Maria Ann Smith

Maria Ann Smith and her son Thomas

Maria Ann "Granny" Smith (* 1799 in Peasmarsh , East Sussex , United Kingdom ; † March 9, 1870 in Ryde , New South Wales , Australia ) was a British - Australian fruit farmer and responsible for the cultivation of the apple variety named after her, Granny Smith .

Life

Maria Smith was born to farmers John and Hannah Sherwood in the southern English village of Peasmarsh. She was baptized on January 5, 1800 in Peasmarsh. On August 8, 1819, she married the farm worker Thomas Smith (1799–1876). Since neither of them could write, they signed their marriage contract with a marker. They lived in the village of Beckley, East Sussex for the next 19 years, with Mary bearing eight children, three of whom died early.

The Smith family emigrated to New South Wales, Australia, in 1838 with other families from East Sussex and West Kent . They reached Sydney on November 27, 1838. Thomas Smith found employment in Kissing Point, near Sydney, and Thomas and Maria Smith stayed there until their deaths. Her youngest son, born in Australia, was baptized in 1842. In the mid-1850s they bought land to be planted with fruit trees. Maria and her husband sold their products in the Sydney market, including homemade apple pie.

Two years before her death, Maria Smith received apples from Tasmania for her cake. She used the fruit and composted the core. Random seedlings grew from the seeds , which she continued to cultivate. After her death, Edward Gallard bought large parts of the farm in 1876 and further developed the apple variety, which he named “Granny Smith” (Grandma Smith) in honor of her first cultivator and which became known worldwide.

The Granny Smith Memorial Park exists on the southern part of Smith Farm and the annual Granny Smith Festival has been held in Eastwood since 1985 .

Web links

• Mary Ann Smith in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Biography on Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Biography on the Ryde city website