I've decided to put together collections of photos that all share a common thread. For the third collection post, the spotlight is on ... Going Solo!
The individual portraits are either photographic portraits or painted portraits that cover the time period from the mid to the late 1800s. Each one is truly a treasure.
James Wright
1822-1875
He was the second husband of my paternal 3rd great aunt Hannah Browning.
James was born in London in 1818, but he died in New South Wales. He was transported to Australia as a convict at the age of 19. He went on to marry Hannah in 1848 when he was 26 years old.
Together they had 21 children, including 4 sets of twins. Tragically, not all the children survived into adulthood.
James died at the age of 57. He was accidentally killed by a falling tree while out cutting down the said tree with his sons in an attempt to collect a bee hive that was lodged in the tree!
What a life story! I don't have a date for this portrait, but James does look like he is in his early 50s, so perhaps this photo was taken to celebrate his 50th birthday in 1868!
Common Ancestors (with his wife Hannah): William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns (my paternal 3x great grandparents).
1852-1931
He is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed.
William earned his living as a miner for many years, married Mary Jane Aspinall when he was 21 and went on to have six children.
I think this portrait speaks volumes about the sort of man William was - unassuming, no-nonsense and hard-working. I think perhaps that was his best set of clothes.
No date for this portrait either, but I'm guessing it would be late 1880s to early 1890s.
Common Ancestors: William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns (my paternal 3x great grandparents).
This is a portrait of Harriet Matilda Thomas nee Wright.
1860-1920
She is one of James's daughters and one of William's sisters, making her another of my paternal 1st cousins 3x removed.
Harriet married Andrew Thomas at the age of 16 and they went on to have a family of thirteen children, including one set of twins.
Harriet's husband died in 1915, aged 59, and Harriet herself died in 1920, also aged 59.
I find the enormous lace collar that Harriet is wearing to be quite extraordinary. I wonder if it was a family heirloom and held special significance for her? I imagine it was only worn on very special occasions.
Common Ancestors: William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns (my paternal 3x great grandparents).
This kind-faced man is Joseph Fullagar
1820-1915
He is my paternal 1st cousin 4x removed. Born in Woodchurch, Kent, England, he lived his entire life in that village, working as a gardener. That would be my dream job!
He married Charlotte Morphett when he was 21 years old in 1842, and they had a family of eighteen children, including one set of twins.
Joseph passed away in 1915 at the age of 94.
I'm unsure of the date of this photo but Joseph looks to be in his late 40s, so it could have been taken in the late 1860s.
Common Ancestors: John Fullagar and Elizabeth Bourne (my paternal 4x great grandparents)
This is Joseph's wife Charlotte Fullagar nee Morphett
1824-1895
She married Joseph in 1842 when she was 17 years old, and (as mentioned) went on to have eighteen children, including a set of twins.
I think she would have been one rather remarkable woman and I'm amazed she still has such a kindly countenance in her golden years, as seen in this portrait.
I don't have a date for this photo, but Charlotte looks to be in her 60s, so perhaps it was taken to celebrate a milestone 60th birthday which would have been in 1884.
Perhaps that cap/bonnet on her head was a real fashion statement at the time, but it's hard to imagine wearing something like that on a daily basis!
This distinguished man is John Potter Davis
1834-1917
He is my paternal 3rd cousin 4x removed (quite a distant relationship!)
John was born in Woodchurch, England but emigrated to the U.S.A. with his parents in 1849 when he was 15 years old.
He married Mary Elizabeth Mack when he was 21 and they eventually settled in Wisconsin.
Both John and Mary worked as a team when John became the Superintendent of the Walworth Poor Farm in in 1882.
They ran this poor house and lunatic asylum for sixteen years, and apparently were known as quite a caring couple displaying humane (for the times) treatment of the inmates. Those poor inmates ended up living in this place because of poverty, that was often accompanied by mental illness, a physical or cognitive disability; or they were young, poor, unmarried pregnant women who could not take care of themselves or their offspring.
Common Ancestors: John Fullagar and Elizabeth Potter (my paternal 6x great grandparents).
This is Mary Elizabeth Davis nee Mack, John's wife.
1837-1918
Mary was born in Madison County, New York and died in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, as did her husband.
Mary's husband John died in 1917 at the age of 83, and Mary herself died the following year, 1918, at the age of 81.
It's likely that the photo portraits of both John and Mary were taken when they left Walworth Poor Farm, around 1898 which would put them both in their early 60s.
1847-1942
This is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed. She was born and died in New South Wales, Australia.
Emily married Thomas John Dixon Barnes in 1865 when she was 18 years old. They went on to have eight children, losing only one daughter in infancy.
Sadly, Emily's husband died when she was 53, but Emily herself had a very long life and passed away in 1942 when aged 95.
I don't have a date for this portrait unfortunately, but given the usual practices of this era, it could have been taken on her wedding day, on the day she turned 21 or to celebrate a wedding anniversay.
Common Ancestors: James Hukins and Susannah Fullagar (my paternal 3x great grandparents).
Here is Thomas John Dixon Barnes, the husband of Emily
1842-1901
Thomas was 23 years old when he married. He had emigrated from England just the year before.
In 1901 Thomas passed away at the age of 59.
Again, I'm unsure of the date this photo was taken. Thomas is holding a top hat which could suggest the photo was taken on his wedding day in the mid 1860s, but he looks older than 23.
Perhaps this photo was to mark a special occasion of some other sort.
Nancy Eliza Robertson nee Browning
1875-1939
My paternal first cousin 3x removed
Born in New South Wales, and died in Gympie, Queensland.
Nancy married William Hector Robertson in 1896 when she was 21 and went on to have a family of nine children.
Perhaps this portrait dates from her wedding day.
Nancy passed away in 1939 when she was 64 years old.
Common Ancestors: William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns (my paternal 3x great grandparents).
This is William Hector Robertson, Nancy's husband.
1868-1950
He was born in Scotland and died in Gympie, Queensland, Australia.
William married Nancy when he was 21 years old. When Nancy died in 1939, William was 71 years old, but interestingly he re-married the following year 1940 at the sprightly age of 72!
He passed away in 1950 at the age of 82.
Now this rather dapper young man is John Thomas (Jack) Browning, brother to Nancy pictured previously.
1879-1951
My paternal first cousin 3x removed.
John Thomas, known as Jack, married Margaret Ellen O'Reilly when he was 31 years of age.
They went on to have eleven children, not all of whom survived to adulthood.
This photo shows John as a young man. It was possibly taken when John turned 21 in 1900.
John was born and died in Queensland. He passed away when he was 72 years old in 1951.
Common Ancestors: William Henry Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns (my paternal 3x great grandparents).
This lady with the quite stylish bonnet and rather sad face is Eleanor Jane Atkin nee Jones
1863-1957
She is my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed. Born in New South Wales, Australia to a convict named John Michael Jones and his wife Harriett Lancaster-Exton, Eleanor was raised in a family of nine siblings and two half-siblings.
Her father died when she was only 3 years old, and her mother re-married three years later.
I think Eleanor would probably have had a tough upbringing. It's likely she would have perhaps remained a little unnoticed with eight older siblings, having a sister born just a few months after the death of her father, and then two half-siblings born when she was aged 7 and 11.
Eleanor married Joseph Atkin when she was 19 years old. They were married for 59 years and had six children. Joseph passed away in 1941 when Eleanor was 77 years old. Eleanor herself died in 1957, aged 93.
This sweet jovial face belongs to Elizabeth (known as Betsy) McQuilty nee Exton.
1849-1917
She is my paternal 3x great aunt. Elizabeth was born in New South Wales, but died in Beaudesert, Queensland.
Elizabeth married Francis Thomas McQuilty in 1866 when she was only 16. They went on to have eleven children.
Along with raising their children, Elizabeth worked as a domestic for most of her life.
Her husband passed away when Elizabeth was 58 and she kept on working after that. Elizabeth died in 1917 at the age of 61.
Common Ancestors: James Exton and Susannah Lancaster (my 3x great grandparents and Elizabeth's parents)
I loved the direction you went in for this prompt. I really enjoyed the photos and and the bios.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Valerie. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the way I worked with this week's prompt.
DeleteI am a direct relative of Hannah, daughter of Hannah and James Wright. James was born in London in1818 and came to Australia as a convict aged 19. He arrived on "the Emma Eugenia" in 1838. The newspaper article on his death refers to him as Frederick James Wright. This has confused many people and resulted in wrong family histories. All of the Birth Certificates state that his name is James and he was born in London 1818 as does his ship entry.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Kaye for these details about James. I've now corrected his birth year and added the information about transportation as well. Yes, I was caught up in the misleading information from some family trees as well, but finally realised the mistake.
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