Hello

I have a lot of personal correspondence from and about the family of the painter Herbert Maxton (b.1867) who lived in and around Sandwich, Kent at the end of the nineteenth century. He married a Louisa Charlotte Solly, the daughter of George and Frances Solly; Louisa herself having been born in Sandwich in 1869. She had various siblings including brothers John, Douglas and Robert Solly.

Much of the correspondence is letters from Maxton both imploring his wife to return to him; she having deserted him and taken their child Olivia Agnes Margaret Maxton (‘stolen’ by his sister-in-law from the garden he claims!); threats to his in-laws and various appeals for money or pleading a lack of it (…for models for a Royal Academy picture in one instance). The collection also includes police statements and letters from various parties in one instance where his threats weren’t idle.

I have managed to ascertain that the daughter Olivia died a spinster in ‘Cairngorm’, St. George’s Road, Sandwich in 1974 but I’m just wondering if anyone is researching this branch of the Solly family as it’s a fascinating collection of material and I’m really interested in pursuing the social history.

Thank you

Andrew