The Derricutt Family
Written by Nikki-ann on Saturday, 2 February , 2008 at 8:32 pm
This evening I’m trying to date a family photography. Sadly, the photo isn’t in great condition; it’s overexposed and scratched. It’s also warped slightly, so I had to take a photo of it rather than use the scanner. The photo is sepia and is mounted onto thick card. I turned it into greyscale and fiddled about with a few settings to try and get a bit more detail.
Is this a wedding photo? The male members of the family are wearing flowers. Alfred & Mary (the couple sat down) were married on October 1897, so that is certainly the earliest date for the photo. I’m confident that the people standing behind Alfred & Mary are Alfred’s children (Mary was Alfred’s second wife).
Alfred’s children from his first marriage were Margaret (born 1871), Mary (1873), Thomas (1875), Henry (1877), Martha (1882), Francis (1884), Maud (1886), May (1889) and Mabel (1893).
At the time of their marriage Mary had one daugher, Sarah (born 1895).
Once married, Alfred & Mary had 2 more children, John (born 1898) and Muriel (1903).
I am sure the 2 men stood are Henry and Thomas. I don’t think Francis was in the photo as he ended his short life in an asylum. If the photo is Alfred & Mary’s wedding photo then one of the infants would almost certainly have been Mary’s daughter Sarah. Dad thinks the 3rd woman on the left is Alfred’s daughter Mary.
I believe the photo was taken in Alfred & Mary’s garden as we have a couple of other photos situated in the same place.
Category: Family History, Photography, Derricutt
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Comment by R. Sherman
Made Saturday, 2 of February , 2008 at 9:29 pm
Greetings from Missouri, via Michelle.
For years, I desperately tried to get my Dad to sit down with his photos and date them and write down who was depicted. It is a shame so many stories are lost that way.
As for dating the photo, I would be at a loss. The women’s fashion seems to match photos I’ve seen from the early 20th century, say up to the end of the World War in 1918. Beyond that, I would hesitate to venture a guess.
Cheers.
Comment by Cyberevolution
Made Sunday, 3 of February , 2008 at 10:22 am
What an absolutley fascinating picture!
I’d have to agree with the comment from Missouri, I have some old family pics from around 1896 - 1907/8 and the fashion seems consistent with what I have seen of that period. Other clues in the picture that could help date it? The men all appear to be wearing chain-watches which may have become popular at a specific time.
I don’t know about wedding, I get the feeling this may be more of simply a family outting, they all appear to be in the country somewhere on a large cloth… (kinda says picnic to me) =P
Comment by Apple
Made Sunday, 3 of February , 2008 at 3:45 pm
I think the lapel flowers are a big clue as they most likely would not have been worn for other than a special occasion. So the wedding is an excellent guess. The extra child is perplexing. Was one of Alfred’s children already a parent by 1897? If it is 1897 I would guess, based on ages; Maud age 11, Margaret age 26, Mary age 24, Henry age 20, Thomas age 24, Martha age 17 and May age 8. In front of Alfred is a mystery, standing between them would be Mabel age 4 and on Mary’s lap Sarah age 2. It’s very hard to make out the size/age of the three small children. A nice picture to have, I’m glad we have the technology now for you to copy and preserve it. Maybe you’ll run across something else that solidifies the year.
Comment by Bob-kat
Made Sunday, 3 of February , 2008 at 4:35 pm
More detective work! I suspect you have already tried cross referencing for likeness with other photographs. It brings home how important it is to lable these things. I keep asking my parents to do this with theirs photo’s.
Good luck on getting to the bottom of this mystery.
Comment by Chery
Made Thursday, 7 of February , 2008 at 7:50 pm
Hey there, Nikki-ann. I love playing detective with photographs, and have been able to identify quite a few of them from my family. Your description of the photograph matches that of many photos I’ve seen from the late 1880s and 1890s, as well as the cardboard mounting of the photo. Your photo subjects do not appear grim… quite the contrary, and judging by the flowers and the fashions worn, I think you can assume it was a wedding gathering. I think you have hit it spot-on!
Comment by jewelgirl
Made Wednesday, 5 of March , 2008 at 12:10 am
The use of a dark colored Wedding Dress is indeed
interesting. I have a few old photos with the same
color of dress, I always wondered what time period
the photos were from. Very interesting site!
