Hong Kong .jpeg

Women's fashion can be used as a rough guide to date a photo but there are pitfalls as the fashion of a period can be worn for years to come. Your 2ggrandmother's has mutton sleeves (wide at top and tapering to wrist), classic blouse with tie and long dark skirt and boater hat....all point to late 1890s. The fashion is late 1890s but could have been taken a few years after that too.

Can't see if the Chinese men have queues or not which would help date the photo. 

Do you know when your 2ggrandmother was in Hong Kong?

The lady looked 40ish, which would make the photo to be taken at about 1920 +/- 10.

May I suggest - matching hats, the man in the front could be her husband.  Regards,  Peter

I think the lady in the photo was substantially older than 25, maybe she revisited HK after the baby was all grown up.

If she moved to HK at age 15, most likely it would be with her parents and siblings, or with a guardian. If it was a few years later, maybe with a young husband that got a job posting in HK.

Greetings.  Not to counter any discussions, I would like to add some weight to my comments.  The man (her husband?) at the front was bigger, taller, and appeared well-dressed.  It was more for camera than a journey.

The man in the back should get more pay for carrying a bigger load.  Comparing the two spans, I estimated he was carrying close to 60 percent of the total load (passenger and chair).  Regards,  Peter

Gertrude Caroline Lowden was born in Aldershot, a major garrison town on 26th September 1878 so I thought there was a good chance she went to HK due to her father's army posting. However, her father Wiliam Robinson Lowden, a Private in the 29th Regiment at the time of his marriage in St Helier, Jersey, 26th December 1877, died on the 18th June 1892 in Jersey. So she did not go with him to HK.

I can not find her in the Channel Islands 1901 census but can find her widowed mother Caroline (30th June 1855, St Helier, Jersey) and her two sisters. Bertha Margaret Lowden (3rd June 1887 St Helier Jersey) and Edith Mary Lowden (8th December 1891, St Helier, Jersey) in Jersey. I can find her future husband Adolphus John Gottrell living with his family in the 1901 Jersey Census. 

Gertrude Caroline Lowden and Adolphus John Gottrell married 30th April 1902 Scottish Church, Midvale Road, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. 

They were present in the 1911 Jersey Island census (Adolphus John Gottrell, age 34, house painter and Gertrude Gottrell, age 32) living with their two daughters Kathleen (age 8 years, born St Helier, Jersey) and Winifred (age 6 years, born St Helier, Jersey) and was stated as married for 9 years, which tally. 

So if she was in HK it would be between 1893-1901. But I can't really imagine a 15 year old girl going out there on her own (she was the eldest sibling). So more like 1896-1901 period (assuming travel from age 18 years of age). That time period fits perfectly the fashion sense we see in the photo. 

If she travelled to HK post-1911 (ie after the Jersey census), what she was wearing in the photo would be out of fashion but not impossible as she does look mature in the photo. Sometimes its easy, but sometimes judging someone's age in the bracket of 20-40 years can be difficult! 

I can't see a wedding ring on her left ring finger (which would suggest it is pre-1902) but the resolution is not great so I can't be definitive about it. Olivia, do you have a better resolution focusing on her left hand? 

It would be best to say if the original photo is from Hong Kong or why does one believe it is from Hong Kong. 

Short answer: The marriage record was from a Gotterell family member of Adolphus John Gotterell on familysearch and MyHeritage. There is a tree on MyHeritage with the details. I can't find the marriage as well on the Jersey marriage list for that period - but suspect the available on-line records are for the Church of England ones only. 

It will cost you money (not expensive but depends how much you want to dig up) but you can ask the Channel Islands Family History Society to dig up all records relating to Lowden and Gottrell familes on Jersey. They will provide civil and parish records and photocopies, digital images of records, newspaper extracts etc. Well worth it. 

One day If I'm free I will give it a shot and look up your 2greatgrandmother in the HK newspapers. There should be a good chance of newspaper records...passenger lists etc

Just a thought. 

Gut feeling is that the photo does not feel HK to me. It's the architecture. China, yes. HK, no.

The photo of your 2ggrandmother may just well be a tourist shot, perhaps a trip to one of China's treaty ports. Similar shot here in 1902 in Chefoo. 

Here is one taken by Hedda Morrison in a courtyard in Beijing. Although taken over 40 years in the future, the tiled roof, courtyard, potted plants, narrow wooden beams suggest more mainland China than HK. 

Oh wow, here's one from Ningpo in circa 1880

Sedan chair, clothing of bearers similar but hats different from 1895. Location unknown but photo was from John Oswald's collection. He was based in Foochow, China. 

Don't know if you will ever read this Olivia

I thought I'd put this here as a leap of faith:

Your comment about your 2ggrandmother Gertrude Lowden (1878-1953) oral history of being the Governess for the children of the Governor in Hong Kong would fit perfectly for the time period of Sir William Robinson (1836-1912), the 11th Governor of Hong Kong from 10th December 1891 to 1st February 1898.

He married his second wife in 1884 and she died 10 years later and was buried in the Hong Kong Colonial Cemetery. The couple had 3 daughters who would have needed looking after. As the Governor was nearing the end of his term of office, it would be logical for your 2ggrandmother to start seeking her next employment and the above ad would fit perfectly in the timeline. She would have been a young lady (19 years of age), and having looked after the Governor's daughters, would prefer her next job to be of a similar calibre of comfort. 

This is a photo of Gertrude Caroline Lowden taken in Hong Kong July 20th 1899 when she was 21 yrs old. She was there as Governess to the Governers 4 children. I believe the Govenor at the time was the 12th Governor  of Hong Kong, Sir Henry Arthur Blake.  She was in Hong Kong for 4 years. Adolphus John Gottrell sent an engagement ring and his proposal of marriage to the Governor. She married 30 April 1902 in St Helier, Jersey where she lived for the rest of her life. She was my Great Grandmother and I have family photos of her including the original one above and ones with me when I was a baby. I am also lucky to have her tea set from Hong Kong.  

Olivia and I are likely to be cousins and I would be interested in hearing from her. I have an extensive family tree available via Ancestry.

Noeline 

His three children were born in 1875, 1877, and 1878 (source: Blake family tree), and so would have been too old to need a governess at the time Gertrude was in Hong Kong.

Thank you David,

That is useful information. That suggests she was Governess for  Sir William Robinson (1891 - 1898). Of interest is that her Grandmother on her mothers side was Sarah Robinson (1816 - 1884) so maybe William was related, uncle or cousin. This appears to be a reasonably wealthy family as it is also linked to the Wedgwood family and their are family paintings. Bit more research  needed before I write the story up. Do you know if  Sir William had a middle name as it is used as a first name in her family. Thank you for your help, most interesting.

Noeline