Jim, China. Thanks for all of your really valuable discussions and conclusions. I’ve been doing a bit of detective work based on my family tree and the dates you have recommended for these photos.
Looking at the ages of the children, and the dates of the photos, it would be a real stretch to try to get them to fit my great-grandparents, George & Janet. The family photo in particular, doesn’t fit with the ages of the children.
However, George’s older brother, William Wightman and his family fit the dates perfectly. They had 5 children, with the youngest being born in 1897. If the family photo is 1896, the other 4 children would be aged 13, 11 (girl), 7 and 5. The parents would be 42 (William) and 38 (Jemima).
In the 1891 & 1901 census, they are living just around the corner from the Brighton Grove studio where the photo was taken.
William and my great-grandfather set up their own bootmakers shop, so must have been fairly close. I imagine that William and his wife had portraits made when they married in 1882 and probably gave a set to my great-grandparents – which is how I’ve got the paintings now.
It’s disappointing to realise that the portraits are not my great-grandparents, but it’s good to be able to put some names to the photos with a certain degree of confidence. Thanks once again for your great input,
Ian
