FRIDAY FOTO 9 - CHARLES IRVINE

A photo of my grandmother - Elizabeth WELSH (nee ENGLEBRETSEN) - attending a family party at her sisters home in Lordens Road, Huyton.

Pictured with her is her brother-in-law Charles IRVINE, the husband of her sister Hannah.

Born around 1892, Charles was father to five children - Charles Gerard (b.1916), May Henrietta (b.1918), Edna Marion (b.1921), Hannah (b.1924) and Lilian (b.1928).

Charles served in the Great War, although I have as yet been unable to find his war record.

His son Charles was tragically killed on 9th April 1945 at Bari, Italy when a liberty ship (the SS Charles Henderson) was being unloaded and the ammunition on it exploded.

Of the couple's children, the three middle sisters - May, Edna and Hannah - survived. I have fond memories of all three of them, and also the subsequent cousins (their children) who I grew up with.

I asked Mum about her specific memories of Charles Snr, and she recalled that he would often give her half an orange before she had her breakfast when she slept over. "Get that down you...it'll do you good," he'd tell her.

The final star of the photo above must be the phonograph - the handle on the front being used to wind the clock / spring mechanism inside which drove the turntable around and play the record. 

I have a few old 78 RPM records of my Mum's in the garage downstairs. 

I wonder if any of those were ever played during that happy family party, all those years ago.    

FRIDAY FOTO 7 - ELIZABETH WELSH (nee ENGLEBRETSEN)

 

Two photographs of my grandmother, Elizabeth Welsh (nee Englebretsen).

The first photo shows her photographed in a professional studio in Liverpool. It is estimated that she was around nineteen years of age when the photo was taken, which-- with Elizabeth's year of birth being 1895 --would put the date to be around 1914.

In the second photo, my grandmother is pictured standing on the steps of one of the large houses she used to serve. It is believed that she worked with an agency who provided service staff to families - for example, cooks, maids, cleaners, housekeepers etc. My aunt also informed me that she had been directly employed to at least one family as a general maid.

The houses were said to be those in the Princes Park area of Liverpool, which at the time were owned by prosperous businessmen and their families.

I'd love to be able to trace the property itself and see whether it is still there.

#familyhistory #genealogy #englebretsen    

FAMILY HISTORY - ELIZABETH ENGLEBRETSEN IN SERVICE

The above photo shows my gran, Elizabeth ENGLEBRETSEN, on the right of the picture. This was taken when she was a teenager, aged about 16 years old, long before she married my grandfather William John WELSH in 1925.

This was taken when she worked 'in service', helping to look after one of the families who lived in the large mansion houses around Toxteth in Liverpool during the early part of the last century.

She obtained work through a local agency, and this is said to be a copy of a formal advertising photograph, used by the agency to advertise its services.

None of the other girls are immediately recognisable from within our own family, but they must belong to somebody. 

I wonder if anybody can put a name to one of the faces?  

WEDDING WEDNESDAY - UNKNOWN LIVERPOOL WEDDING

The photograph below was discovered in a selection of photo's which were in the possession of my aunt, Ellen Elizabeth WELSH (aka. Betty), when she passed away.

They obviously depict a wedding group, but only a few of the people on it have been identified. The actual location of the wedding is also a mystery, but it is assumed that the church was located somewhere in Liverpool.

The gentleman second from the left is my grandfather, William John WELSH. The lady on the back row next to him is his wife, my grandmother, Elizabeth ENGLEBRETSEN. She is the lady wearing the glasses and the flower on her hat. On the front row, the young girl on the left is their niece, Marion Erlis.

The rest of the people have not as yet been identified.

I have shared this photo with family members and we still have not been able to identify the others in the group. It is a bit of a mystery... and there is no way of telling if the photograph shows some of our relations, or perhaps friends or neighbours.

Only time will tell... although possibly with the help of some kind soul on the Internet who may recognise them!