Closing Remarks .... or so I thought....

It has only been a week since I started this, but the things I found out are remarkable. I found more pictures that Robert had taken in the Dartmoor Archive and discovered that his Dartmoor Pictorial Records were republished in 1986 by his granddaughter, Lady Sylvia Sayer. I found the name and address of the Chemical Company that Mary's father, Charles F. Burnard co-owned: Burnard and Alger Limited, Cattedown Wharves, Plymouth (1886-1917). And a reference to the fact that he was on the Executive Committee of Smeaton's Tower.

I discovered two relevant family trees that helped me go back further in time than ever before. Back to John Burnard of Laneast, born in 167o - no less! One by Roger Sando and the other by the Wotton family - a big thanks to them! Perhaps I can return the favour with some of these pictures. By the way, the connection to the Wotton family dates back to 1826, when Eliza Burnard (a sister of Mary's dad) married Hampden Wotton of Plymouth.

But, as with all good research - it raised more questions than answers. I came across at least two other branches of the Burnard Family: One that left for Adelaide, Australia in 1839 headed by Robert Burnard, a portrait painter. Could Robert the photographer have been inspired by Robert the painter? Certainly places like Laneast, Altarnun, Lewannick and Launceton are very close to each other. I also spot a certain family resemblance, so my bet is that they are related. Another branch of Burnards in the USA lived in Ohio . Were all three lines related, perhaps ?? Are there more in Canada and South Africa, as the Burnard blog on this site suggests? Some other time ...

For now, I will wait to see what other material turns up and post it as it comes along. The next mission will be to find out what happened to Robert in the USA - hopefully in time to tell Gerda.

Mary visiting her Grandchildren

Confirmed! This is the last photo picturing Mary. She is visiting her grandchildren, Hilde and my dad Kurt in 1912.

Mary's Son Karl, my Grandfather

Pictured above are Mary's three Children. On the left is Karl Friedrich, born 10.09.1876 in Haguenau, Elsass, my grandfather. The picture is taken in the early 1880s. Karl is with his sister Hilde and his younger brother Robert. I was quite surprised to find a childhood picture of my grandfather, having assumed the pictures below were the first ones available.


Here is Karl again, this time as a young father. We also see one of the first pictures of my father Kurt (born19.02.1911) , his sisters Hilde and Gerda, and of my grandmother Frieda, holding Gerda on her lap. At the time of writing Gerda is 93 Years old and living in Madrid, Spain.

Mary's "Lost Son" Robert

I do not have many details on Robert. He was born in 1877 in Haguenau, Elsass. In the bottom picture, he is the one standing on the left, taken during his military service around 1900 - drinking beer. He left for the USA in 1908, well before World War I. and became a U.S. citizen. In the top picture, taken in early 1901, he is the man in the middle of 6 ladies - but who are they? His aunt Hetwig is on the picture, the lady on the left & Hilde is there, somewhere on the right. I am not sure who the others are. The point about Robert is that he went to live in Milwaukee and later in the Chicago area, and went missing in the late 1930s. We know he was working for a private railroad between 1920 and 1936, and I now believe it was the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific Railroad.

He came back to Germany in 1938, saw what was happening in disgust and vowed never to return. On his departure he gave Mary's grandchildren -including my dad- a substantial amount of money (enough to buy a car!), left and was never heard of again.

Exploring his fate will be next on the agenda.

Mary's Daughter - Hilde

Hilde, who's details I will add in due course, is pictured on the left & went on to be one hundred years old. I actually met her! Its is her we have to thank for keeping these pictures for us to inherit. She fell in love with Lothar Mueller, a good looking chap who made a living as a fairly unknown actor (eg. riding a horse in "Fredericus Rex" in the 1920s). She was not allowed to marry him until after the death of her dad Richard in 1909, when Mary gave her consent. Tough times for lovers.

Mary's Husband Richard

For a long time, this was thought to be the only picture of her husband Richard (1840-1909) ... taken around the time of his marriage in 1875

However, bit by bit new ones turned up. Below, he is the chap on the right with the blond hair and funny dark beard. Very posed ... holding a cigar. It was obviously taken much ealier than the above, in the 1860s I should think.

Then, a major family photo session around 1908, shortly before Richards death. Standing in the back are Karl & Frieda - my grandparents; Sitting in front of them are Mary and Richard. On the left is Richard's sister Hetwich and on the right is "Auntie" Hilde. Note that two dogs are included in the picture, a tradition in the family dating back to Robert's pictures of Dartmoor.

Finally, the obituary with lots of spelling errors .... He died on November 28th, 1909. Interesting is the reference to Milwaukee, where one of Mary's sons had emigrated to - more about him later.


Then, on my recent visit to my cousin Monika, we came across a painting of Richard as a child and his mum, Maria Johanna, nee Neurath (1808-1870) . The paintings are dated 1845, which means Richard was 5 years old at the time. It is from her we got the double name: In 1835 she married Carl August Lüdde (1804-1872) and they added her maiden name. Family legend has it that this was to avoid confusion between the business of two borthers.

Meet Fanny, Kitty and Alice, Mary's Sisters

Fanny Evans was born on June 26th, 1844 and got married to Edward Paget Headley of Cambridge on June 3rd 1867. She looks very similar to Mary, but now that the number of pictures is rising, we can tell by the mouth that it must be Fanny & not Mary.





















Below, Katherine (Kitty) Burnard, born on January 8th, 1855, who married Henry Joll of Plymouth on July 19th 1880;


































Last but not least, below is Alice Burnard, born on July 21st 1852, unmarried in a record dating from 1894. Mary kept the enclosed pictures of her family with her at all times. Taken in the late 1880s or early 1890s, the short hair Alice is wearing seems ahead it its time. Her Photographer is recorded as John Hawke, 8. George Street in Plymouth.

Meet Robert Burnard

This is Robert, the man we must thank for these amazing pictorial records. Born on July 12th 1848, he was "Member of Council, Devon and Cornwall Camera Club and Member of Committee, Dartmoor Preservation Association". His "Dartmoor Pictorial Records" were published privately with only 150 copies printed by W. Brendon & Son, George Street, Plymouth. To see some of his incredible work, check out the following link:
www.projects.ex.ac.uk/dartmoor.trust.archive/burnard.html

Dartmoor Family Outings

Laughter Hole House on the left, the exact location of the other places in not known.












Robert Burnard took these pictures, we can only guess which family members came along...

Meet Mary Beatrice

Mary at the time of her marriage in 1875 ..... and below, some years earlier.


Thanks to my cousin Monika, we managed to find some early childhood pictures as well !!

Meet Mary's Mum: Jane Bice Evans

Meet Charles F. Burnard

Charles F. Burnard was born on July 18th 1816 & was Mayor of Plymouth 1881 - 1882. He is Mary's dad. I will check up on all his children shortly. His picture was taken in March of 1897. He died on November 10th 1905. Interesting also, the family crest and motto "Bear & Forbear".

He also wrote a poem in 1839 called "Winter Departs" ....

Introduction

Sometimes the muddy rivers of history make you feel a strong affinity to a part of your family tree that may seem a little off the beaten track. As it happens, this part of my family came from Cornwall and took to photography quite early, so that there will be some really old photos to publish in due course....

The lady in question is Mary Beatrice Burnard, born in Plymouth on October 23rd 1850, daughter of Charles F. Burnard of Compton Gifford. She was my great-grandmother and on November 10th 1875, married a German chap with the unspeakable name of Richard Lüdde-Neurath, which goes to show that it must have been love.

Her brother, Robert Burnard privately published a wonderful set of 4 Books called the "Dartmoor Pictorial Records" in 1890, a copy of which I have used to retrace his and her steps....

So, this blog will honour Mary Beatrice ... and publish some of the remarkable pictorial records she came to Germany with - who knows, some more pictures may appear & perhaps some other parts of her family may enjoy seeing pictures of Mary.