Elizabeth Hercy (1817 - 1901)

Born 20 Jan 1817 in England

Ancestors

Died 17 Feb 1901 at age 84 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Mary was a Mercy Nun.

Mary Elizabeth Hercy was born in 1817. She was the daughter of John Smallwood and Frances Moore. According to the 1841 census, John and Frances had daughters named Elizabeth and Mary, both aged about 20. Mary was probably the future wife of Charles Clifford, so Elizabeth was probably the future nurse and nun. The name Mary was probably added when she became a nun. In the 1850s, she worked as a nurse in the Crimean War. She became a nun in the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy order. She lived for a long time at All Hallows Convent in Brisbane, Australia. At the time of her Diamond Jubilee, Queen Victoria awarded the Royal Red Cross to Sister Mary Elizabeth as one of the last five surviving nurses from the Crimean War. She passed away in 1901.

Sources

• 1841 Census: Hawthorn Hill, Bray, Crookham, Berkshire, GBC_1841_0012_0111. findmypast

John Hercy Esq, aged 50, Ind, N (No, not born in Berkshire)

Frances Hercy, aged 50, N

Elizabeth Hercy, aged 20, N

Next page: GBC_1841_0012_0112

Mary Hercy, aged 20, N

Teresa Hercy, aged 20, N

Francis Hercy, aged 4, N

Eustace Hercy, aged 2, N

Joseph Tempest, aged 35, Ind, N

Frances Tempest, aged 20, N

& 4 M.S. and 6 F.S., appear to be 10 servants

Note by Martin C. Styan: The surname is interpreted as “Herey” in the transcript and indexed as “Herey”.

• https://issuu.com/mercyinternational/docs/foundation-story-st-edwards-gb-unio

This book mentions Sister Mary Elizabeth Hercy.

• The Tablet, Saturday, January 8, 1898 page 32 (66 printed on the page). findmypast

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL.

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN has been pleased to confer the Royal Red Cross on Sister Mary Elizabeth, Sister of Mercy, in reward for her care in nursing the sick and wounded during the Crimean War. She was one of the first nurses to arrive, and stayed till the end. The Cross is now on its way to her, she being at present at the Convent of Mercy, Brisbane, N.S.W. Sister Mary Elizabeth is now in her 80th year, and is the daughter of the late Mr. John Hercy of Crutchfield House, and the Sister of General and Colonel Hercy, and Mary Ann Lady Clifford.

• The Globe, 17 April 1901 page 4. findmypast

DEATH OF A FAMOUS NUN.

It may be remembered that on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee the Queen decorated all the nurses then living who had been at the Crimea. Only five could be discovered, all of them members of various sisterhoods. Four of the sisters received the decoration at Windsor. The fifth was Sister Mary Elizabeth, of the All Hallows Convent at Brisbane. She was a member of the old English family of Hercy, of Berkshire, and a sister of General Hercy. Miss Hercy, who has just died, at the age of 84, was one of the earliest members of the Brisbane Convent, and had long been regarded as a connecting-link with the remote past.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173074937/mary-elizabeth-hercy

Gravestone in Nudgee Cemetery, Nudgee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Inscription on gravestone:

SR M. ELIZABETH

HERCY R.S.M

20-1-1817 17-2-1901

SR LOYCE

GORDON R.S.M

16-4-1916 20-10-2015

R.I.P.

Note by Martin C Styan: It is not clear why these two nuns are commemorated on the same gravestone. It appears probable that the stone was made only after the death of the second nun in 2015.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Hallows%27_School

An article on the convent and school at Brisbane, Australia, where Sister Mary Elizabeth Hercy served for many years.