Figure 1.--This English cabinet card is undated, but looks like the 1890s to us. Given the age of the child here and the uniform the woman is wearing, we suspect she was the family nanny. The cabinet card portrait here was taken at the Partington studio in Southport. The child and nanny are unidentified. We think the child is a boy, but we are not sure. We thouhght the foliage might be amemorium after the child died. A reader tells us, "It was not neccessarily a memorium. Those vignettes came in all kinds and for different occassions."

The nanny was an important part of a well-to-do Victorian family. This was especially the case a concerns the children. There were variations from family, but many affluent families left the care of the younger children in the hands of a nanny or governness. Nannies were commonly for the younger children and wore domestoic uniforms. They often had limited educations, but were chosen for their temperments and abbility to work with young children. They were primarily tasked with domestic care. A governess was for somewhat older children and more involved with education. Many children grew up knowing their nannies much better than their parents. This was the case of Winston Churchill and he is just one of many examples. Really wealthy parents might hire tutors to teach the children at home. After mid-century it became common to send thev children off to boarding school at about 7-8 years of age. At first this was primarily for the boys, but it gradually became the convention for girls as well. If there were several children, the nanny might be with the family for some time and become in essence a virtual member of the family. Ties between the children and nanny might be closer than with the patents.

Created: 2:53 AM 1/22/2010
Last updated: 6:04 AM 1/22/2010