September 14 - October 14, 2024
Dundee Central Library
Free
On September 14, 1911, Mary Petrie Smith made a fateful decision. She left her two young sons in their pram outside a pub at the top of the Wellgate Steps and boarded a ship bound for Canada. Now, 113 years later, this exhibition finally gives Mary a voice. But is this the whole truth? Did she truly leave everything behind, or is there more to her story than we’ll ever know?
This exhibition, written and designed by Mary’s descendant Jamie Lees, invites you to consider the possibilities of what really happened that day in 1911 and what could have driven Mary to make such a drastic decision.
Events
Left at the Wellgate – Exhibition Launch
14 September, 2 pm, Central Library – no booking required
Join Jamie Lees and friends for a guided tour of the exhibition to mark its opening.
Solving Mary’s Mystery: A Group Investigation
2.30 pm-4.30 pm, Monday 16 September
Tickets: Solving Mary’s Mystery: A Group Investigation Tickets, Mon, Sep 16, 2024 at 2:30 PM | Eventbrite
Meet at exhibition (next to Reception, Dundee Central Library)
Join us at Dundee Central Library for "Solving Mary’s Mystery: A Group Investigation," a hands-on workshop connected to the exhibition Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith. Step into the role of a detective as you unravel the life-changing decision of Mary Petrie Smith, who in 1911 left her two young sons in their pram outside a pub in The Wellgate and boarded a ship bound for Canada. Working in pairs, you’ll examine exhibition panels, personal letters, and genealogical records to gather clues and form your own interpretation of why she made this heart-wrenching choice. Each pair will present their distinct perspective, contributing to the collective understanding of Mary’s story.
Don't miss this unique opportunity on Monday, September 16, 2024, from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, to delve into this story of courage and heartbreak. Mary's family, who have traveled from Canada, will be in attendance. The exhibition runs from September 14 to October 14, 2024.
Women Moving On: living conditions, work, and emigration in the early 20th century – a talk by Dr Esther Breitenbach
6 pm, Monday 16 September
Conference Room, Central Library
Tickets: Women Moving On: a talk by Dr Esther Breitenbach Tickets, Mon, Sep 16, 2024 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite
Join leading scholar of Scottish women’s history Dr Esther Breitenbach for a talk which will shed light on the time, place and social context in which Mary Petrie Smith made her decision to leave Dundee. Although her individual story is unusual, Mary was one of many women who left Scotland to begin a new life in Canada working in domestic service in the early twentieth century. This talk will explore their experiences of life, work and emigration.
Dr Breitenbach will discuss some of the factors which pushed women away from Scotland – such as the poor living conditions for working-class women illuminated in Mary Lily Walker et al’s Dundee Social Union report – and those which pulled them towards Canada, such as a demand for domestic servants, also a major source of employment for women in Scotland.
Histories of Scottish women's mental health: In Conversation with Caroline Brown and Morag Allan Campbell
3-4.30pm, Wednesday 18 September
Central Library, Conference Room (max places 40)
Tickets: Childbirth and women’s mental health in Scotland Tickets, Wed, Sep 18, 2024 at 3:00 PM | Eventbrite
Join historian of healthcare Dr Morag Allan Campbell and University of Dundee Archivist Caroline Brown for an In Conversation event which will shed light on the time, place and social context in which Mary Petrie Smith made her decision to leave Dundee, and on some of the harder to tell stories we often find in family histories.
Morag Allan Campbell and Caroline Brown will speak about what the historical record can tell us about women’s mental illness, and in particular mental illness related to pregnancy and childbirth. The conversation will cover topics including how these illnesses were perceived by the women who experienced them, their families, and the wider community, the sources that can help us shed light on them, and ways in which we can share these stories today.
Speaker bios:
Dr Morag Allan Campbell is a researcher of women in medicine and healthcare in Britain during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her PhD thesis, ‘This Distressing Malady: Childbirth and Mental Illness in Scotland 1820-1930,’ examined medical, family and community narratives, and the care and treatment of women suffering from mental illness associated with pregnancy and childbirth, and specifically the experiences of women in Dundee, Fife and Forfarshire between 1820 and 1930.
Caroline Brown is University Archivist and Assistant Director in the Library & Learning Centre and Culture & Information. She has responsibility for Archives, Museums and Information Governance. A history graduate who took her Diploma in Archival Studies at University College Dublin, Caroline has worked at the Business Archives Council in London, the Rhodes Trust in Oxford, Edinburgh University and at the National Archives of Scotland. Caroline also spent several years as Programme Leader for the University’s distance learning programmes in Archives and Records Management and Family History and is still active in areas of research and teaching. She is currently a Trustee of the Scottish Council on Archives, a Director of the Scottish Archive Network, a member of the Executive Board of the International Council on Archives and Chair of its Section on University and Research Institution Archives (ICA-SUV).
Left at the Wellgate is part of The Wellgate Project