Below is a selection of old Franklin family photos. I’ve just moved this page over from the old page format and I’m still working on updating the narrative and the images.
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Ivy’s parents Sophia & John | Brother Harold | Brother Jack | Ivy |
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That is certainly a seascape in the background, with some very distinctive buildings or structures. At first I thought it could be the Colonnades at Blackpool, but it turns out to be a similar structure down on the beach in Barry, Wales. (Compare with a modern photograph.)
I suspect these photographs were taken either before Ivy met husband Charles or while they were courting; she looks more like the young girl posing in her best dress in a previous photograph. Perhaps Ivy is visiting the mysterious relations in Newport, Wales, and they took her to the seaside for the day? |
This is a lovely group photo of Ivy and friends, but I have no idea where it was taken. It could have been taken while Ivy was visiting family up North, but it could equally well have been taken on the South coast, when she lived in Whitchurch, Hampshire, especially since her girlfriend from previous photographs is in it (far left).
Then again, perhaps it’s the beach in Barry, Wales, from the other side of the bay!?
Ivy is third from the right, sitting on Donkey Nr. 24. She was born 1904 and married Charles Brazell in 1927; I would guess she is about 20 in the photo, which would mean it was taken in 1924 or so.
In December 1932, when Ivy’s father John Frankin died, Ivy’s brother Harold was named on the death certificate as informant and said he lived at “24 Bury Street, Church Lane, Gorton, Manchester.” However, my father also remembered visiting cousins in Denton, Manchester, when he was a child.
Today, both places are about a ten-minute drive apart to the east of Manchester.
The boy holding the bike could be Harold’s son Harold, who was born July 15, 1922 in Manchester, when the family was living at 24 Bury Street, Gorton.
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“Me,” alias son Harold | Mary & Harold (two of son Harold’s children) |
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Big question:
When were the photos taken?
Clues:
- Father Harold was born in February 1892 and married Martha BOYLE on August 24, 1912.
- Daughter Dorothy (not in the photos) was born June 1, 1913 and married April 11, 1936.
- Daughter Mary was born April 2, 1915 and married Aug 7, 1943.
- Son Harold was born July 15, 1922 and married September 8, 1951.
- Father Harold (“Me”) wrote that the gravestone of grandfather Henry Faulkner, who was buried in August 1901, “was covered with moss but Martha got it clean.”
- Father Harold’s father, John FRANKLIN, was buried on December 5, 1932, in the grave on the right.
- John’s wife, Sophia was buried at Cholsey St. Mary’s on November 18, 1949; possibly in the same grave as husband John, although there is no inscription.
Possible answer:
Still trying to work it out.
If you have any ideas, or questions, I would love to hear from you.