Family History Photos - Great-Grandfathers

[Merry]

This is my mother's paternal grandfather, Henry Robert Clark, 1854-1938. The photo was taken about 1918-1920.

Henry was a schoolmaster at Sidcot Quaker School in Somerset for about 40 years.

This is my mother's maternal grandfather, Edwin Maynard, 1837-1921. The photo was taken about the same time as the one of Henry, above.

Edwin worked in his father's grocer's shop at Whittlesford in Cambridgeshire until the mid-1870s. After this he moved to London for a while before settling in Twickenham where he became the librarian at the newly formed public library. My gran (his daughter) always described him as the "Chief Librarian", but he was actually the only one!!

[Merry]

This is my father's paternal grandfather, Samuel Charles Burchill, 1855-1921 with his wife and six children. The photo was taken about 1900. Samuel lived in Bristol and was a train driver for the Great Western Railway. It is said he drove the first passenger train through the Severn Tunnel, but I don't know if that's true.

I don't have a photo of my father's maternal grandfather!

[marquette]

This is my great grandfather William Richard Collis 1861-1922

He is the man in the hat standing. Beside him is his wife Laura Sophia (nee Martin).
The caption says they are in Kruegersdorf South Africa. Two of the seated young people are their children. I don't know when it was taken or why they were in South Africa, as they lived in Sydney Australia.

[marquette]

This is my Great grandfather Reuben Edward Page (1860-1924) and his second wife Lily Mary Ann (nee Dawson) (1872-1954).



I love this photo of his family. This is a family afternoon tea in Auburn Sydney. Reuben is seated in the deck chair on the left. I think it was taken around 1913-14 judging by the children.

[Merry]

Might the South Africa photo be just pre-WW1? I'm going by their clothing, but perhaps you can work out if that's likely by the ages of the two children?

Is the photo of Reuben and Lily their wedding photo? (she is showing off her left hand!)

[marquette]

Originally Posted by Merry

Might the South Africa photo be just pre-WW1? I'm going by their clothing, but perhaps you can work out if that's likely by the ages of the two children?

Is the photo of Reuben and Lily their wedding photo? (she is showing off her left hand!)

I cannot find the notes about which children they are, but I think it was the youngest two, Kit b 1898 and Philip b 1904, which would make it after WW1. So a narrower time frame of 1919-1922. I will have to find the other family photos and compare to see if I can work out which children they were. Other possibilties are Edith b 1888, Elsie b 1891, and Arthur b 1890. I am not even sure which young man is the son, and who the others are.

William worked for the NSW Mines Dept and was in a fairlly senior position by then, so many they went to SA to look at mining or through connections at work?

Yes, it could be Reuben and Lily's wedding photo, it seems to be the only reason that people had formal photos taken at that time (1896).

There are so few photos of families like the afternoon tea in the backyard one, I suspect that my grandmother must have taken this one - and Dad says they must have been well off to afford a camera in those days!

[Shona]

Krugersdorp was founded in 1887 after gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand ridge and the need arose for a major town in the west of the reef. The government bought part of the Paardekraal farm and named the new town after the Transvaal President Paul Kruger. The mines were closed during the Boer War, during which the British set up a concentration for Boer families at Krugersdorp.

The clothes in the photo look Pre-WW1.

The three young men are all dressed similarly in what seems to be working clothing. The young women is simply dressed. Could they be staff or people who worked for William Collis?

[Shona]

My great-grandfather, John Milloy, and his wife, Charlotte Nash, taken on their wedding day in Bristol in 1892. It was the only time that John, a Gaelic-speaking crofter, left Scotland. Shame about the poor quality of the photo.

[Merry]

It was the only time that John, a Gaelic-speaking crofter, left Scotland.

Do you know how they came to meet. Shona?

[Shona]

Great-grandfather, William Nicol, pictured with his wife Robina, and youngest son, John. Picture taken c1913