Sunday 8 March 2015

Pearce Family Photos


My mum found the following old photos of the Pearce family which she had copied off a relation at some stage.  She can not remember anything about them, who they were from etc.  She has written a little on the back of them however which was helpful.

The first photo is a close up from another larger photo.  It is of my great great grandparents Arthur James and Eliza Pearce nee Luff.  I am not sure of the date or whether they had any children at this stage but their first child was born in 1894.  Could this photo be taken before that?  Eliza was pretty much pregnant on an off from 1894 to 1911 with some large gaps in-between.  Any help with dating the photo from clothing would be greatly appreciated.





The second photo shows the same couple as above but with other people. There was nothing written on the back except my great great grandparents names. I presume, looking at the family resemblance with my ancestor that these are his brothers and sisters, or in-laws (seeing that his own wife is in the photo). They are all wearing ribbons which are of a light and dark colour. Whether the ribbons are black and white or yellow and blue for example, it is unclear as of course the photo is black and white. What are they for I wonder? Does anyone know? Can anyone date the photo for me at all?

Can anyone name anyone else in the photo.  The list of brothers and sisters I have for Arthur James is as follows:

Henry Pearce                      (c1855 -   25-07-1931)
Mary Ann Pearce                (c1857 - 15-08-1898)
Alice Jane Pearce                (1858 - 27-08-1942)
William Pearce                     (25-04-1863  -   08-11-1940)
Arthur James Pearce        (06-02-1865 - 17-04-1943)
James Pearce                      (20-04-1867 - 12-09-1937)
Edward Pearce                    (27-10-1868 - 18-06-1950)

The woman in the top left hand corner could be Mary Ann Pearce as she looks a good ten years older than Arthur James.  The man next to him looks one of the oldest men. Could he be Henry?  He has the same forehead as Arthur James.  The others could be William James and Edward, with the blonde man at the front being an inlaw maybe.    This is all guess work at this stage and I need help with it from any Pearce descendants.  Thanks in advance!


The final photo is the wedding day of my great grandparents. This I can date as it happened on 20 June 1893.  They married at the house of Mrs W. H. Luff, Livingstone Street, Christchurch. I love the dress she is wearing.  Very elegant and simple.  She has a kind of charming crooked smile on her face.  She appears a rather shy person from all these photos.  Not sure if she was or not!  I'll have to ask my Grandma.

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