King's Own Borderers photograph album, 1864-ca. 1890

Summary

Creator:

Stoney family

Abstract:

The King's Own Borderers photograph album is a 54 page, 23.4 x 15.5 cm embossed leather bound album containing portrait photographs of individuals and groups associated with the Stoney family and the British army's 25th Regiment of Foot known as The King's Own Borderers. The images are cartes de visite, with some larger albumen prints and tintypes interspersed. The album contains a wide variety of other visual materials including photographic prints of artwork, pen and ink drawings, calligraphy, newspaper clippings, printed cartoons, and greeting cards. The cover of the album is inscribed "G. Ormond Stoney/King's Own Borderers/5th July 1864." The album appears to have evolved over time in several different stages.

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Louis Miller, August 2016

Background

Scope and Content:

The King's Own Borderers photograph album is a 54 page, 23.4 x 15.5 cm embossed leather bound album containing portrait photographs of individuals and groups associated with the Stoney family and the British Army's 25th Regiment of Foot known as The King's Own Borderers. The images are largely cartes de visite, with albumen prints and tintypes interspersed. The cover of the album is inscribed "G. Ormond Stoney/King's Own Borderers/5th July 1864." The album contains a wide variety of other visual materials including photographic prints of artwork, pen and ink drawings, calligraphy, newspaper clippings, printed cartoons, and greeting cards. The album appears to have had at least three different stages of construction. The first as a traditional 1860s carte de visite photograph album kept by its namesake G. Ormond Stoney (hereafter referred to as Ormond) comprised of photographs of family members interspersed with related newspaper clippings.

The album appears to have been revised with significant additions in the 1870s-1880s, including more photographs of family members as well as commercial photographic prints. The majority of those represented were army officers, with Anglican priests and politicians; many being contemporaries and associates of Ormond's father, George Butler Stoney (1819-1899). Clipped autographs of many are included beneath the photos and appear to be from correspondence to George Butler Stoney.

Various clues to point to Ormond Stoney's sister Jane (Janie) Stoney Smith as a contributor to the album. Not only is she frequently represented in the album, but the album has several pictures of her husband Arthur Smith and his family--many more so than any other family that married into the Stoney family. Arthur and Janie married on September 19, 1867--the same date on the autograph posted under Arthur's picture. Arthur died in 1870 leaving Janie a pregnant widow with a young son, Herbert (see p.24 for his portrait), and an even younger daughter, Ethel Maud. Newspaper clippings around the portrait of Arthur on p.13 mention his death as well as the birth of Herbert and Ethel, though not of Florence, the youngest daughter. Although Jane's two daughters are not represented in the album, on page 44 it appears that at one point a photograph of both of her daughters was extant.

While Jane's younger sister Wilhelmina married Colin McKenzie Smith, another son of William Smith, she did not do so until 1889. The focus on Janie's husband Arthur and their children, suggests Jane rather than Wilhelmina as a significant contributor to the album.

George Ormond's wife Meylia has not been identified in the album and may not be present, however, her father, Sinclair Laing is represented. Laing appears to have been a correspondent with George Butler Stoney.

At some later date, likely in the late 19th century, decorative gold painted borders were added, along with chromolithograph stickers, known as "scraps." These include a series illustrating Robinson Crusoe. Unlike the earlier additions which point to Janie Smith, these later additions might have been the work of a child playing with what would have been a 30 year old album. The gold paint overlapping earlier items (see p. 28 for example) suggests a later date, as do the "scraps" made popular after 1880. The seemingly random nature of the placement of the "scraps" is quite the opposite of the carefully placed and planned addition probably done by Janie Smith.

Of the children represented in the album, three of them would be killed in World War One: Thomas Ramsay Stoney (1882-1918), George Butler Stoney (1877-1915), and Herbert Stoney Smith (1868-1915).

Other items of note include:

• Two group portraits of young men in military uniform, presumably with George Ormond present in both photographs (p.2, and back inside cover).
• A portrait of a dog that if viewed from another angle appears to be an individual with a disfigured face (p.7).
• A commercial carte de visite of a Zulu warrior identified as King Cetewayo (likely incorrect, the chief of the Matabele) (p.41).
• A portrait of Napoleon, Prince Imperial, in his military uniform ca. 1879 before he died in the service of the British Army during the Anglo-Zulu War (p.40).
• A print of Rosturk Castle in County Mayo, Ireland (p.47).
• A retouched portrait of a dog posed with a military hat, cane and pipe. (p.23).
• An 1873 program for an "evening reading" of two different farces, "Little Toddlekins," and "The Dead Shot," done to raise money for Mrs. Palmer, the retiring battalion nurse (p.53). On the outside of the program is a print of Portland House, a manor owned by members of the Stoney family.

Biographical / Historical:

George Butler Stoney (1819-1899), a career army officer, was born in 1819 in Clare, Ireland to Richard Falkiner Butler Stoney and his wife Jane (Butler). He married Sara Howard Stoney (ca.1828-1908) ca.1843 and had four children with her: Jane "Janie" Butler Smith (ca.1845-?), George Ormond (1846-1890), Henry De Burgh (1849-1869), and Wilhelmina "Minnie" Ruth Smith (1865-1935).

George Ormond Stoney followed in his father's footsteps and served in the army for his entire adult life. He was appointed an Ensign in the King's Own Borderers (25th Regiment of Foot) on July 5, 1864. He was made Lieutenant on October 5, 1867. He was made a supernumerary Captain in 1875 before becoming a full Captain on October 16, 1880. He was made Major in November of 1883. During George Ormond's time in the 25th Regiment of Foot the unit was posted to Canada (1865-66), Ireland (1872-75) India (1875-81), Afghanistan (1878-80), and Burma (1889-90). George Ormond died on June 13, 1890 in Tubingen, Germany while on sick leave from illness contracted in Burma while on the Chin Lushai Expedition. The Times of India newspaper reported on August 2, 1890:

"…one of the most touching and grateful pieces of recorded military courtesy is that lately performed by the commandant of the garrison of the University town of Tubingen, where Major Stoney died some weeks ago. It is quite delightful to read how not only the garrison turned out to the funeral of the English officer from a distant land, but staid German professors and youthful students from the University swelled the long procession. And, finally, when the pastor had said his last prayer over the coffin, the commandant laid on it a splendid wreath, 'To the heroic comrade, and representative of the glorious British Indian Army.' So long as this chivalrous spirit survives, there is no fear that the courtesies of the soldier's profession, either in peace or war, will ever die out, whatever infamous missiles may be invented to enable gentlemen to blow each other into space without the slightest noise or fuss."

George Ormond married Meylia Jessie (Laing) Chalmers (1851-1910) on September 27, 1876 at Holy Trinity church in Hampstead, England. Meylia Jessie was widow of Alexander Chalmers and the daughter of Sinclair Laing, a fellow army officer who served in the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers. George Ormond and Meylia had seven children together: George Butler (1877-1915), Bowes Ormond (1878-1910), Patrick Sinclair (1880-1942), Thomas Ramsay (1882-1918), Dona M. (1884-1910), Henry Howard (1886-1955), and Isabella "Sybil" Catherine Alexander (1888-1976). George and Thomas were killed in action during the First World War.

George Ormond's sister Jane "Janie" Butler (Stoney) Smith was born circa 1845 as the oldest child of George Butler and Sarah Howard Stoney. Very little is known about her life. She married Arthur Smith on September 19, 1867 and was widowed in November 2, 1870 while she was pregnant with her third child. Arthur and Jane appear to have had three children together: Herbert Stoney (1868-1915), Ethel Maud Stoney (1869-?), and Florence Stoney (1871-?). Herbert was also killed in action during the First World War.

Acquisition Information:

1997. F-443 .

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Bibliography

Burke, John Bernard. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. London: Harrison, 1898.

"Butler-Stoney family of Portland House" in www.grantonline.com. Web.

"England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9CY-VLX : 29 August 2015), Herbert S Smith in household of Janet B Smith, Hampstead, London, Middlesex, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Hampstead subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

"England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWLV-P82 : 20 January 2015), Maud Stoney Smith, Hampstead, Hampstead N W, London, England; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

"George Butler Stoney" inGENi. Web. Accessed June 23, 2016.

"Major George Ormond Stoney" in www.thepeerage.com. Web. Accessed June 21,2016.

The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent, The Times of India, Irish Times, The Times, Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser via ProQuest, The Times Digital Archive, and British Library Newspapers Database.

Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: for the year 1881. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co. 1818.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Frederick P. Currier Collection.
Photographs shelf.
Caricatures--1860-1880.
Children--1860-1890.
Clergy--1860-1890.
Cutouts--1870-1890.
Dogs--1860-1880.
Families--Irish--1860-1890.
Genre prints--1860-1890.
Government officials--1860-1890.
Greeting cards--1870-1890.
Little Red Riding Hood (Tale)--Photographs.
Playbills--1870-1880.
Portrait photographs--1860-1890.
Satires (Visual works)--1860-1890.
Soldiers--1860-1890.
Women--1860-1890.

Formats:

Albumen prints.
Autographs.
Calligraphy.
Card photograph albums.
Cartes de visite.
Chromolithographs.
Clippings.
Drawings.
Ephemera.
Photograph albums.
Photographic prints.
Satires (Visual works)
Scrapbooks.
Scraps (Decorations)
Tintypes.

Names:

Great Britain. Army. King's Own Scottish Borderers.
Stoney family.
Adams, Frank, 1809-1869.
Arthur, Prince, Duke of Connaught, 1850-1942.
Bismarck, Otto, Fürst von, 1815-1898.
Caulfeild, William Montgomerie Stuart--1824-1894.
Conor, John R.
Daunt, Achilles.
Davison, Richard, 1796-1869.
Day, Maurice, 1843-1923.
Frederick III, German Emperor, 1831-1888.
Hutchinson, E. Synge.
Irving, Alexander, -1882.
Laing, Patrick Sinclair, 1821-1892.
Louis Napoléon, Prince Impérial of the French, 1856-1879.
Mayers, John Perkins, 1818?-1877.
Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von, 1800-1891.
Smith, Arthur, 1843-1870.
Smith, Frank.
Smith, Herbert Stoney, 1868-1915.
Smith, Jane Butler, 1845?-
Smith, Wilhelmina Ruth, 1865-1935.
Smith, William, 1795-1888.
Spring, Thomas Arthur Cavendish, Sir, 1822-1905.
Stoney, George Butler, 1819-1899.
Stoney, George Butler, 1877-1915.
Stoney, George Ormond, 1846-1890.
Stoney, Henry De Burgh, 1849-1869.
Stoney, Jane Butler, 1791?-1872.
Stoney, Robert Vesey, 1841-1924.
Stoney, Sarah Howard, 1828?-1908.
Stoney, Thomas Butler, 1813-1893.
Stoney, Thomas Ramsay, 1882-1918.
Thompson, R. Wade.
Victoria, Empress, consort of Frederick III, German Emperor, 1840-1901.
William I, German Emperor, 1797-1888.