Rebecca Drayton

"You live as long as you are remembered" is a quote from an unknown source, which appeals to me.  I feel that as family historians, it is up to us to remember our past ancestors and relatives so other family members (present and future) will be able to read about them.  That is one of the primary purposes of this blog.

Rebecca Drayton died when she was 20 years old, so has no direct descendants to remember her.  I have many relatives, who did not have children or died young so therefore have no descendants.  I make a point of remembering them.

Rebecca is the youngest sister of my Great Great Grandmother, Charlotte Drayton.  Rebecca ws born on the 22nd of February 1864 at Bealiba, a small farming and mining community in Victoria Australia.  On her birth certificate, her father, Samuel Drayton, is listed as a 43 year old Tailor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, America.  Her mother is listed as 40 year old Sarah Drayton "formerly Boothy" [should be Boothroyd] from Yorkshire England.

Neither Samuel nor Sarah could write so it is unlikely that they could read either and therefore it is unlikely that they would realise that their names are spelled incorrectly on many of their records.

Rebecca was only 20 years old (although her death certificate states she was 19) when she died in the Gipps Ward at the Royal Melbourne Hospital from "Febris Enterica", which I believe is another term for Typhoid but translates to Fever of the Intestines.  She had been unwell for "1 month".  The family still resided at Bealiba so I am unsure if Rebecca had moved to Melbourne or the family took her to Melbourne for medical attention?  The second option is more likely as the death record is very precise, while in my experience, death records were often poor when a family member died away from their place of residence.

Excerpt of Death Record of Rebecca Drayton
Souce: www.bdm.vic.gov.au

On the death record for Rebecca, Samuel is listed as a "Miner" and her mother, Sarah's, maiden name is listed incorrectly again, but as "Botheroyd".

Rebecca is buried at the "New Melbourne Cemetery", which was established in 1852.

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