About four years ago we were given a copy of a copy of a wedding photo from 1897, passed on by a family researcher who had visited Salt Spring Island to connect with descendants of this couple. Along with the photo came the following explanation:
WEDDING PARTY of HENRIETTA and JAMES ROBSONFRONT ROW -- right of Granny Robson (Henrietta) her mother & Dad - [William Boorman crossed out] Her Mother's Christian name not known Left of Grampa Robson's - Mother and Dad - names not known Last person right of William -- one of Granny's brothers Jack, Harry or Bert Second brother -- Top Row right between two ladies 3rd brother 2nd. row down from the top - Just over Grampa's shoulder. It appears he was Grampa's BEST MAN. Granny's Maid of Honour -- directly behind her and her two Brides-Maids. Young girl sitting on the grass, Granny's Dad's sister Eliza. Granny and Grampa Robson wers 1st cousins. |
Marriage of Jim ROBSON and Henrietta BOORMAN, 27 May 1897, Victoria BC
This photo and description are invaluable in spite of not listing all names and containing a couple of minor discrepancies. It gives us a wonderful glimpse of two related branches of Terry's family at the end of the 19th century in Victoria, a frontier city that had only been incorporated less than 50 years before in 1852. Although we haven't identified everyone in this rather large gathering, we can make some educated guesses about some of them based on placement and age, and we can confirm some identities based on other family photos. We can also fill in the story and relationships behind this photo.
The bride, Henrietta Emma Avery BOORMAN (1867 - 1952), was the second daughter of William Scoons BOORMAN and Frances Jane ROBSON - they are sitting on to the right of the bride, so I don't know why "William Boorman" was crossed out in the photo description - as it is him! Hettie (as she was known to her Boorman relatives at least) was living in Victoria at the time of their marriage.
The groom, James John "Jim" ROBSON (1867 - 1943), was the son of William Matthew ROBSON and Annie MUNROE - they are sitting to the left of the groom. Jim was a farmer on Mayne Island at the time of their marriage: 27 May 1897 in Victoria BC, according to their marriage registration. Both were 29 years old when they married. William M ROBSON (father of the groom) was the older brother of Frances J ROBSON (mother of the bride), making the bride and groom first cousins on her mother's side.
The witnesses at the wedding were Walter Wm BOORMAN and Alice A BOORMAN, both of Victoria - likely the names of the Best Man and the Maid of Honour, and most certainly both siblings of the bride. This in part matches the description provided, which lists the Best Man standing just behind the groom (and slightly left). We know from other photos that this is Walter William BOORMAN, who is also standing to the right of Marion E GUTHRO who he was to marry the following year. As to the Maid of Honour, it's not obvious to me from their dress which one it is, so am glad that the description points to the one standing directly behind the bride. That would likely be the witness Alice Amelia BOORMAN, her sister and a school teacher who never married. I would also guess that the bridesmaid between William Walter and Alice Amelia is an older sister, Frances Eliza "Lillie" BOORMAN, who also never married. The other bridesmaid could be her third sister sister Katie Elizabeth, as she looks a lot like their brother Harry. Katie Elizabeth Boorman was 10 years younger than the bride so she would have been not quite 20 years old in this photo. As we don't know what happened to Katie after 1901 when she was living with her brother Walter William in Victoria, it is nice to catch a possible glimpse of her here.
The groom was the eldest of six children; he had 4 sisters and the youngest was a brother Stanley. His oldest sister Eva (Evelyn Maud) ROBSON was married in 1894 to Andrew Irvine; she had a toddler almost 2 years old at the time of this wedding and would also have been 6 months pregnant with the next one. Could this be the very young child and woman shown in the picture behind the groom's father? Could at least some of the other ladies on the left be other sisters of the groom?
The younger boys sitting on the ground in front on the left are a bit of a mystery. One of them is likely the groom's younger brother Stanley Howard ROBSON, who was born in 1883 so would have been age 14 in this photo. Perhaps the other is a Robson cousin? Somewhere in this mix there has to be the groom's Uncle Frederick James ROBSON who was unmarried at this time. In 1901 and 1911 he was listed in the census as single, living with his nephew Stanley in the Victoria North area (which may have included Mayne Island where he died in 1937) and Saltspring Island. We don't yet know if any of the other Robsons also came to the Victoria area from Kent England, or what other cousins there were in the ROBSON line.
The younger girl on the ground on the right is reported to be "Granny's Dad's sister Eliza". This doesn't make sense to me. Granny (Henrietta's) Dad (William Scoons BOORMAN's) sister would have been much much older than this girl, so the generation does not match. Henrietta's sisters would offer 2 possibilities if they were younger, but both Frances Eliza (Lillie) BOORMAN (age 31) and Katie Elizabeth BOORMAN (age 19) were both older than this girl appears to be in 1897. Even the groom's sister Emma Eliza ROBSON was 25 in May of 1897 (soon to be 26), and already married. But the groom's youngest sister Eliza May ROBSON was days away from turning 17 and was a niece of France Jane, mother of the bride. I think she is more likely to be the girl Eliza shown sitting on the ground in the photo.
As to Henrietta's two other brothers, the one on the far right of is Albert Sidney BOORMAN (might have been known as "Bert") who didn't marry until 1910. The brother in the back row "between two ladies" with a flower in his lapel and behind the guy with the mustache is Harry Eustace Boorman, Terry's grandfather, who also married in 1910.
The lady beside Harry on the left (his right) with the crenelated and caped outfit with light-coloured trim, looks like she might be a Guthro (perhaps a sister to Marion Guthro who was to later marry Walter William Boorman), based on younger photos we have of this family. But this is just a guess.
I wonder if everyone in the photo is a relative or their significant other, or if friends are also included? It would be nice to know who the others in the photo are, and how they connect.
The bride, Henrietta Emma Avery BOORMAN (1867 - 1952), was the second daughter of William Scoons BOORMAN and Frances Jane ROBSON - they are sitting on to the right of the bride, so I don't know why "William Boorman" was crossed out in the photo description - as it is him! Hettie (as she was known to her Boorman relatives at least) was living in Victoria at the time of their marriage.
The groom, James John "Jim" ROBSON (1867 - 1943), was the son of William Matthew ROBSON and Annie MUNROE - they are sitting to the left of the groom. Jim was a farmer on Mayne Island at the time of their marriage: 27 May 1897 in Victoria BC, according to their marriage registration. Both were 29 years old when they married. William M ROBSON (father of the groom) was the older brother of Frances J ROBSON (mother of the bride), making the bride and groom first cousins on her mother's side.
The witnesses at the wedding were Walter Wm BOORMAN and Alice A BOORMAN, both of Victoria - likely the names of the Best Man and the Maid of Honour, and most certainly both siblings of the bride. This in part matches the description provided, which lists the Best Man standing just behind the groom (and slightly left). We know from other photos that this is Walter William BOORMAN, who is also standing to the right of Marion E GUTHRO who he was to marry the following year. As to the Maid of Honour, it's not obvious to me from their dress which one it is, so am glad that the description points to the one standing directly behind the bride. That would likely be the witness Alice Amelia BOORMAN, her sister and a school teacher who never married. I would also guess that the bridesmaid between William Walter and Alice Amelia is an older sister, Frances Eliza "Lillie" BOORMAN, who also never married. The other bridesmaid could be her third sister sister Katie Elizabeth, as she looks a lot like their brother Harry. Katie Elizabeth Boorman was 10 years younger than the bride so she would have been not quite 20 years old in this photo. As we don't know what happened to Katie after 1901 when she was living with her brother Walter William in Victoria, it is nice to catch a possible glimpse of her here.
The groom was the eldest of six children; he had 4 sisters and the youngest was a brother Stanley. His oldest sister Eva (Evelyn Maud) ROBSON was married in 1894 to Andrew Irvine; she had a toddler almost 2 years old at the time of this wedding and would also have been 6 months pregnant with the next one. Could this be the very young child and woman shown in the picture behind the groom's father? Could at least some of the other ladies on the left be other sisters of the groom?
The younger boys sitting on the ground in front on the left are a bit of a mystery. One of them is likely the groom's younger brother Stanley Howard ROBSON, who was born in 1883 so would have been age 14 in this photo. Perhaps the other is a Robson cousin? Somewhere in this mix there has to be the groom's Uncle Frederick James ROBSON who was unmarried at this time. In 1901 and 1911 he was listed in the census as single, living with his nephew Stanley in the Victoria North area (which may have included Mayne Island where he died in 1937) and Saltspring Island. We don't yet know if any of the other Robsons also came to the Victoria area from Kent England, or what other cousins there were in the ROBSON line.
The younger girl on the ground on the right is reported to be "Granny's Dad's sister Eliza". This doesn't make sense to me. Granny (Henrietta's) Dad (William Scoons BOORMAN's) sister would have been much much older than this girl, so the generation does not match. Henrietta's sisters would offer 2 possibilities if they were younger, but both Frances Eliza (Lillie) BOORMAN (age 31) and Katie Elizabeth BOORMAN (age 19) were both older than this girl appears to be in 1897. Even the groom's sister Emma Eliza ROBSON was 25 in May of 1897 (soon to be 26), and already married. But the groom's youngest sister Eliza May ROBSON was days away from turning 17 and was a niece of France Jane, mother of the bride. I think she is more likely to be the girl Eliza shown sitting on the ground in the photo.
As to Henrietta's two other brothers, the one on the far right of is Albert Sidney BOORMAN (might have been known as "Bert") who didn't marry until 1910. The brother in the back row "between two ladies" with a flower in his lapel and behind the guy with the mustache is Harry Eustace Boorman, Terry's grandfather, who also married in 1910.
The lady beside Harry on the left (his right) with the crenelated and caped outfit with light-coloured trim, looks like she might be a Guthro (perhaps a sister to Marion Guthro who was to later marry Walter William Boorman), based on younger photos we have of this family. But this is just a guess.
I wonder if everyone in the photo is a relative or their significant other, or if friends are also included? It would be nice to know who the others in the photo are, and how they connect.
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