Hello to all my fellow researchers and kind contributors to this subject: Lady Anne of Clontarf, Ireland. Hope you are all well and finding answers to all those mysteries out there. I so miss being steeped in the pursuit.
Regarding Lady Anne, a smidgen of progress: my cousin near Baltimore, who has the portrait, has recently brought it to an archival framer to remove the work from the frame. An appraiser was also present, and unfortunately there were no marks/signatures anywhere to be seen.
Afterwards my cousin took the portrait to a paper conservator at Johns Hopkins Univ., with the goal of determining the age and origin of the paper. They determined that it was from the mid to late 18th century and of a type used in the UK, which supports our figuring that Lady Anne was born somewhere between 1752 & 1783.
During the many years of this quest to find Lady Anne's identity, my aunts and uncle who have treasured this story from their childhood have been passing away. Last fall my mom's older sister passed away, which leaves my mom, the youngest of four siblings, the last of those who heard their grandma Jesse Koplik (ne: Curtis) tell stories about their mysterious "royal" ancestor's portrait, ring, and dress. Can you imagine what that meant to a bunch of poor kids in a tenement during the depression, and the images it stirred in their heads?
In the last month, my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma, which motivated me to contact my cousin to finally have the painting looked at, to find out any extra information it might reveal. I so want to be able to find out who the heck Lady Anne really was while my mom is still around. I watch some of those ancestry programs on TV and get so jealous of the focus and resources they are able to devote to a subject. I wish I had the time and energy to do more myself, but my work and inability to stay up late at night - like I used to at the beginning of this journey - just won't allow it.
What am I trying to say here? Not so sure. I guess this seems like the end of the road and I'm sad and upset about that. On the scale of things that really matter in the world, not knowing who, exactly, Lady Anne is, is pretty low I guess, just a want on my part to find out something to satisfy my curiosity.
It has been fun, interesting, and I love how it's connected me with my living relatives and total strangers from all corners of the planet. I also am so grateful to have found and learned about ancestors from long ago and far away: their stories have given me a greater appreciation for
how good I have it, and a very clear perspective that their struggles and bravery have a lot to do with my great life. I aspire to invoke my ancestors whenever I think life is tough.
So, this isn't the destination I had imagined, but I gotta say, the journey has been something I never could have imagined. Thank you all for being so generous with your time, knowledge, and energy.
Regards,
Joe O.
