An original, cabinet card wedding photograph by Lowthian Bros., 144 & 146 Freeman Street, Grimsby.
Our researcher, Alice White, has taken very limited information on the back of the photo and has worked out who’s who and the dates.
The annotation gives just: Great G/Dad & G/Grandma Emerson. Auntie Emmie (Gran Nielsen’s sister). Uncle Arthur & Uncle Frank, Gran’s brothers.
The groom is actually Francis (‘FRANK’ on the back of the photo) Emerson (b.1879, of 9 Patrick Street) on the occasion of his marriage to Elizabeth Ann Rich (b.1882) which took place at St James’s Church, Grimsby on 18th Sept 1907. His best man, therefore, is his brother Arthur Emerson (‘Uncle Arthur’), and the older couple on the left (‘Great G/Dad and Great Grandma Emerson’) are their parents William Henry and Ann Elizabeth (nee Wardle) Emerson. They were also the parents of Sarah Martin Emerson who married the previous year. This suggests quite convincingly that the reference to ‘Gran Nielsen’ refers to Sarah Martin Nielsen (nee Emerson) and the person who wrote on the back was her grandchild. As ‘Auntie Emmie’ is noted as ‘Gran Nielsen’s sister’, we can surmise that this is another Emerson sibling but so far we can find no trace of an Emma, Emily or Emmeline Emerson. The closest we have is a Mary Elizabeth, born in 1891. However, ‘Emmie’ could be a nickname or diminutive of ‘Emerson’. Of course, this is impossible to prove.
At present I can’t find a baptism or birth for Elizabeth Ann Rich, although the marriage certificate shows her father was John Rich, also one of the witnesses. The other witness was Susan J Rich, which is the name of her sister and bridesmaid.
What has also been revealed by this research are the occupations of the Emerson and Nielsen families. When Francis married he gave his occupation as ‘Clerk’ and his father William Henry as ‘Builder’. William is also recorded as ‘Joiner’ on Sarah Martin’s baptism.
The Nielsen family were connected with maritime matters; Anners Nielsen gave his occupation as ‘Boatswain’ on his marriage, while his father Charles August Nielsen is listed as a ‘Master Mariner’.
Notes: 1909 Directory; W. H. Emerson & Son, builders, 9 Patrick Street. 1923 Directory; Francis Emerson, director, 51 St. Augustine Avenue. Edward Bannister & Co. Ltd., coal merchants and dealers.
