Familiar features – or just friendly faces?

Photographs of family  – we are fortunate to have them, but sometimes identifying them can be problematic as over time they get labelled, lost, re-labelled and mis-interpreted. I have already written about another photograph that was attributed to family member of the same name but a couple of generations apart.  Can we say with exactitude exactly who these people are? Some of these pictures in this post I have doubts about. The historian in me means I tend to use ‘may’ ‘might’  and ‘possibly’ when describing who the subjects may be.

Another privately published book written about the Lawns (Copper to Quartz, 1999) included a photograph of a Lawn family friend – included because there was a name ‘James Lawn’ written on the back (p52). This photograph came from the collection of a descendant of John Lawn living in Australia. Ironically, as soon as I saw the portrait I immediately identified it as the step-son of my third great grandmother Jane Preshaw, who also lived in the small community of Reefton, New Zealand∗. The photograph – a wedding portrait of Charles Makinson Preshaw and his wife Maria Eliza Coombe (née Kittelty), taken in 1909 – was written on the back ‘James Lawn’ because that is who it was to be sent to.   A lesson for amatuer genealogists (which I learnt from making a similar mistake in another family history) is to always research your images!

Friends – not family? Charlie Preshaw and Maria, Reefton 1909. Copper to Quartz incorrectly supposed that the gentleman, if not James Lawn was ‘George’ Preshaw. Photograph original from E. Torney.

Tempting though it is to see a resemblance, one must look for clues and balance with the documentary evidence to establish whether an image is possibly who it is supposed to be, and if it cannot be extablished with certainty, err on the side of caution.

James Lawn, my great great grandfather and his brothers John, George and Henry Lawn were the sons of James Lawn (1812 – 1884) and Jenifer Webster (1817- 1887). The brothers all came to New Zealand, although George returned to England. James senior and Jenifer married in 1836 in the mining township of Lanner, Cornwall. James (snr) was in turn the son of Timothy Lawn (c1780- 1835) and Grace Whitburn (1780-1852).

There are a couple of pictures supposedly of Grace and one of Timothy (and other family), which should be relatively straight forward to confirm – however, these images have passed to me through the hands of Helen Lawn who was given them by another family member, Ena Boyce. Ena was born Ena Gertrude Lawn, (1909-1977), the grandaughter of Henry Lawn. Ena gave several pictures to Helen and they remain in the Helen Lawn Research (HLR) archive which I digitised. They all appear to be reprints of earlier photographs, judging firstly by the death dates of the subjects, and also by the back-stamp of the photographer, which can be dated.

Photography was invented but not available to the general public mostly until after 1840, so this helps us date the images, which are actually later reprints onto the popular carte-de-visite, probably ordered by Henry Lawn before he left home. James was the first to leave home, to travel to Australian goldfields and then the New Zealand goldfields. He returned to Cornwall at least once, more than likely twice, and again came to New Zealand with his younger brothers and cousins. Henry was recorded at Gwennap in the 1861 census, and he married Harriet Richards in 1868. He then went to work in the mines in Dalton on Furness where his first son Charles was born.

Lawn researcher Andrew Saunders writes: “Henry (1845) arrived in Melbourne from Plymouth on 18 August, 1870 in the vessel  “Hampshire”, and relocated to NZ in January, 1871 in the “Omeo”.  On 14 July, 1873 his wife, Harriet E, and son, Charles H, arrived in Wellington, NZ in the vessel “Halcione” –their name shown as “Laun”. Harriet had been living with her brother in Cornwall in the 1871 English census: William Richards and his wife Rosina were also on the Halcione. Henry and Harriet lived at Blackspoint 1873, then Capelston before finally settling at Te Aroha in the North Island. The reprints of family photographs brought to New Zealand were therefore probably made sometime between 1867 and 1873.

The first image is of Timothy Lawn. Timothy was baptised in Gwennap in May 1780 (he may have been born before this) and was buried in November 1835.  This is before civil registration, (July 1837) so all verifying documentation relies on parish records, or legal documents such wills or court records.

Is this “Timothy” Lawn or “William”?

Helen Lawn wrote the details on the back. You can see that someone originally labelled this ‘William’ in pencil. William Lawn was Timothy’s father, and died in 1811 so this cannot possibly be William Lawn. HLR

The next image is supposed to be Timothy’s wife,  Grace Lawn née Whitburn (1780-1852). Unfortunately the large cloak swathing the woman in this and the next image obscures the most accurate dating device, her clothing: necklines, sleeves and waist-lines are quite useful to pin-point dates within a couple of years. The coal-scuttle bonnet with its tight frill inside the brim worn here is an old-fashioned style which was out of fashion in the big cities, but still favoured by women in Cornwall in the mid-19th Century. Certainly, in both images there are similar styles evident: bonnet, leather gloves, cloak, as well as the subject’s piercing blue eyes. But are they the same person?

“Grace Lawn” nee Whitburn taken after 1840 (original may have been a Daguerrotype). If this is Grace (who was born in 1780) she would have been aged around 60 years in 1840; this image looks to be of a younger woman.  HLR

Rear of the early image of Grace, showing the backstamp dates after 1867, and Helen’s notes in ballpoint pen. Note the question mark – this photograph may not be who it seems.

“Grace Lawn” nee Whitburn 1780 – 1852.  This image is more likely to be accurately labeled, although like the one above it has been reprinted as a carte-de-visite and dates from after 1867. The plinth looks to be  similar – but not exactly the same as in the previous photograph. HLR

Identical backstamp shows these two images were almost certainly printed at the same time.

So if these two women are not the same, who might they be? Grace and Timothy had a daughter, also Grace, born in 1805, who married Benjamin Smith in 1828 so they may be mother and daughter – this does not explain why the younger version was reprinted and came to New Zealand in the 1870s.

The next image is supposed of James Lawn (senior) (1812-1884) – but even this is possibly not correct – note the pencil underneath Helen’s ballpoint, and compare to later images.

‘James Lawn’ 1812-1884. HLR

Note ‘Timothy’ written in pencil underneath ‘James Lawn’ HLR

Now we look at James’ wife, Jenifer Ann (1817-1877) (Baptised and in 1881 census as “Jenifer” but married and in all other census as “Jane”). Here we can date her photograph from her dress to about 1869-1870, although older women did not always wear up-to-date fashion.

‘Jennifer Ann Webster’. HLR

But then, let us compare this ‘James’ and ‘Jennifer’ with another photograph, this time from the collection of Peter Lawn in Reefton, son of the late Bob and Lawn and great-grandson of John Lawn (1840 – 1905). This is supposed to be a marriage portrait, but as the couple married in 1836, predating photography, it was taken later. This photograph is interesting for a couple of reasons: the long exposure time of the early photographs can be seen because James moved his hand and gave himself extra fingers! He also seems to be wearing an oddly fitting jacket, with the sleeves too long. Both seem to be wearing their ‘Sunday best’, if not new clothes. Although it is documented that photographers sometimes had a wardrobe of clothing for sitters to wear in the studio, there can be no knowing if this was the case in this isnstance.

James and Jenifer Lawn, c1840-1850. Original held by Peter Lawn

Here are the two James together: The ‘younger’ James, on the right has drooping eyelids, which the ‘older’ James on the left, does not and the younger James mouth seems to be wider – or perhaps it is just the lighting in the studio? Other features to compare/contrast in identifying portraits are: length of top lip, distance between irises, length and breadth of nose, size and shape of ears (obscured here), eyebrows, hairline, jawline. The nose and ears actually continue to grow over time, so must be considered carefully. These two are similar enough to be related, but maybe not enough to be the same person.

Another image, a family group, which was taken before 1879 is of James and Jenifer, and their two youngest children: Arthur (1857-1879) and Sarah Ann (1862-1951).  Did James grow a long beard between 1879 and the photograph above left taken before his death in April 1884?

Lawn Family, before April 1879. HLR.

Looking, and the more you look the more you see. I always remember meeting a Lawn cousin for the first time – looking across a room and seeing a familiar face although we had never met, and that jolt of knowing long before I made my way around the room and read the name-tag. We search photographs for those same familiar traits and feel triumphant when we identify something we can call ‘ours’ – ‘family’.

But always be aware of what you want to see. It is a human trait to seek familiar recognition in the patterns around us, so much so that we see ‘human’ features in clouds and cracks in the pavement, even cast in stone!

And dont always believe what is written on the back of photographs, particularly in ballpoint pen!

∗There is a connection to the Lawn family of the people in this photograph in the convoluted nature of small West Coast communities where everyone knew, was related to, or married everyone else:

• the grandson of Jane Preshaw, my great grandfather Henry David Evans married Eva Lillian Lawn in 1907, and
• her brother Herbert Lawn married Maria’s niece, Alice Kittelty in 1915.
• Maria Eliza Coombe, née Kittelty’s first husband Joseph Knight Coombe was the brother of Mary Elizabeth Coombe, who married John Lawn in Australia in 1873.

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