Common Ancestor Tales

When I started writing about Alice Daniell nee Fisher (sister to the famous Sea Lord Jack Fisher) I only had the one photograph that was basically of the top of Alice’s head. I then had a trawl through the ancestry photographs and a second one claiming to be “Alice” showed up. I messaged the person who had posted it but they have not yet replied.

Looking at it I could see that it really did seem to look like her. Perhaps it was taken in 1865 at the same time as the photograph of Alice with all her siblings, first husband and two of her children. This photo is claimed to be the only time that the 7 living Fisher children were ever together.
It was probably taken whilst they were all staying at Catton hall home of their “in loco parentis” guardian Dame Anne Beatrix Wilmot Horton.

She was the widow who had taken them all in when they came from Sri Lanka to school. They would spend their holidays with her. Alice by this stage was already married but was visiting from Sri Lanka with her three children and husband Lindsay Harrison Daniell (her little boy Murray Daniell is not in the photograph). They had brought her youngest sibling Philip (also known as Toby) over to England to start school (he is the little boy sat between her sister and her husband Lindsay). Jack Fisher is far right and the others are (moving left) Arthur, Lucy Ellen, Francis Conrad (Frank) and Frederick.

I decided to search more broadly and lo and behold a third photograph turned up entitled “Alice Daniell”. It is a calling card. The person in the photo looks like she is possible a widow judging from her dark clothes.

The photographer is John Jabez Edwin Mayall who was a very fashionable photographer for calling cards a the time. He did the calling cards for the Royal family. Since by the time I think this photo was taken Alice was a wealthy widow (in about 1875). It is quite possible that Alice would have gone to him for her calling card. I did a search to see if I could find any other Alice Daniell of that age and ancestry turned up nothing. For me this is quite a good sign that we are on to the right person.

I posted the three photographs to my favourite genealogy facebook group. Everyone was fairly convinced that the first two photo’s were the same person. On the third photograph opinion was somewhat split. I think if you cover the chins and consider the upper part of the head then they look similar. This is a person who had had a very traumatic 10 years losing 3 children tragically in a couple of days and then her husband – so it doesn’t seem impossible that these are the same person.

And then someone pointed out something I had missed. In both of the second two photographs “Alice” has a thick cord going down the front of her dress. And they both look the same. I was intrigued and did some searching as to what it could be.

Long Guard Chains – these are the older style

I quickly realised that it was a “Long guard chain” used to attach to a pocket watch. I found this description:

“Long guard chains were first worn by women in the early 1800s. They were long and light and were draped over the shoulders and caught at the waist with a watch hook or tucked under a belt or in a watch pocket. They were used to carry watches as well as lorgnettes or  vinaigrettes, and were described as ‘guard chains’. Women continued to wear long chains, about 152.4cms (60 inches) long, in the Victorian period but the chains had become thinner and they were worn around the neck. Depending on their use, such chains were also called ‘watch chains’ , ‘lorgnette chains’ or ‘muff chains’. Some had a swivel attachment and some had a slide to allow the drape of the chain to be adjusted.”

The later style of long guard chain which were much finer

So perhaps Alice has inherited this older style long guard chain from her mother who had left London in 1838 or maybe her guardian Lady Wilmot-Horton. I have since looked at a great number of photos of this later period and the guard chains are considerably slimmer than the ones that these two potential Alice is wearing. For me this feels like another clue that the two photos are in fact for the same person. Since whoever it was clearly had some attachment to this rather long thick old fashioned guard chain. It may well have been worth quite a bit of money and been a family heirloom.

I then had another look at this photo of Lady Anne Wilmot-Horton who basically acted as the Fisher children’s guardian when they were at school. She is also sporting a thicker guard chain. I am not sure if it is the same one… it does not look as long. But it did make me wonder if she left anything to the Fisher children in her will, maybe for example a long guard chain. It is a long shot but I have ordered the will and am waiting for it to arrive.

Personally I am convinced that all three of the photographs discussed above are of Alice Daniell. But interested to know what others think.