Terry Smith recalls her ancestor Bridget Ann Treacy, “The Belle of Whitby” and the Gold Creamer Family Heirloom she brought with her from Ireland to Canada in 1847.

Interior shot close up of black and white portrait of young woman with piercing brown eyes, wearing a dark dress with a broach and white sleeves, as well as head covering. Camera pans back to show a second portrait beside her of a man with dark hair standing, wearing a dark suit, with his left arm poised on his hip. Both portraits are on round brown table, with spoon on faded dark brown scroll on it. In the foreground, a woman with short brown hair is looking at the camera. She is wearing a white shirt and open dark jacket. She is clasping a gold coloured creamer jug with green and white shamrocks in both hands.

Hello. My name is Terry Smith, and I am the descendant of a Famine immigrant: Bridget Ann Treacy.

Bridget Ann sailed on a Famine ship in the summer of 1847. The ship’s name was the Jane Black, and it sailed from Limerick.

This picture that you have been looking at is a picture of Bridget when she was probably twenty five years old. And it says a lot about what happened to Bridget Ann when she arrived in Canada; because when she came, she came with her aunt and her sister.

They survived the journey across the sea, but arrived here with nothing, with very little clothing, and very little resources. They eventually made their way to Whitby, and lived there, and grew up there, and eventually [Bridget Ann] became a nurse.

Terry Smith nods at picture on brown table.

This picture, I believe, is a really great image of what she has endured and what she gained as she came to Canada, and lived here, and developed a life for herself.

So it makes me very proud to think that we came – we are descendants of a woman who sailed on a Famine ship in very terrible conditions, and actually made a life here, who married, and had all kinds of children and descendants.

Terry Smith lifts jug that she is holding.

I hold here a little tiny jug that was given to our great grandmother by one of her friends.

Camera pans forward for close up of jug, with portrait of Bridget Ann Treay in background left.

She was only six or seven when she sailed on the ship, so her friend gave her this jug as a memory of Ireland.

This jug is now well over one hundred and sixty years old, and has sat in many curio cabinets and book cases, and now resides in my sister Sheila’s home,

Camera pans back to show Terry Smith to camera, holding jug and round brown table with portraits to her left.

as she is the eldest descendant of all of the remaining descendants of our great grandmother.

For me, it holds our heritage, it holds our history, and it holds the strength of what families go through when they emigrate, and is probably a good reflection of where our heritage and history has come from.

Final image of water with onscreen Ireland Park Foundation logo. Celtic style music playing.