty Henry returned to NDC.
We may never know William Albert's true father, The little man died on 7th May 1892 [Australia Death Index # 7752].
Interestingly there is a Henry A Smith born to Emma A Smith of East Macquarie in 1891 Ref BDM # 20377. This entry is exactly the same as Reuban Smith's birth record. There is no father on either of them. Was Henry A also a child of Emma Amelia and perhaps a twin of William Albert as he was born in 1891 . There is no death record for a Henry A Smith of East Macquarie whose mum was Emma A for the period of 1891-1930. When searching birth records on NSW BDM for 1891 for a William A Smith only Henry A Smith emerges. Are Henry and William the same child? My sense of it is they were. The 1892 death record of William A Smith exists in NSW BDM's. Edwin Ray Smith / Kropp was born in 1895 and no father is listed against his entry although Emma marries George Kropp in 1896. Was George Ray's dad?
Could one of the illegitimate children of Emma Amelia be the one Grant Rodwell claims? Grant Rodwell is an academic who has written books on Josephus Henry Barsden-both fictional and non fiction based on JHB's diary. His mother Hilary received the diary which was found in the walls of the Kelso Inn in the 1970's as she was a descendant of Emma Amelia according to their family. This information comes from the Rodwell line [ref: An Early Colonial Hero: The Amazing Life of Josephus Henry Barsden]. In 1878 Emma Amelia [daughter of Mary Ann Barsden and William Smith] gave birth to an illegitimate child whom she named James Milton Smith. James was reared by Annie [nee Smith] and John Thomas Burcher on the Monaro NSW. Annie was the fourth child of William and Jane Smith, most possibly a cousin of Emma Amelia. James Milton Smith's birth was never recorded , but on the authors mothers birth certificate Hilary Elizabeth [nee Smith] it is shown as 1878 in Picton NSW. Of course Picton is relatively close to the Monaro.
Let's tease this out a bit as Picton is a long way from Native Dog Creek, what was a young Emma Amelia even doing there? Thanks to the research of cousin Lynn in Oberon we can see that from the 1851 English census William and Jane Smith were living in Islington UK and had 4 children: Catherine aged 11; Margaret aged 10; James aged 8 and Anna aged 5. He was an engineer. They emigrated on the ship Hurricane to Victoria in 1854. A family group sheet at Bathurst Family History group lists William Smith and wife Jane Middlemas. William being from Edinburgh consistent with the 1851 census and a civil engineer. He is buried at Goulburn having died on 7th May 1882. His daughter Ann Davidson Smith is listed as born in Folkestone Kent in 1845 and married John Thomas Burcher on 7th November 1877 at the residence of the brides father in Wagunyah Victoria. John Thomas Burcher was born in Bredbo- in the Monaro- on 13th August 1848. Annie was clearly not a cousin of our Emma Amelia Smith.
The marriage certificate of James Milton Smith who married Emma Louise Baartz in Queensland on 3rd January 1906 lists his father as James Anderson Smith, with no mothers name. James Jnr being an engineer. His death certificate of 25/26 December 1949 says his usual residence was Dart St, Oberon and he was a steam engineer. His father is listed as James Anderson Smith and again mother unknown. His wife is listed as Emma Louise Baartz so we have the right James Milton Smith. The children are Malcolm aged 40, Hilary aged 28 and Grace aged 23. The Family Group Sheet held at Bathurst does list his birthplace as Picton NSW near Wollongong.
Lynn's research also found from the Electoral rolls a James Anderson Smith Miner living in 1936 at 83 Ninth Ave Canterbury Sydney and in 1937 living at 35 Stafford St Paddington. This could be James Jnr's father.
Emma Amelia would have been 14 years of age when she gave birth to James Milton in Picton, miles and miles from her family home. Why would she have been there so young? Annie Smith was not related to her. Gloria Armstrong, a Barsden relative was very clear that her mother told her Emma Amelia had 3 illegitimate children not 4.
With the greatest respect to the Rodwell family, the primary evidence does not support their Emma Amelia being our Emma Amelia.
Emma Amelia gave birth to Reuban Victor Smith in 1886 [Australian Birth Index 15283]. Dad described his cousin Reuban as a bit slow so I assume he may have had an intellectual disability and/or very little education. Cousin George has heard that people said Reuban was a real gentleman tipping his hat to the ladies. We do not know Reuban's father. Reuban used the Smith name mostly but is also documented as Reuban Kropp sometimes. The electoral rolls from 1930 through to 1963 cite Reuban's residence as Glen Heath near Oberon and he was a drover. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8kv9sl. We know from Dun's Gazette for New South Wales Vol 4 No 13 September 26 1910 that Glenheath had been owned by John S Morgan and it was left to his wife Clarinda C Morgan. Glenheath is a property in the Black Springs area. Dad always said Reuban lived on/near Emma Amelia's property at Native Dog Creek and had a quince orchard down the back. When dad got engaged in 1952 he took mum to meet Reuban at Native Dog Creek near the huts. This is where Reuban lived so I am unsure why the electoral rolls have him at Glenheath. An article in the Lithgow Mercury 6/9/1934 describes Reuban as being from Essington when he found an 1840 pistol and knife in a cave. Dad said there was a photo of Reuban on the front page of the newspaper in Oberon at their centenary with the Oxley silver. This was long before we had done the family tree and knew the connection via the Blackmans to the Earl of Oxford. Dad said the silver was stolen after Reuban's death. This would have been 1963 and the sesquicentenary. Rodwell wrote about this in his book. Various people have told us that Reuban used to take taxi's to the post office and it was possible the taxi driver who found him dead may have pocketed the silver. This will remain a family mystery. I have no doubt the "Oxley" silver existed because dad was very certain of this and he died in 2005 not knowing of the Blackman connection or the Earl of Oxford.
Emma Amelia's will of 4/9/1944 leaves the 2 acres she owns at Native Dog Creek and its dwelling to Reuban who was her executor. This was portion 163 which remained under the name of William Richard Smith. Emma Amelia is recorded in the administration papers of WR Smith as having paiud monies for this land but never had it transferred into her name. [ Ref: Bathurst Court House records]. It remains in family hands. Reuban was also left all of her personal property and other land holdings. It is this that is a mystery as we don't know what other land holdings she had. They could be those that Ray Kropp had at the time of his death in 1943? The 1928 maps of this area see Reuban owning or leasing Lot 269 and Ray having Lot 270. The 1964 maps show Lot 269 went to Warby from R.V Smith and cites it as over 19 acres . A bitter pill for my dad who felt the land was "stolen" by Warby. Even in 1964 Lot 267 remained in John Thomas Smith's name- Emma's brother. He had died in 1934. Did Emma claim this property also as hers?
Burial records indicate Reuban died 23rd or 24th August 1965 at Essington and he was buried in a paupers grave in Bathurst Cemetery on 1st September. Grave reference Section C # 32 { Ref Bathurst Police Records 31-4084 ]. Why was he buried in a paupers grave when he had property and clearly some assets left by Emma? Had he been robbed of these after his death?
Summary of Land Grants at NDC
Edwin Ray Smith later Kropp was Emma's third child born 1st November 1895 at Essington [see birth record above]. We have a lot more information on Ray as he was a bit of a lad. He is listed as illegitimate in Oberon Church Records. A 1913 Lithgow Mercury article has Ray playing tennis at Foleys Creek with his Foran and Smith cousins. A 1915 Lithgow Mercury article sees Ray, his mum and cousins Edna and Essie Smith and possibly their mum Gertrude Cole Smith playing tennis at Essington along with Sewell relatives. In 1929 Ray is named in the Government gazette with a cousin Walter Smith as a trustee of commons at Essington. Ray had land lots 269 and 270 over a period of time-refer to the pdf above for a history of his land leasing. In 1930 Ray was convicted of failure to return his expired car registration. This was the same year Reuban found the gun and knife in the cave.
In 1932 Ray robbed his Uncle Edwin and Aunt Gertrude Smith's residence in Bathurst with Edmund Gilbert Sewell, likely a descendant form the non biological side of the Sewell family. He sustained a serious gunshot wound escaping and was hospitalised. He and Edmund were convicted. They were sentenced to 12 months in Bathurst Gaol. Both men were referred to as Graziers of Essington. Refer newspaper articles below. The incident was widely covered and Ray's condition followed by papers across NSW including Sydney.
At the time of his death on 19th March 1943 Ray was living at O'Connell and was listed as a miner. It would have been 10 years since he was released from Gaol. He died with 165 pound to his estate. There may have also been some land at NDC. His death record [BDM # 1070] lists his father as George Joseph Kropp. He was clearly loved as Emma and Reuban placed an In Memorium for Ray in 1947 7 months before Emma died. There was no mention of George.
What of George Joseph Kropp? Emma married him between 4th and 11th May 1896 at Oberon Wesleyan Church. Transcribed Oberon Church records show the marriage- marriage certificate date 4/5/1896 of George T Kropp miner Brisbane Valley Creek Residence and Emma Amelia Smith Spinster Brisbane Valley Creek [ source: Irene Birch]. There are no parents listed for George Joseph. Another transcription from Wesleyan Church indicates marriage date of 11/5/1896 between George T Kropp Miner and Emma Amelia Smith. Their marriage record simply states the year [ref: NSW BDM Marriage # 3638]. George's parents were George Kropp and Johanna Talbot and he was born at Patricks Plains in 1867 [ NSW Birth Index # 14518/1867 or V18674046 121B/1867]. In 1913 Emma and George were living at Brisbane Valley and he was a miner and she domestic duties. The marriage was clearly not rosy as George was charged with desertion in 1915. Emma had brought the case to court and was awarded 10s per week for a period of 12 months. George may have had a drinking issue as he was charged with public drunkenness in 1910. He got 1 month in prison for his language on this occasion. In 1935 George was admitted to hospital and the newspaper reference lists his abode as Charlton. He was clearly working there. George Kropp died 29 June 1935 at Rockley from natural causes probably heart disease. Age 69 Gold prospector. The informant was Emma Kropp widow Essington NSW. He was buried on 30 Jun 1935 Roman Catholic Church Rockley. Interestingly Emma is described as from Essington not Charlton and the death certificate says no issue ie no children. This contradicts Ray's death certificate.
Emma Amelia leaves this world on 1st October 1947. Her will is above and indicates at least in 1943 she had property and assets to pass on to Reuban. Her deceased estate record indicates her assets at death were 115 pound. Both the 1930 and 1936 electoral rolls have her listed with Ray as a Kropp but Ray is living at Essington and Emma Amelia at Brisbane Valley Essington. Perhaps she retained the Kropp land and was this the land that she mentioned in her will? Brisbane Valley is closer to Black Springs and of course Glenheath where Reuban worked as a drover. We assumed the family always lived at Native Dog Creek but perhaps they didn't. Perhaps Emma spent her latter years there but always owned / leased property there. Ray and Emma are buried next to each other at Oberon cemetary behind the grave of William Richard and Mary Ann. Ray lies directly behind them and Emma is next to him closest to the roadside. Thanks to Oberon cemetery volunteers and cousin Lynn who marked the graves,
bottom of page