Paton & Humphrey

Kilmarnock and Campbeltown

Thank you to John Humphrey, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, great grandson of the photographer, John Humphrey, for providing the following details.

John wrote:

Paton & Humphrey  -  Kilmarnock & Campbeltown

"A small item published by the Scottish Genealogy Society in 2006 says: 'Paton & Humphrey photographers, Kilmarnock and Campbelton ... flourished at 123 King Street, Kilmarnock between 1864 and 1867'.'

By 1868, the Kilmarnock Directory has John Humphrey in business alone at 127 King Street."

I have also recently come across 4 cartes de visite from the mid-1860s which bear the imprint of 'Paton & Humphrey, Kilmarnock and Campbeltown', so the two locations were clearly linked.

I have a carte de visite, presumably from a year or two before that, which is simply stamped:  "J Humphrey, 123 King Street.  John Humphrey was born in 1840 and he eventually owned 123-127 King Street by 1871."

Paton & Humphrey  -  Advertisements

Paton & Humphrey advertised in the  'Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald' on  1 February 1864:

They advertised in the  'Kilmarnock Weekly Post' on  25 March  1865:

James Paton and Hugh Paton

"The plot thickens, because I’ve discovered two new Paton brothers - James Paton and Hugh Paton who operated out of Campbeltown, Argyllshire, from the mid-1860s to 1875.

-  JAMES PATON was born in Mauchline, Ayrshire 19 June 1836.

-  HUGH PATON was born in Mauchline, Ayrshire around 1846."

Paton & Humphrey Partnership

"I now believe that one or both of these Paton photographers must have partnered my great-grandfather, John Humphrey,  in the 'Paton & Humphrey partnership in Kilmarnock and Campbeltown'.

I don’t know what happened to the older brother James – where he moved to, whether he gave up photography, died, or whatever. 

In terms of  age – born  around 1836 – I think James **  was more likely to have been the partner than Hugh, who was born 10-11 years later. [Humphrey and Paton were advertising in Kilmarnock 1864-5, and certainly didn’t function beyond 1867]."

**  Confirmed:  it was James.  See below

John Humphrey, Toronto, Ontario, Canada:  September 4, 2006

Paton & Humphrey

UPDATE

John Humphrey wrote to me again, in January 2008, to tell me that he had discovered that it was indeed James Paton who had been in partnership with his grandfather, John Humphrey until 1867.

John provided this extract from the Edinburgh Gazette:

John Humphrey, Toronto, Ontario, Canada:  January 19, 2008

Paton  -  more pages