Saturday 24 September 2011

Looking for Lottie

Lottie M Hanney appeared in my life when I began researching my family history. I had a very unhappy childhood but my grandparents gave me my happy memories thankfully. So a few years ago I decided to trace back to my ancestors and gain a sense of family from that. On the 1891 census a Lottie Hanney appeared listed with the occupants of my great grandparents house in Bath, Somerset. She was 13 years old and described as a Nurse/Domestic and immediately I was intrigued. I then discovered her aged 3 classed as a visitor on the 1881 census in a house in Bath along with 2 adults in their early 20's. More research revealed her on a passenger list of a liner docked in Southampton that had departed from New York in 1904....Lottie was now a 26 year old woman. And then she disappeared....after searching for months I couldn't find her on any records. So fast forward to September 2011 and Lottie presented herself to me again in my dreams and in my thoughts and I began looking again. I found a little more information that there was a Hanney connection - my great grandmothers sister had married a Charles Hanney....but no mention of a Lottie.
I've painted her recently standing in a doorway....and found 4 old photographs of a very similar doorway of my great grandparents house in Bath...I couldn't believe how similar it was...black with stone pillars..just as I had depicted.
So here she is again.....created in pastels...if only she could give me the answers....I'm still looking for Lottie.

17 comments:

Petie said...

I love your painting and your story is so intriguing!! I've done genealogy research for about 20 years and I know what a challenge as well as how rewarding it can be. I hope you find more about Lottie.

Cathy Mckean said...

this is a very touching story and a beautiful painting.

Janie Husband said...

very moving and a wonderful painting..

Francesca Di Leo said...

i love a good detective.. keep searching livvie, i'm sure you'll find the rest of the story. and your lottie is beautiful... and the background texture is fabulous. really lovely. xoxx

Carol said...

I love the painting and her story...keep up the search and maybe you'll find her someday :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful painting and even more interesting with ancestral connection. My mother is researching our family history too and has traced a line to Glasgow. I would love to travel there one day and walk where they walked. I hope you can find your Lottie.
♥Jenny

carlanda brown williamson said...

oh livvie.....keep searching. your picture is beautiful and the story gives me goosebumps. love, lollie!

Janice Scherer said...

Love the story... I'm intrigued. And the painting is beautiful.

Gloria Martin said...

Livvie, Your painting moved me as much as your story. Keep searching, I'm sure that your Lottie will continue to express her significance in your life. She has already begun... through this beautiful, emotive work of art.
xo

Kate Robertson said...

I really liked the painting first but the story even more so. Keep searching I am sure you will find her.

Effy Wild said...

I have a 'Lucy Moody' in my ancestry that I can't trace any further. It is such a mystery. Makes me want to 'dial her up' out of the ether and see what she has to tell me.

Your work is beautiful.

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

what a GREAT story and dreams, love!

Unknown said...

Lottie looks great!

Monika Schmid said...

What an interesting family history I am intrigued by your lovely Lottie!:-) Livvie I am awarding you the "Liebster Blog Award", so go to my blog, pick it up, and pass it forward. It's fun!:-) xoxo

artlover said...

great painting and story..tks. for sharing;-)

Jacinta said...

Wonderful story. It could be a story from a book. You write so well. Lottie seems to be around.

1974 said...

A woman by the name Lottie Hanney was a wife of the first Latvian ambassador to the UK, Mr Georgs Bisenieks (Bisseneek), 1885‑1941. In 1940 after Russia occupied Latvia, Bisenieks was arrested and deported to Moscow where he was killed in 1941. Here is a 1955 picture with a caption: Mrs Lottie Bisseneek-Hanney 70-year-old British Woman Arrives Home From Russia Today Seen Being Assisted By A Friend And Preceded By Her Daughter Helen. Stock image, Aug 9, 1955. Maybe it is her.
https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/mrs-lottie-bisseneekhanney-70yearold-british-woman-arrives-home-from-russia-today-seen-being-assisted-by-a-friend-and-preceded-by-her-daughter-helen-for-full-caption-see-version-box-0580-110615-00069ajpg-4855501a