Family secrets of mother who left two babies outside pub 113 years ago unlocked

The children were left outside a pub in Dundee

A mother’s decision to leave her two babies – aged one and two – outside a Dundee pub has been unravelled by her family 113 years on.

Mary Petrie Smith abandoned her children at the Wellgate Steps on September 14, 1911, before boarding a ship to Canada to begin a new life, where her secret remained tightly held.

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Over her lifetime, there was a strong feeling among some of her relatives there was a story unknown about Ms Smith, but it was only after her death the truth started to emerge.

Mary Petrie Smith pictured in her 1911 passport photo before her one-way voyage to Canada. PIC: Contributed.Mary Petrie Smith pictured in her 1911 passport photo before her one-way voyage to Canada. PIC: Contributed.
Mary Petrie Smith pictured in her 1911 passport photo before her one-way voyage to Canada. PIC: Contributed.

Now, a new exhibition has been curated by her great-granddaughter that explores the woman, the mother and the city of the time that shaped her monumental decision to leave everything behind and start again.

Left at The Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith has now opened at Dundee's Central Library. Jamie Lees, of Ontario, said curating the exhibition had been an “emotional journey of discovery and connection”.

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She said: “It is a privilege to share my great-grandmother's story with the people of Dundee and to highlight the resilience and strength of women like her."

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Mary Petrie Smith pictured in the 1920s after her emigration to Canada. PIC: Contributed.Mary Petrie Smith pictured in the 1920s after her emigration to Canada. PIC: Contributed.
Mary Petrie Smith pictured in the 1920s after her emigration to Canada. PIC: Contributed.

Ms Lees said: “Certainly, we knew she was from Scotland, but she was very tight lipped about her background. If you were to ask, you would not get an answer. It was after she passed that her son – my grandfather – and my grandmother and I started to do a little sleuthing. It was soon discovered that she had been married before in Scotland and soon after she was married she had two children. I was flabbergasted, to say the least. No one in Canada knew this. “

Finding out part of the back story spurred Ms Lees on to find out more, with a trip of discovery to Dundee then taken several years ago.

Ms Lees said: “I knew there was no way she left the children unless she absolutely had to. It wasn’t just because she was a horrible person. She went on to have more children in Canada and she was a wonderful mother.”

Ms Lees managed to get in touch with her great-grandmother’s first husband and was able to piece together more of the story.

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Dr Erin Farley, Library and Information Officer at Dundee City Council (left) and Jamie Lees, Curator and Great Grandaughter of Mary Petrie Smith at the exhibition in Dundee Central Library.Dr Erin Farley, Library and Information Officer at Dundee City Council (left) and Jamie Lees, Curator and Great Grandaughter of Mary Petrie Smith at the exhibition in Dundee Central Library.
Dr Erin Farley, Library and Information Officer at Dundee City Council (left) and Jamie Lees, Curator and Great Grandaughter of Mary Petrie Smith at the exhibition in Dundee Central Library.

“When you look at what was going on in Dundee at the time, 72 per cent of people were living in two rooms, one of which was the kitchen,” she said. “There was great overcrowding and it was worse than the overcrowding in London.”

The two babies went on to be cared for by their father, who raised them along with his parents, his sister and older brother. "The oldest son had a very good life, but the youngest son had a number of struggles,” she said.

Ms Lees described her visit to Dundee to the spot in the Wellgate where the babies were left behind.

“I was ugly crying – I just felt this overwhelming feeling of sorrow,” she said.

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A series of talks will link to the exhibition, including one from Dr Esther Breitenbach, a leading story of Scottish women’s history.

Dr Erin Farley, project lead and library and information officer at Leisure & Culture Dundee, said: “This exhibition not only honours Mary Petrie Smith's legacy, but also enriches our understanding of the historical landscape in which she lived."

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