Another Date That Dress competition

[stagsman]

Can anyone help with the date of the dress in this painting? She is known as 'Lady Margaret Wade' and we know of two versions that have been handed down within the extended family, but we have no Wades in the tree so far!

[bearkat]

Looks very "Pride and Prejudice" to me - early 1800's

[Little Nell]

It's about 1815.

Nell

[Hackstaple]

This is referred to as Empire Style - 1800 to 1815. [The Emperor being Bonaparte]. The distinguishing characteristic is the very high "waistline" - right under the bodice.

[stagsman]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Early 1800's ties in with our thinking as well but unfortunately that only confuses things when it comes to working out who Lady Margaret Wade might be, so here is the second part of the challenge.

The two paintings were passed down the female line of the Harrison family who were tenant farmers in Middle Handley, near Staveley in Derbyshire, part of the Chatsworth Estate of the Duke of Devonshire. George Harrison married Hannah Barker in 1826 in Dronfield and the first of many children was born in Dronfield in 1827. The earliest link of the Harrison family with Handley is the birth of the seventh child in 1839 and we have maps from the Chatsworth Estate dated 1842 showing George Harrison farming land close to the church in Middle Handley. Intriguingly the property on the land around that time is known as "Wade's Homestead". However having checked Staveley parish records the only Wades recorded in the village were in the late 1600's and early 1700's up to 1733.

So who could Margaret Wade be? The only candidate that we can find in our tree is George Harrison's mother. George was born in 1808, the second of four children born between 1806 and 1811 in Greenhills, Norton, Derbyshire to James Harrison and Millicent. There is no record of the marriage in the Norton registers, so no way of finding Millicent's maiden name but it presumably took place around 1805, making it right for 'Margaret'.

James and Millicent were both still young when the 4th child was born (late 20's) but there is no death record in Norton for either of them, so did they move away and if so where to? Did they have any more children and was Millicent really Margaret Wade? If not then who was Margaret Wade and why did the Harrison's have 2 copies of her painting?

I feel only a dedicated RootsChatter will be able to help solve the mystery. All contributions gratefully accepted.

Ian

[bearkat]

If she was a "Lady" would Burke's Peerage help?

[cep]

It appears that a Mrs Roberts may have written under the name Margaret Wade, c. 1806

http://www.british-fiction.cf.ac.uk/TitleDetails.asp?title=1806A057&browse=y

Any clue?


Regards   CP

[wheeldon]

When I was at college aprox 15 years ago (EEEK) I did a project about fashion through the ages and I went to visit a museum in Miles Platting, Manchester, that was purely dedicated to clothes through the ages.  I'm sorry but I've no idea if it is still there but worth a shot to enquire - maybe they would offer some advice.

Regards

Fiona

[PrueM]

Any idea who the artist was?  Perhaps the Tate Gallery (now Tate Britain) could help - if the artist is someone well known, there could be a record of who this lady is. 
Whoever she is, she's beautiful!  Just looking at that dress makes me think of Mr Darcy....**swoon** 

Prue