Figure 1.--This is a quite nicely tinted CDV of Cator and Hedley Haigh - dated 1868. I assumed that the younger child was a girl when I first saw this image, but this portrit is of brothers, Cator and Hedley. At the time of the 1881 census George Henry Cator Haigh (the eldest son) was 20 years old - so he was born in 1861 and therefore 7 years old when this portrait was taken. This was the first year Cator wore trousers. The portrait suggests that the two brothers were very close. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

A HBC reader reports, "At a recent photo fair, I purchased the contents of two Cdv albums that once belonged to the Haigh family of Grainsby Hall, Grainsby, Lincolnshire - there are about 50 cdvs of the children of the family (5 boys and two girls acccording to the 1881 census) over the period 1863 - 1871. Almost all of the CDVs are dated and identified on the reverse, which is just as well as this family kept the boys with long hair and in dresses until they were 6 years old at least - a gender identification nightmare as you will see when I scan and send you some of these remarkable photographs."

The Family

The Haighs were prosperous wool mill owners from West Yorkshire who set themselves up as gentry in the 1840s at Grainsby Hall, Lincolnshire, England. Here is the 1881 Census information for Grainsby Hall. The patriarch was George Henry Haigh 51 - Justice of the Peace for North Lincolnshire and Landowner. His wife was Emma Jane Haigh 49. They appear to have had eight children. George Henry Cator Haigh 20 - Scholar Hedley William Langley Haigh 19 - Scholar Marcus Harley Ernest Haigh 18 - Scholar Arnold Lionel Leopold John Haigh 16 - Scholar Claude Legh Richard Haigh 14 - Scholar Hilda Haigh 12 - Scholar Silvia Hermione Katherine Haigh 10 - Scholar Violet Haigh 8 - Scholar There were also 7 domestic servants, a Governess and a visitor from Ireland in the house on census night. We note that a tutor was not specified.

Grainsby Hall

The family estate was Grainsby Hall which is where the children grew up. Grainsby Hall was photographed in 1863 by Warner Gothard & Co of Grimsby. They also shot photographs of the family members. I am not positive where Grimby is in England, but hopefully our British readers will let us know.

The Photographs

Here are some of the photographs in the album. We do not have photographs of all the children, but we do have portraits of most of them. It is interesting that many of the portraits in the first few years were taken at the family estate, especially when the children were younger. This mean that the photogroher came out to the esate rather than the family going into town to have their portraits taken in a studio. We notice several images taken at St. Leonards on Sea. Perhaps this is a town near the family estate. The children in the portraits do not seemed to be dressed for visiting a sea-side resort.

Adelaide with Cator, Hedley and Ernest Haigh (1863)

Adelaide with Cator, Hedley and Ernest Haigh photographed in 1863 by Warner Gothard & Co of Grimsby, presumably in the grounds of Grainsby Hall. I assume that Adelaide is the familiar name of Emma Jane Haigh--like many families, the order of the given christian names seems to be irrelevant. (In fact some of the other portraits are annotated A.E.J. Haigh.) Both Cator and Hedley are dressed in matching jacket and skirt outfits. Ernest is still an infant. Individual portraits were also taken of Cator and Hedley.

Cator Haigh (1863)

Cator Haigh photographed in 1863 by Warner Gothard & Co of Grimsby, presumably in the grounds of Grainsby Hall. As Cator was born in 1861, he would have been about 2 years old in this portrait. He wears a small bonnet, not unlike what a girl might wear. He has a very small ruffled collr, a font buttoning jacket, and a skirt. He may be wearing a dress rather than a skirt, but his jacket makes it impossible to tell. His hair seems rather short, but it might be done up.

Hedley Haigh (1863)

Hedley Haigh photographed in 1863 by Warner Gothard & Co of Grimsby, presumably in the grounds of Grainsby Hall. Hedly who was born in 1862 was 1 year old. He has a very small ruffled collr, a font buttoning jacket, and a skirt. He may be wearing a dress rather than a skirt, but his jacket makes it impossible to tell, He was dressed in an identical outfit to his brother Castor who was photographed at the same time, although he does not wear a bonnet. His hair is quite long.

Adelaide with Arnold and Ernest Haigh (1867)

Here Adelaide is pictured with her two sons Arnold and Ernest. They were photographed in 1867 by T.K.Wardle of Grimsby, presumably in the grounds of Grainsby Hall. Both boys are photographed in matching outfits. They look rather like short jackets worn with skirts. Earnest was born about 1863 and Arnold about 1865. That means that they were 4 and 2 years old in this portrait. Both boys have long hair with their hair pulled back.

George and Adelaide with Cator, Hedley, and Claude Haigh (1867)

Mother and father (George and Adelaide) with Cator, Hedley and Claude Haigh photographed in 1867 by T.K. Wardle of Grimsby, presumably in the grounds of Grainsby Hall. This is the family patriarch George with his wife which must be Adelaide. As explained above her proper name was Emma Jane. They are pictured with the the two oldes boys, Cator and Hedley along with a baby brother--Claude. I'm not sure why these three were chosen for the picture. The boys were all still wearing dresses. The oldest boy Cator, however, was breached the next year in 1868.

Cator Haigh (1868)

Cator Haigh was photographed in 1868. I think that this was the first portrait after he was breached. This portrait may have been taken just after he was breached and his hair cut. This is a tinted CDV made by the London Stereoscopic & Photographic Co. Cator wears a long pants suit. It has a short jacket and lapel and is worn with a vest (waistcoat). He has a shirt with a small collar and bowtie.

Ernest Haigh (1868)

Ernest Haigh was photographed by W.New of Brompton Road, London in 1868. Earnest was born about 1863. He would have been about 5 years old in this portrait. He has a dark print dress with a lace collar. He has white bloomer knickers rather than pantalettes wih he wears with striped stockings. He also wears high button shoes. Like all the boys before breaching he has long strght hair.

Hedley Haigh (1868)

Hedley Haigh was photographed in 1868 by the London Stereoscopic & Photographic Co. He has not yet been breached and is still wearing dresses. He has a lace collar which is worn with a cut-away jacket. I'm not sure if he is wearing a full dress or just a skirt. His younger brother Ernest was photographed at about the same time. Their dresses are different, but both wear the same bloomer knickers and stripped stokings. Notice the wide-brimmed hat he is holding. Hedley apparently accompanied his older brother Cator to the photographic studio. The same table and CDV album is in the portrait. Hedley's hair is worn combed back and long.

Cator and Hedley Haigh (1868)

This is a quite nicely tinted CDV of Cator and Hedley Haigh dated 1868 (figure 1). I assumed that the younger child was a girl when I first saw this image, but this portrit is of brothers, Cator and Hedley. At the time of the 1881 census George Henry Cator Haigh (the eldest son) was 20 years old - so he was born in 1861 and therefore 7 years old when this portrait was taken. Hedley William Langley Haigh was 19 years old - so he was born in 1862 and therefore 6 years old when this portrait was taken. This was the first year Cator wore trousers. It is reasonable to assume that the colours of this tinted photo approximate the colour of the actual clothes, stockings, hair, etc. These tinted CDVs don't really warrant very close inspection, as what looks quite nice at its original size, begins to look a little slipshod when magnified. Just behind the younger boy you can see the stand which would have held his head still while the photograph was exposed. Hedley wears a skirted ffair with a short cut-away jacket. Note the patterened blue stockings. You might think that Hedley is just about the age to be breached and have his hair cut short, but we note 2 years later in 1870 in a portrait with his younger brother Ernest that Hedley still is wearing dresses and also still has his long hair. We have no written information about the family, but the portrait suggests that the two brothers were very close.

Cator Haigh (1870)

Cator Haigh was photographed in 1870 by Henry J. Godbold of St. Leonards on Sea. He wears a long pants suit, plain cut-away jacket, bow, and vest (waistcoat). Kneepants were becoming increasingly popular in the 1870s, but some rather young boys still wore long pants. The jacket is, hoever, a destintly juvenile cut. Cator is about 9 years old in this portrait. He appears to ghave gone directlt from dresses to long trousers. His hair has been cut and he has a right part. I am not sure if this was because left part convnions had not yet been estalished or because his mother supervied is hair combing. Many British boys by age 9 had begun attending boarding school, but this image rather suggests that ator was being educated a home. This suit is clealy not a school uniform.

Cator and Arnold Haigh (1870)

Cator and Arnold Haigh were photographed in 1870 by Henry J. Godbold of St. Leonards on Sea. This appears to be the same photographic session in whivh Cator was photographed sitting down by himself. Here cator is with his younger brother Arnold. Cator would have been about 9 years old and Arnold about 5 years old. Cator is wearing the same long pants suit, but Arnold has not yet been breached. I am not sure you would call the kirted garment Arnold is wearing a dress. It is very plain, perhaps it would be more properly called a tunic. Arnold's hair as with his brothers before breaching has not yet been cut.

Claude Haigh (1870)

Claude Haigh was photographed in 1870 by Henry J. Godbold of St. Leonards on Sea. Claude was born about 1867 and would have been about 3 years old. Claude wears alight colored dress with some military styling and a front button trim. The buttons look ornamental and not functional. This apparently was an important day for photographs. Interestingly, Hedly and Ernest were probably photographed on the same day wearing identical dresses with precisely the same trim. I'm not ure why Claude had an individual portrait done while Hedley and Ernest were photograpged together. As the three boys were outfitted in identicaldresses, you would have thought that their would have been a group portrait. Their little sister Gwendoline was probably photographed on the same day wearing a vey similar dress.

Gwendoline Haigh (1870)

Gwendoline Haigh was photographed in 1870 by Henry J. Godbold of St. Leonards on Sea. The name Gwendoline does not appear in the 1881 census list and I suspect that this is Hilda Haigh, I am puzzled why two of the girls only have one Christian name listed in the 1881 census--perhaps the father could not remember all the names or the information on the census return is indecipherable. It is a charming image of Gwendoline. She looks to be about 1 year old. The image is also notable because the dress she is wearing does not seem much different than the dresses that the boys wore before breaching.

Hedley and Ernest Haigh (1870)

Hedley and Ernest Haigh were photographed in 1870 by Henry J. Godbold of St. Leonards on Sea. This portrait appear to have been taken at the same time as their little sister Gwendoline. The boys were photograhed wearing matching dresses and with the same long hair style. Hedley would have probably been 7 years old, but nearly 8 years because he was boirn about 1862. This is curious because his older brother Cator seems to hav been breached at a slightly younger age. Ernest probably born in 1863 would have been about 6 years old, almost 7 years. Wenote that the dresses that the boys wear are very similar in style and color to the dress that Gwendoline wore for her portrit, probably on the same day. Apparently mother dressed all th three childrn, and perhaps others, in matching outfits for the day.

Claude Haigh (1871)

Claude Haigh was photographed in 1871 by F. Sargent of New Bond Street, London--a major shopping district. There seem to be fewer portraits of Claude and the younger boys than their older brothers Cator and Hedley. This is not unsuual in that parents are often most enamored with the first children and gradually the novely wears off with the subsequent children in a large family. Claude was born about 1867 and would have been about 4 years old. Claude for the portrait wears a dress with a small lace collar. We note that mother commonly accented the children's dresses with lace collars. Claude's dress in a dark patterened dress. I'm not sure what the color was. His hair is long, combed back from the forehead and drawn togethervbehind jis head. Often boys for these portraits had their long hair layed on their shoulder to display it, but this was not the case for Claude's portrait.

Leopold Arnold Haigh (1871)

Leopold Arnold Haigh was photographed in 1871 by F. Sargent of New Bond Street, London. Leopo;d is holding a book which presumably the photographer has given him. The portrait was taken during a trip to London in which Claude and Hedley were photographed. Leopold and Claude were wearing matching dresses. Their dresses have small pin on lace collars. The collars were apparetly tied in frn with a little ribbon. Leopold appears to be wearing pantalettes or bloomer knickers with his dress, but not a petticoat like Claude. Hedley who in 1870 was still wearing dresses, was photographed in a brand new long pants suit. This is the only portrait we have of Leopold who was born about 1865. He would have been about 6 year old in this portrait.

Hedley Haigh (1871)

-Hedley Haigh was photographed in 1871 by F. Sargent of New Bond Street, London. The portrait was taken during a trip to London in which Claude and Leopold were also photographed. I'm not sure if mother only took the three boys to London, or only the the London portraits of the three boys survived.Leopold and Claude were wearing matching patterened dresses with lace collars. Hedley who in 1870 ws still wearing dresses, was outfitted in a brand new long pants suit for his portrait. As far as we know, this was the first portrait of Hedley after having been breached and wearing trousers. His suit is a juvenile style with a short cut-away jacket. He has a small collar worn with a narrow ribbon tie. His long hair has also been cut short, but still very full--almost covering his ears. His hair looks heavy here, in the other portraits his hair was long, but did not look nearly as heavy. He is photographed by a very interesting period desk.

Affluent Families

The family was obviously affluent and travelled to London, the South Coast seaside resorts and the spa at Cheltenham. The parents had their photograph taken frequently and we are fortunate that they continued this practice with their children so that we now have this record.

Children's Clothing

The Haigh children wore a wide range of garments. We notice hats, dresses, skirts, jackets, tunics, and various styles of long pants suits. As far as we can tell, the boys never wore kneepants. The children seem to have very often worn matching clothes, especially the boys close in age. Their mother apparently liked to see them dressed alike. It also seems that the younger children had to wear 'hand me downs' as the dress that Leopold Arnold is wearing in 1871 bears a remarkable resemblance to the one worn by Ernest in 1868. Of course the family did not have to use hand-me-downs of necesity. For many wealthy Victorian families, frugality was more of a character trait. Even Queen Victoria had her children wearing hand-me-downs. The Haigh boys were kept in dresses until 6 years old at least and with their hair very long. The 1871 picture of Leopold Arnold is striking - if the picture had not been annotated on the back, it would be very difficult to convince that this is not a girl.

Hair

The Haigh children in all the family portraits all seem to have the same hair style. It was long uncurled hair, combed back from the forehead. There were some variations in that there were sometimes a small peak at the crown. The hair was also sometimes gatered in the back. Their mother did the hair of both her dauhters and sons in this same fashion. This is, of course, the way the hair was done for the portraits. we do not know if their hair was done differently for everyday at home.

Reader Comments

"It is amazing that having a name, date, and some background can help in developing some interesting information on Victorian fashions and social conventions. I would say without knowing the names of these children or seeing them at different ages it would be impossible to know they were boys. Wearing those bloomers under the dresses seem to be part of the elevation to boyhood. I notice the children or at least 5 years of age or older before they appear. The one thing that may signifiy that they are boys is that their skirts seem to be above the knees. The one thing that makes it hard to identify these children as boys is the hair styles. In several of the images Cator and Hedley appear to have hair combs, ribbon, or cord to hold the hair off the face." -- Ron