A wonderful photo surprise

 

(Click to enlarge)

This stunning image was sent to me by a lady who had just read my book 'Susan'. The original belonged to her grandmother, Ada. When it arrived by email it felt like Christmas all over again. Have you guessed who it is?

Yes, it's Susan Whybrew (nee Mason) the subject of the book. I understand the photo was taken in 1914, when Susan would have been in her sixties and living in Colchester with her husband David. Presumably it would have been in black and white originally and was coloured later. I'm sharing it with the permission of the owner, who has it hanging on a wall at home.

Along with the photo of Susan was one of Susan's youngest daughter Ada, with her husband Joseph (Joe) Metson. That too was a wonderful surprise, the first one of Ada that I'd seen. I plan to write a post about Ada later.

The lady who sent them to me very kindly provided me with lots of information about Susan, David and several of their children, which has been passed down through her family. Some of the stories are of the sort that can't be verified, and some were provided to me in confidence. But once I've gone through them again, I'll share what I can in later posts. 

 

Here are photos of Susan and four of her daughters (cropped from larger photos) so you can see the family resemblances. I don't have photos of David, nor of Rose, Ellen or any of the boys, but they too may turn up one day. I've been so blessed to have people share their family photos with me through this blog. 

(from L to R) Susan, Harriet, Eliza, Alice, Ada.

See The Fourteen Children of David and Susan Whybrew  parts 1 and 2, for more details about this family.