Help with dating photograph - Ann Ellen Chilton - East Sussex

[elvisthelurcher]

Hi, would anyone be so kind as to have a go at dating this photograph for me please?
My relative, Ann Ellen Clarke (Chilton) is front right of the photo. She had 3 daughters and 3 sons, I was wondering if these could be them all? The lady on the far right looks a bit old to be her daughter to me?
There were 3-4 years between each of the boys, and each of the girls.
Any help with approximate ages would be great too!
Many thanks in advance,
Matt

[jim1]

The 1st. thing to be gleaned from this is the soldier who is wearing
the 1908 pattern tunic so that's the start date.
Looking at the general dress styles not much later than that so
around 1910 +/- 2 years.
As regards to ages the youngest lad looks 11/12 the next lad 14/15 & the oldest 18/20.
The girls are a bit more difficult but the one on the right looks the oldest.

[guest189040]

C1910

To me the lady on the right looks more like a younger sister of your relative.

[Ruskie]

I agree that the woman on the far right does look older and a similar age to Ann. They do look alike.

As you say Ann had three sons and three daughters perhaps this is the family group - maybe the daughter just had a mature look.

Do you know the dates of birth of Ann and the eldest daughter?

The son on the far left looks like Ann and the woman on the far right.

[Treetotal]

Hi and welcome to Rootschat, I agree with Jim so it looks like you have the right family.
Carol

[elvisthelurcher]

Wow, thank you all for your replies, it's much appreciated.

In 1910 their ages would be;
Mother - 40
Father - 37
Sons - 3,6,10
Daughters - 9,12,14

Could it possibly be 5 years or so later C1915?

Ruskie - Ann Ellen was born in 1870, and the eldest daughter Grace in 1896.

Thanks again

[jim1]

Could it possibly be 5 years or so later C1915?

Afraid not.
In 1915 the eldest son would still only be 15 & too young to be in the Army.
Also he's wearing the pre 1916 tunic. After that men were given what was called the economy tunic
which was slightly but identifiably different to this.

[Long Tom]

Lovely photo, and they look quite an affluent family
I think it is the complete family, the Girls being the most difficult to age.   My view is that the extreme right one tends to look older but because of her hair style and countenance.   They all have the same nose profile, but I offer a different opinion of the eldest - Mother 50, Father about the same, youngest son 12,next son 16, Soldier 21, daughter to Soldiers left [ at photo],being the eldest aged 24, daughter extreme right 22, and final daughter 19.      I think it could be a family photo to mark the safe return of the Soldier son prior to his discharge.   However Jim1 expertise on the uniform makes the birth / photo dates important.     As a relative with such a good photo, I would be seeking WW1 records to try and confirm entry etc.

[McGroger]

I think some of the children in this photo look older than they were because of the lines in the photo. I’ve tried to clean up their faces without altering their features. I think that, cleaned up, almost all of the children look younger than in the original image.

I know I’m going to regret going against Jim’s suggestions, but once in a blue moon I foolishly stick my neck out. Here goes:

The youngest boy is two head-heights below his oldest brother. He’s no more than 4 feet tall and about 7 or 8 years old. (Trust me; I have 8 grandchildren between 3 and 12!) The next boy is about 11. The oldest boy is about 15. The youngest girl is a tall 14. The next girl is about 17. And the oldest girl is about 19/20.

I think the photo was taken at the start of the war. Apparently a blind eye was turned towards keen albeit underaged young men, so many thousands were able to enlist, as young as 14.

The mother’s clothing and hairstyle look late Edwardian, but the girls’ look post-Edwardian, perhaps into the early war years.

I’d go for 1915 and: (from front row, clockwise) mother 45; 8 years boy; father 42; 11 years boy; 14 years girl; 15 years boy; 17 years girl; 19 years girl. Note that the children are all in age order.

Peter