Maria Smith Wait And Letters From Van Dieman's Land

"The book from which the most of this story is derived is a rather rare one. "Letters from Van Dieman's Land...".

A Wife's Devotion (transcript):

"The story of the heroic exertions of Maria Wait during four years, first to save the life of her husband and next to obtain a full pardon or some amelioration of his sufferings when a prisoner in Van Dieman's Land ( Australia)...".

The story of Maria Smith Wait, who saved her husband from a traitor's death (from an earlier blog post): "Unfortunately, Benjamin had participated in the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion and in August of 1838 he was sentenced to hang."

Famous Canadian Women website:

The final execution was stopped with only one half hour to spare!! Benjamin was sent to Tasmania, Van Diemen’s Land for life.

Benjamin escaped from prison in 1841 and two years later the family was reunited in New York State across the boarder from Canada. Marie died a short time later giving birth to twins. [Benjamin remarried and died in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the age of 82.]

Maria was an heir of Robert Randall, who also had an interesting life (see Robert Randall's heirs):

Frederick Smith, of Willoughby, aforesaid, farmer, and his children, Thaddeus, Maria, Frederick and William, Edwin and George, 3/10 of the whole.... .  

Robert Randall's documents for probate and his influence on William Lyon McKenzie can be seen here.