PERSONALIA

  

Possibly the father of Mary Ann Aked who in 1821 married Robert Vaughan Wynn Williams (b.1798) at Mayfield, Staffordshire, and had two sons and two daughters. The origins of the name Aked are found in Yorkshire.

Edward Archer (1754-1793) was the son of Edward Archer (1701-1777) and his second wife Elizabeth Chamney, who were married 9 October 1746 at St Peter & St Kevin in Dublin.

£325

Presumably 2nd Viscount John Bateman (1721-1802), of Shobdon Court, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire. The artist John Field (1772-1848) was one of the most famous and skilled silhouette artists, who in his early years worked as an assistant to John Miers at his studio in the Strand, London. Characteristic of some of his early work, as in this case, are silhouettes painted in umber with fine strokes of sepia to impart detail. (McKechnie)

The pair £130

Details have not been found of a marriage between Hubert Marshall and Emilie White which have blocked further research into their ancestors and the connection with the Beech family.

£150

Lady Mary Bentinck, daughter of the Prime Minister William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738-1809) and Lady Margaret Cavendish Harley (1715-1785).

£350

Relatively little seems to be known about Thomas Bish, but his marriage to Elizabeth Markes (died 1823) is recorded in London in 1795, and he appears to have fathered at least three children, Thomas, Susanna and Elizabeth. He is undoubtedly best known as the father of his namesake Thomas Bish (1778-1842) MP for Leominster and, famously, the lottery-office entrepreneur immortalised in Thomas Hood's comic verse Ode to Thomas Bish, Esq.

This relief portrait is taken from James Tassie's sulphide portrait taken in 1788, which was also produced as a portrait medallion by Wedgwood.

MIERS PORTRAIT OF FRIEND OF JANE AUSTEN

CALLAND, Rev John (1763 - 1800). Silhouette on plaster of a gentleman from the studio of John Miers. Mounted in a contemporary ebonised oval frame (circa 6 x 7 inches) with convex verre églomisé cover glass. On the back of the frame is an early manuscript inscription "Revd John Calland died Octr 12th 1800 aged 38 years" plus a short contemporary printed obituary notice of John Calland pasted over a worn printed trade label, from which the wording "PROFILE PAINTER & JEWELLER .....111 opposite Exeter Change London" can be made out. An horizontal crack exists just below shoulder level (see photos).

SOLD

John Calland was born in India in 1763, the eldest son of East India Company merchant John Calland (c1733-1803) and Elizabeth de Morgan (b.1734), daughter of John de Morgan, Governor of Fort St George, Madras. The family returned to England in 1768-9, where John received a good education and his father obtained for him the living and rectory of Bentworth, Hampshire. John was also a prebendary of Chichester, and chaplain to the Right Honourable Lord le Despencer.

John Calland was a good friend of Jane Austen whose family lived a short distance away at Steventon rectory. Jane refers to him in a letter to her sister Cassandra (24 December 1798) upon attending a ball:

"...... and Mr. Calland, who appeared as usual with his hat in his hand, and stood every now and then behind Catherine and me to be talked to and abused for not dancing. We teased him, however, into it at last. I was very glad to see him again after so long a separation, and he was altogether rather the genius and flirt of the evening. He inquired after you.".

The trade label on the reverse of the frame corresponds exactly with label 11 descibed in McKechnie British Silhouette Artists and their Work (1978) used from 1791 until at least 1809 by the studio of John Miers. By this time Miers had adopted the verre églomisé technique for his more expensive work.

The connection between the Murray and Churchill families can be identified through the descendants of Sir Patrick Murray of Ochtertyre 4th Bart (1707-1764). His daughter Joan married in 1769, Charles Churchill, but it has proved difficult to establish how many children they had - there was a son, Charles Henry born 1772 in Perth, Scotland. Perhaps Mary was one of their children, which would then accord with the label.

£200

This portrait is believed to be that of Susan Cobbet (maiden name unknown) born circa 1801 in Loxwood, Sussex. She was the wife of James Cobbett, a groom (born about 1806 in Guildford), who in the 1851 census were living at 17 Kinnerton Street in Westminster, together with three of their children.

The only other Susan Cobbett resident in Kensington in 1822 was the daughter of the famous political writer and farmer William Cobbett (1763-1835). Susan was born in 1807 and would have been 15 in 1822, which seems unlikely for this portrait.

SOLD

William Craven (d. 1832) of Weaste House, Manchester, the son of Joseph and Mary Craven, was a Captain in the 22nd Regiment of Foot. William's son Charles who appended the notes on the reverse was born in Manchester in 1797 one of at least 9 children of William and Mary Craven. He was installed as Rector of  Spexhall, Suffolk in 1847 which he occupied until his death in 1877.

£250

Thomas Crosbie (1762-1818) was a merchant of Dumfries who in 1787 married Janet Wilson (1762-1826) the daughter of Robert Wilson (1730-1807) who was in the tanning business, and his wife Mary Robson. They had at least six children (see Memorials of St Michael's: The Old Parish Churchyard of Dumfries 1876). Evidently these portraits were given to Peter Carruthers (1831-1915) of Portrack House, Dumfries, who was possibly a relation.

£250

James Crouch was born in Hastings in 1774, the son of Thomas and Mary Crouch. James married Sarah Marston in 1803 in London, and became a Customs Officer. They had at least four children, including post office clerk Walter Crouch (c1809-1879) who married Mary Ann Crouch in 1836. Their son Walter Crouch (1841-1918) was an insurance manager but also a well known Essex antiquarian and naturalist, and Fellow of the Zoological Society.

John Abigail Ellis was born 1758, and married Sarah Harris Hannant in 1782 at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Their son Samuel, the subject of this portrait, was born in 1810.

£500

Robert William Elliston was born in London, the only son of Robert Elliston (d. 1799), a watchmaker. He was educated at St Paul's School, but stage-struck ran away from home and made his first appearance on the stage at Bath in 1791. Remaining in Bath (where his work was admired by Jane Austen) he married in 1796 Elizabeth Rundall (b. 1774/5), a dancing instructor, with whom he had ten children before she died in 1821.

From 1804 to 1809 Elliston became a leading actor at Drury Lane, and afterwards entered theatre management, beginning with the Royal Circus in St George's Fields (1809-14); Manchester Theatre Royal (1809–10); he purchased Croydon (1810); leased Birmingham (1813–18); then Worcester and Shrewsbury (1815); he purchased the Olympic Pavilion in London (1813); leased Lynn (1817–18), Leicester, and Northampton (1818); Leamington (1817) (where he first met Charles Lamb); he became manager of Drury Lane in 1819; and leased Coventry (1821).

Ill-health and misfortune culminated in his bankruptcy in 1826, when he made his last appearance at Drury Lane as Falstaff. As the lessee of the Surrey Theatre he acted almost up to his death in 1831, which was hastened by alcoholism.

Leigh Hunt compared him favorably as an actor with David Garrick; Lord Byron thought him inimitable in high comedy; and Macready praised his versatility. (ODNB and Wikipedia).

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Terence FitzGerald obtained a lieutenancy on 26 Sept 1799 in the 83^rd  Regiment of Foot (raised in Dublin in 1793), at which time the regiment were stationed in the West Indies. Presumably he transferred from the 83rd to a regiment of Hussars when this portrait was painted. He may or may not be the same Terence FitzGerald who filed a law suit in 1822 in the important partnership case of Fitzgerald v Boehm (relating to the wealthy merchant Edmund Boehm).

Thomas Forrest was born in York c 1786 and died in Leighton Buzzard in 1854. He is found in the 1851 census at Lawford’s Wharf, Linslade (nr Leighton Buzzard), Buckinghamshire, working as an accountant, and living with his wife Matilda and daughter Emily. His work was connected with the activities of the Grand Junction Canal, an important waterway completed through Linslade in 1805, which significantly boosted trade and employment in the area in the 19^th century.

£120

Believed to be Henry Gee born in Derby about 1775, became a watchmaker in Derby, and in 1800 married Elizabeth Nevill, by whom he had several children. Henry Gee in 1841 but lived long enough to be recorded in the 1841 census together with his family (copy included).

Dora Ennis Graham was born Dora Ennis Bellairs, and married Reginald Simpson Graham on 10th September 1838 in Bedworth, Warwickshire. Their daughter also named Dora Ennis was born in 1839 in Salford, Lancashire. The family are found in the 1841 census in Eccles, Lancashire, when Reginald's occupation is listed as a merchant. Perhaps through Reginald's occupation the family perished at sea - further research may uncover the story behind the tragic deaths of all three members of the family.

The Hall family and associated families they married into, can be located to the parish of Prestbury, Cheshire. James Hall married Nancy Gosling in 1790, while the connection with Burgess appears to be through the marriage of Thomas Burgess to Lydia Hall on 24th November 1811.

£100

Joan Holbrow was the wife of Daniel Holbrow of Tockington, Gloucestershire. Joan was a Quaker and a very close friend of the Quaker minister Mary Dudley (1750-1823) (see E. Dudley, ed., The life of Mary Dudley .1825).

Margaret Symons is recorded in the 1861 census, the wife of Walter Symons, a baker, with their son Walter (aged 10) and Ewen McGregor her brother (aged 54), in Liberton, Midlothian.

£500

Joseph was the fourth son of John and Mary Molineux of Wolverhampton, who settled in Lewes, Sussex in 1738, where he was engaged in the iron trade. He was appointed Receiver-General of Stamps and Taxes, and was High Constable of Lewes in 1745 and 1764. He married Ann, daughter of Dr William Brett of Lewes, and his wife Ann Apsley, by whom they had at least six children.

£300

Henry Neele was born in London and joined a firm of solicitors, whilst devoting his spare time to literature and poetry. In March 1823, a few months before this silhouette was taken, his Poems Dramatic and Miscellaneous was published, which attracted much interest, making him a popular contributor to magazines and annuals. Following the large amount of work he devoted in 1827 to producing a collected edition of his poems in two volumes, and his Romance of English History in three volumes, he committed suicide in February 1828 at his home in Castle Street, Marylebone. (ODNB)

£750

Ann Norton has not been positively identified, although 3 potential christening records are found in the IGI, the first christened 11 February 1738 at St Dunstan, Stepney, the daughter of Richard & Ann Norton; the second christened 4 July 1753 at St Dunstan-in-the-West, the daughter of Thomas & Susannah Norton; and the third christened 13 April 1757 at St Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, the daughter of Charles & Anne Norton. A marriage is recorded between Ann Norton and John Roberts 15 October 1782 at Spitalfields Christ Church, Stepney.

William O'Hara can be found in various Cork directories from the 1820s to 1840s trading as a bookseller, stationer and printer. His friend Daniel O'Connell is the famous Irish nationalist leader, who campaigned for Catholic emancipation and for the repeal of the Union between Ireland and Great Britain.

£150

This is almost certainly Patrick Orr (1773-1848) the second son of Patrick Orr (1746-1817) of Bridgeton, Kincardineshire. Patrick Orr junior married in 1814 Margaret Caroline, second daughter of Major Martin Lindsay of Kilconquhar, Fifeshire. He served as Sheriff-Clerk of Forfarshire from 1812-48, the same office held by his father.

James Holmes junior of London, was a miniature painter active 1836-1859, a son of the artist James Holmes (1777-1860).

£500

Anne Elizabeth Browne was christened 7 February 1748 at the English Presbyterian church, Rotterdam, Netherlands, the daughter of banker Thomas Browne (b.1725 or 1726) and Mary. Anne married Thomas Scott (1733-1816) on 30 August 1767 at the English Presbyterian church, Rotterdam, and birth records of their children (at least 9) indicate that they had settled in Norwich by 1768. Anne died on 6th January 1819. There is a monument dedicated to Thomas and Anne and their daughter Anne (1770-1837) in St Andrews Church, Norwich.

£400

Mary Anne was one of five children of Sir William Foulis, 7th Bt. and Mary Anne of  Ingleby Manor, Yorkshire. In 1822 she married  Sir Tatton Sykes (1772-1863), 4th Bt., landowner and racehorse breeder, who  succeeded to the baronetcy following the death of his elder brother in 1823, whereupon they moved to Sledmere, near Malton, Yorkshire. They had two sons and six daughters, but while Sir Tatton was outwardly a respected and popular figure, his family knew him as a brutal figure, who ruled over them ‘with the vicious rage of a stone-age tyrant’.  (ODNB)