Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Woman in the Photo – The Evidence

 

I had scanned this photo from a pile my mother gave me years and years ago. I had no idea who it was or even what side of the family the people might be related to and to be honest at the time I was only barely getting started with my family history interests and didn’t think of things like scanning the backs of photographs .

whoisthis

Then recently I got in contact with a cousin who was also doing family research on  our McClellan branch of the family  and I sent her scans of photos I couldn’t identify, and it turned out she also had some of the same photos which helped narrow down the branch of the family each photo came from. One of the ones we both had copies of was this one.

It  was still a bit of a mystery for a while until she sent me a scan of the back of her copy of the photograph.

34 Back of photo 4

 

Firstly the writing on the back is a huge help as we knew what family lived in Campbell Street through Electoral Roll LIsts.

Elizabeth ( Betsy)  McClellan lived in Campbell Street from 1914 until she died in 1924.

Also living at the same address were her daughter Lizzie Gjording, and her husband Peter and their two children Eric and John.

A little research on Electric Studios revealed they worked out of 80 Manners Street in 1914 

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Through to 1921

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Elizabeth McClellan would have been  in her late 70s early 80s during this period .

The child could either have been Eric or John  Gjording, depending on the year the photo was taken. Eric being born in 1911 and John in 1914.   I suspect as there is only one child in the photograph that perhaps it is Eric, dating the photo to the earlier period that Electric Studios was operating out of 80 Manners Street.

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