The 1861 census shows Bella as she was also known; the daughter of Henry & Jane Smith was [b] Feb 10, 1856. Henry & Jane had six children after settling from Ireland around the 1840s as members of the Church of England, Anglicans. They may have come over during the Potato Famine of 1848. It was believed that Belinda became an outcast from her rich Irish family for marring Harry, a lower class Catholic Welshman, who was not up to her parents’ standards or religion. Her father gave her a house in the city of Toronto and cut her from any family inheritance. She lived in that house till her [d] on Nov 5, 1930 at an age of 74. A Toronto Anglican Bishop (Bishop Snell) would visit her on a regular basis during her final years. Belinda refused to go to her own children’s weddings if it was held in a Catholic Church. The picture above was taken in her home circa 1880s at 133 Lisgar Street off Queen near Dovercourt in Toronto.
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