Milne Cousin Greg and his wife Donna Marie recently sent me a copy of an old photo that his sister's daughter had passed on to them. It is one of those photos that has a familiar feel about it - they must be ancestors! Six children - 4 girls and 2 boys presumably with their parents. A great mystery to unravel!
Drawn to the boy standing between the adults, I see a resemblance to the picture below of my great grandfather, Alex Miłne, taken on his wedding day in late 1897. The Milne family would have been living In North-East Scotland at this time.
Knowing what I think I do about his siblings from family records, census and ships records, my best guess is that this family group photo was taken in the summer of 1886. The 1881 census finds them in Elgin and by 1891 they are in Botriphnie at the Moss of Newburgh.
Far left - Margaret Edward "Maggie" Milne (later Chisholm) age 8
Mother - Ann Robertson Milne age 33
Tall girl in the back - Ann Milne (later Pirie) age 12
In front of her - Alex age 10 (my great grandfather)
In front of him - John Robertson Milne age 4
Father - John Milne age 32
Baby on his knee - Helen "Nellie" Milne (later Connon) born April 1885
Far right - Mary Jane "Mamie" Milne (later Duguid) - age 6
There are a couple of possible problems with these assumptions:
- Maggie is two years younger than Alex but appears taller in this photo. Girls do grow faster than boys and she may have been standing on a hill?
- John Milne seems rather aged for 32 years old. The beard and receding hairline make this man seem older than 32, at least by today's standards.
As Donna Marie said, the mystery may be solved by someone who sees this post having the same photo and knowing who is in it. Please contact me with any ideas or theories!
Have you explored Colin Milne's website? Also he is very helpful you could email him. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/nescotland/
ReplyDeleteI think the man in the photo could easily be early 30’s. I’ve seen males in my family have receding hairlines that early in life. And, if you look at his face, there’s not a wrinkle, at least not visible. Wonder how connected all the Milne's were in that area? My mother's maiden name was Milne and they all came over to the U.S. from Aberdeen. I’ve been to Aboyne Kirkyard and visited the graves of my 3rd great grandparents, Charles Milne and Margaret Ritchie.
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