BS: L'ami des orphelines

Subject: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: MBSLynne
Date: 21 Feb 07 - 06:52 AM

Don't suppose anyone can help me on this, but I have to take out my frustration somewhere. Ted and I both do Family History stuff and Ted has been lucky enough to inherit three beautiful Victorian photo albums. Typically, there are very few names etc so we don't know who most of the people in the photos are. Ted removed some from one album of the Hipkiss family from Birmingham to scan them. (A lot are glued in and we don't want to take them out and spoil the album) One that he did remove is of an imposing old gentleman with bushy white hair and beard. On the back of the photo it says "L'ami des orphelins", which means "The orphans' friend" We have no idea who he is or why this is written there. Why is it in French?

I can, at the moment, think of no way of shedding any light on this at all and I'm soooo frustrated.

Anyone got any ideas at all?

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: Bee
Date: 21 Feb 07 - 08:42 AM

My wild guess is the photo is of a person well known at the time the photo was taken, probably a famous philanthropist, not necessarily a relative. I would try to date the photo, then research philanthropists of the day, in particular those active in Europe. He may have been French, or Belgian, or Swiss, or just fancy-labelled by the press of the day.

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: MBSLynne
Date: 21 Feb 07 - 09:52 AM

I think he has a look of some of the other people in the album, though it may be my imagination, so he is likely a relative and I'm not sure why they would have a photo of a philanthropist unless there were some connection.

The photo is certainly the latter half of the 19th century, possibly 1870/80s.

I shall go away and do a Google on the phrase and see what happens.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: Alec
Date: 21 Feb 07 - 10:06 AM

That dating would place it at the time of the Franco-Prussian War Lynne.Is it possible that he contributed money to Children orphaned by that conflict?

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Feb 07 - 10:39 AM

It may have some Masonic connection which may be useful in research. See the title on THIS PAGE.

I love researching these kinds of connections! Thanks for sharing with us.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: MBSLynne
Date: 21 Feb 07 - 11:35 AM

Hmm..that's interesting kat.

From my Google search, I only turned up four results, all of them in French, which was a bit of a struggle since my French is only fairly basic. (I tried clicking on "Translate this page" but the result I got was less intelligible than the French!) The only thing I found that seemed to be of any interest in this connection was that the phrasr "The Orphans' Friend" seems to come from something Jesus is supposed to have said. I wonder why it is/was the name of a Masonic journal?

Thanks for the input guys......all gives me something to think about

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: MBSLynne
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 03:15 AM

For anyone interested, we discovered who the man in the photo was. You were right, Bee, in guessing that he was a well-known philanthropist. His name was Josiah Mason who, at one point in the mid-late 19th century, was the biggest pen-maker in the world. He lived and worked in the Birmingham area, which is where the family lived too, and, interestingly, Richard Hipkiss, my husband's 2xgt grandfather who is also in the album, was a pen-maker by trade.

Anyway, Josiah Mason endowed almshouses and orphanages, there is still a Josiah Mason Trust,and he also built a college which later became part of Birmingham University. I still don't know why the phrase on the back of the photo is in French. I'd also like to know why his photo is in the family album...oh well

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: Bee
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 06:55 AM

Neat! Well, since I did so well on the first guess... He's likely in the album because one of your great-greats met him, or knew him, in some capacity. They undoubtedly admired him and wanted to include the photo as a memento of the great man they had contact with. As for the francais, educated mid-nineteenth century people often 'ornamented' their writings with French phrases, as a sign of sophistication, elegance and education.

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: MBSLynne
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 07:18 AM

Yes, you may be right about that too. I think they probably had contact of some sort through the pen-making. I did wonder if Ted's Gt gt grandfather was apprenticed to him or provided with an apprenticeship by him or something.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: skipy
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 08:01 AM

Go to Josiah Mason college in google, there is a picture of him.
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 09:30 AM

How kewl!

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: MBSLynne
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 09:32 AM

Yes...it isn't the same picture we have but it is most definitely the same man.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: L'ami des orphelines
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Feb 07 - 08:07 PM

Fascinating stuff - here's a page about the Josiah Mason Orphanage, where he was buried. (And there's some pretty interesting information there about almshouses and such all over the country.

Quite a man - He began life as a street hawker of cakes, fruits and vegetables. After trying his hand in his native town at shoemaking, baking, carpentering, blacksmithing, house-painting and carpet-weaving, he moved in 1816 to Birmingham.(From here)