#52Ancestors – Favourite Photo

2018 Week 2

The theme this week (which is now last week) is ‘Favourite Photo’. The photo below is one of my favourite family history photos – kindly copied from the original held by my mum’s cousin Ba.

This wedding day photo was taken on 1 February 1899 in Fletton, Peterborough, Northamptonshire¹. The wedding was between John George BRAYBROOK (1877-1917) and Emma Elizabeth GARFOOT (1874-1949). They were my great grandparents on my mother’s side. They had nine children including Muriel Nellie (my grandmother) and Evelyn Ruth (Ba and Gill’s mother).

I have been able to identify a number of the people in the photo but there are still mysteries. I have an idea of who would have attended but have not managed to find a report of the wedding that may include names of who attended.

To the right of the bride (looking at the photo) is her uncle William Springthorpe GARFOOT (1859-1945). I suspect that he gave away the bride as Emma’s father had died ten years earlier following an accident in the railway yards in 1889. I think his elder daughter Bessie GARFOOT (1891-1973) is the girl in white on the left at the front. His younger daughter Florence was only 1 year old so is not there. His wife Hannah HOLLIS (1854-1917) may be in the photo but I have no idea whereabouts.

The bride’s mother Ann GARFOOT (nee HARDING, 1838-1915) is on the second row from the front on the right hand side almost looking tucked away. The bride’s eldest sister Mary Ann THOMPSON (1871-1941) known as Polly is on the back row, sixth from the left. I think her daughter Annie Francis Helen THOMPSON (1893-1981) known as Nell is the other girl in white on the front row. Polly’s husband had died in 1894. The bride’s grandfather Robert Jarvis GARFOOT (1824-1902) is on the back row on the far right I think.

The groom’s parents George BRAYBROOK (1845-1916) and Elizabeth Ann COLEY (1845-1914) are on the back row seventh and eighth from the left respectively.

These are the main relations that I have easily identified. There are a few more that I suspect who they are but I am really hoping that at some point a newspaper article about the wedding will be found that will help identify who was there on the day. If anyone knows who any of the other people are, I would welcome ideas.

One of the reasons I love this photo is that on first glance it looks quite a posh location.  However, when looking carefully you can see the corrugated iron building behind the backing cloth as well as hay on the ground.

Footnotes

1. Marriage Certificate of BRAYBROOK, John George and GARFOOT, Emma Elizabeth. March quarter 1899, Peterborough Registration District, Vol 3b Page 283. Certified copy issued for the National Insurance Act on 19 January 1915 held by Amelia Bennett.