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John Humphrey
Kilmarnock Photographer

John Gemmell Humphrey
Wick Photographer

James Millar Mackay
Kilmarnock + Edinburgh  Photographer

Parts of the Humphrey and Gemmell

Family Tree

Adam Mackay

=

Agnes
Millar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James
Millar
 Mackay

b.1834

 

Alexander
 Sutherland
Mackay

b.1832

=

Janet
Gemmell

Mary
 Gemmell

=

John
Humphrey

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John
Gemmell
Humphrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John
Humphrey

 

The family tree above has been compiled from information provided  by John Humphrey, Toronto, Canada.  John appears at the bottom right hand corner of the family tree above.

John also provided the comments below:

John Gemmell Humphrey

"My grandfather, John Gemmell Humphrey - son of the Kilmarnock photographer - was also a professional photographer, in Wick, Caithness, Scotland,  from 1889 to 1938 - many of his out-and-about photos are featured in a nice little recent book by Christopher Uncles entitled “Memories of Caithness (Stenlake Publishers, Ayrshire 2004).

 I wish I could track down some of his father's output, but my sporadic investigations have turned up only a handful of items that can definitely be attributed to him."

John Humphrey, July 2004

Artists and Photographers

"I am very interested in the comments posted on your website about the evolution of photographic techniques, and in particular the crossovers and overlaps between ‘photography’ as we now understand it and various contemporary techniques of engraving, printing and painting.

Two of John Humphrey’s brothers-in-law, the Mackays, were both portraitists and one  at least was a photographer.  He himself over-painted and touched up many of his photographs in oils, pastels, crayons and watercolours.

I have one such close-up portrait of his wife, 10" x 14", dating from the mid 1860s, photographic paper mounted on canvas, which may be by him or by either of her Mackay in-laws."

John Humphrey, July 2004

John Humphrey

"Although there is some indication that John Humphrey was taking wet plate photographs in the late 1850s, both for albumen paper printing and for ambrotypes, he was first listed in the 1861 Kilmarnock Census as a ‘lithographer'.

This was a trade he probably learned from his brother-in-law John Watson, husband of his sister Mary. John Watson was established as a lithographer and copper-plate printer in Kilmarnock by 1852.

The 1868 Kilmarnock Post Office Directory listed him as a Lithographic Printer and Engraver, but by the time of the 1871 Kilmarnock census he was described as a “Photographic Artist”.  He moved back and forth between Glasgow & Kilmarnock at least a couple of times.

The 1881 census for Govan  again described him as a Lithographic Printer. John Humphrey’s son, John Gemmell Humphrey, briefly worked for John Watson as a photographer in Glasgow around 1887-8, before moving to Wick

Although you don’t mention it, equally interesting is the evolution, certainly in Kilmarnock, from calico printing to photography.  John Humphrey’s father and two of his uncles were calico printers, and he was himself a “tear-boy” – apprentice calico printer – by the age of 11.

Two of his brothers also started as calico printers before that trade began to die out in the mid-19th Century.  One of his big competitors in Kilmarnock, Adam McGregor, also came to the photography business by way of calico printing."

John Humphrey, July 2004

 

Question 1

Mackay

Was James M Mackay related to George R Mackay?

Answer 1

Thank you to Alan Mackay for the following message:

"I have done a quick search and reckon that it is unlikely they James M Mackay and George R Mackay were related to each other.  (They certainly weren't father and son.) 

George Ritchie Mackay was born in Edinburgh 10/11/1870.  His parents were John Mackay and Euphemia Meiklejohn Ritchie."

[Alan Mackay is great grandson of Hugh Mackay who owned the Palace Hotel on Princes Street/corner of Castle Street and was also a President of the Clan Mackay Society.]

Alan Mackay (above) did not believe that he is related to the Mackay photographers.  However, he subsequently wrote in Feb 2005:'

"I've just looked back at some of my family history.  When my G.Grandfather and his wife had their first child (Nov 1901) their address is 70 Leith Walk. This is also their address in the 1901 Census"

The address of George Ritchie Mackay's studio from 1916 was 70 Leith Walk.

 

Question 2

Mackay and Humphrey

What else is known about the Mackay and Humphrey photographers?

If you can provide any further information, please e-mail me and I will pass on your comment to John Humphrey. 

Thank you.

 

James Mackay

George Ritchie Mackay

 

 

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