Walter Edward Sprott of Shrewsbury, England

About 30 years ago, my mother sent me several boxes of historical photo albums and loose photos and I became the official family archivist. We are fortunate to have photos from several lines - Henderson, Conaway, Sprott, and Baldwin. By far the largest portion of these photos belonged to my great-great-grandfather, Walter Edward Sprott, who was born in Shrewsbury, England, in 1855 to James Sprott, a solicitor, and his wife, Esther.

Walter Edward Sprott about 1876

Walter was the second of four sons and one daughter. He was a cricket-loving footballer, who attended Repton School and the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, making life-long friendships. In 1878, at the age of 23, he sailed for America, where he bought a ranch in Kansas and raised horses. After 16 years, he sold out, brought his wife and children to Porterville, California and became an orange grower and an organizer of the Tulare County Fruit Growers Exchange.

Walter's photo albums give a glimpse into his roots in England. The earliest album is 6 x 9 inches and is for storing carte de visites (CDVs), the palm-sized studio photos that became popular in the mid-1860s. This album has photos of Walter's parents, his siblings as children and teens, his cousins, and his friends.

Walter's aunt; brother George and sister Frances;
and cousin Walter Hatch

A second, much larger album is also filled with CDVs, mainly of Walter's college-age friends. Many pictures have a handwritten label, usually with the person's first and middle initials and last name.

In addition to the two early albums, my great-great-grandfather had a lovely collection of larger family photos, including this beautiful picture taken at Clive House (2 College Hill, Shrewsbury), where the family lived from about 1872 to 1881.

Standing: George Herbert(?), Walter Edward, James Henry(?), William Hugh(?)
Seated: James, Fred, Esther Frances, Esther
Taken about 1875

Then there's my great-great-grandfather's scrapbook. The first page shows a picture of his cricket team, taken shortly before he came to America.

1878
"One of my last cricket matches just before I sailed for America"
Walter is seated in the back row, fourth from the left.

I'll write more about the Sprott family in future posts.