Margaret, Claude and Cecil Helmcken

There are three children missing from this photograph.  The loss of a child or a mother was far from uncommon in the fur trade era.  The Helmcken's children's grandparents Sir James and Lady Amelia lost five children.  Death was also part of childhood for the Helmcken Family.  Young Claude Douglas was found dead in his bed one morning before he was three months old.  Young Daisy (born September 1856) did not live to see her second birthday.  Both children were buried in the garden underneath a holly tree, just outside their parent’s window to keep them near.

Claude Douglas or possibly Douglas Claude was born on 29 October 1853.  He was baptized on 11 December and died January 17 1854.