Saturday 26 February 2011

George Arthur Beard and May Newton - Sepia Saturday

George Arthur Beard and May Newton
My Great Grandparents, parents of Alfred Beard.
I believe this was taken just before they were married in 1913. May has a very tiny waist and after they were married she had 7 children, one every 18 months. So I don't believe it was taken later. Also they are not wearing wedding rings.

George Arthur Beard
Born 7/7/1886 Fort Wayne, Indiana
Died abt 1952 Sydney, Australia 

After Georges father Alfred died of dropsy in Napoleon, Ohio 1891 the family, including his mother Mary Hannah, sisters Ada and Nellie returned to Manchester, England, where both his parents had been born. 
He married May Newton December 1913 and had 7 children including my grandfather Alfred. Around 1952 George, May and 6 of the children emigrated to Sydney, Australia. He died soon after they arrived, although I still have yet to find a death record.

May Newton
Born 1886 Salford, Manchester
Died 13/08/1968 Sydney, Australia

May was the eldest of three children, she had a sister Margaret and brother George James. Her brother George James and cousin Joseph Edwin served during WW1. Joseph died in France 1916. Her father Benjamin was born in Winster, Derbyshire and  have found many relatives in this small village going back many years.

11 comments:

  1. More interesting relations. George Arthur has the dominant position in the armchair. We don't see family portraits this formal today.

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  2. Bob - Ive tried with the family but no one ever stays still long enough!

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  3. Wonderful photo! I love May's hairstyle. When you zoom in, it looks like it was braided across the top. She has very soulful eyes, too. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Hi Karen, what a wonderful photo and a wonderful story! Isn't it funny how we try to figure out the where and when ... and I still don't always label my own photos, when I bother to print them off.

    Thanks so much for stopping by to say hello yesterday. God bless,

    Kathy

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  5. Every 18 months another child...and back in the days before modern conveniences. makes me tired just thinking about it.

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  6. Fantastic photograph! I love George's suit. I like the rounded shirt collars. He's got a little bit of grey hair on the top which is very distinguished. May was a real beauty too.

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  7. Oh yes they or he does seem to actually almost show off his hand that they weren't married yet...of course in Europe don't they wear wedding rings on the right hand? Here in America we of course wear them on the right hand...when we wear them...and it is amazing having a children (and babies) around so close in age...what a lot of work for those days too! Very nice story and that pre-wedding photo is in the best of clarity! Very nice!

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  8. She is really beautiful. Very nice photo. Let's see, by the time the youngest child was born the oldest was ... about 12 and a half? My grandmother had 7 children too. about 2 years apart so my father was 14 when the youngest was born.

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  9. Fascinating lighting in this shot. HIs face in half shadow, her's fully lit. His hands in focus, her hand blurred.

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  10. How interesting : I wonder if there is an emigrating gene ; something within some of us that make us go in search of new lives in new lands. If there is, I am rather sorry to say, that it was recessive in my case but dominant in my brothers'

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  11. The photograph of George and May is just beautiful. Looking at them, I can imagine the time period in which they lived (and the awful corset May must have been wearing for that photograph). But she IS lovely.

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