Sarah Wilson was born on June 11, 1898. Her father, Andrew Wilson, was a non-commissioned officer in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, and her mother was Margaret (née Lindsay), both of County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Sally, as she was called, was born in Belfast, the second oldest of seven children. The family followed the deployment of the Regiment in which her father served, as non-commissioned officers were permitted to take families with them. After a short posting in Canada, the family followed the Regiment to South Africa for the Second Boer War. They lived in Pietermaritzburg until about 1912, when the Regiment was returned to Belfast.
After the Wilson family returned to Belfast, Sally left school around the mid-1910s to work in the linen mills. Later, along with her younger sister Peggy, she crossed the Irish Sea to England where she and Peggy went into service. Their work history includes service at Harewood House (near Harrogate, North Yorkshire), the country home of Henry George Charles Lascelles, the 6th Earl of Harewood, at the time (February 28, 1922) he married the Princess Royal Mary, daughter of King George. Sally and Peggy’s visits back home to Belfast were exciting, as recalled by their sisters who enjoyed learning of the young women’s adventures and the latest dances.
Sally must have had pocket money during this period, and she spent some of her wages at photo studios, including the Ashleigh Studio at 112 Royal Avenue, Belfast. She has passed on many of the studio portraits from this period of her life. Several of the photos for which she and Peggy posed are fanciful, using kimonos, nurse uniforms, and other interesting props.
In the 1920s, her sister Peggy married Robert Miskelly, a childhood friend and later an officer in the British Merchant Marine. Shortly after their wedding, Sally emigrated with them from Belfast to Detroit, Michigan, where she found work in service for a Detroit family that summered in Northport, Michigan. Sally must have invested in a camera at this time, and some of her most interesting snapshots were taken with her fellow servants along the shore of Lake Michigan during their time off.
In his new job at Ford, Sally’s brother-in-law met a fellow Brit, John (Jack) George Mason, whom he introduced to Sally. Sally married Jack Mason on November 14, 1929. Their daughter, Margaret Rose, was born on July 20, 1932.
In 1940, Jack and Sally Mason purchased their first home at 18466 Mendota, in the northwest side of Detroit. During the war years, Sally worked at the JL Hudson Department Store in the cafeteria. In the mid-1940s she took a job close to home, as a cafeteria worker at Detroit Country Day School.
In 1968, when Jack retired, Sally and Jack moved to their favorite vacation spot, Naples, Florida. Sally lost Jack in 1979. She continued to reside at their home in Naples until her passing in 1985.
Sally, who in addition to being an avid photographer, was an excellent seamstress and passed on this skill to her daughter Margaret, who passed it on to her daughters.
Sally, as she was called, was born in Belfast, the second oldest of seven children. The family followed the deployment of the Regiment in which her father served, as non-commissioned officers were permitted to take families with them. After a short posting in Canada, the family followed the Regiment to South Africa for the Second Boer War. They lived in Pietermaritzburg until about 1912, when the Regiment was returned to Belfast.
After the Wilson family returned to Belfast, Sally left school around the mid-1910s to work in the linen mills. Later, along with her younger sister Peggy, she crossed the Irish Sea to England where she and Peggy went into service. Their work history includes service at Harewood House (near Harrogate, North Yorkshire), the country home of Henry George Charles Lascelles, the 6th Earl of Harewood, at the time (February 28, 1922) he married the Princess Royal Mary, daughter of King George. Sally and Peggy’s visits back home to Belfast were exciting, as recalled by their sisters who enjoyed learning of the young women’s adventures and the latest dances.
Sally must have had pocket money during this period, and she spent some of her wages at photo studios, including the Ashleigh Studio at 112 Royal Avenue, Belfast. She has passed on many of the studio portraits from this period of her life. Several of the photos for which she and Peggy posed are fanciful, using kimonos, nurse uniforms, and other interesting props.
In the 1920s, her sister Peggy married Robert Miskelly, a childhood friend and later an officer in the British Merchant Marine. Shortly after their wedding, Sally emigrated with them from Belfast to Detroit, Michigan, where she found work in service for a Detroit family that summered in Northport, Michigan. Sally must have invested in a camera at this time, and some of her most interesting snapshots were taken with her fellow servants along the shore of Lake Michigan during their time off.
In his new job at Ford, Sally’s brother-in-law met a fellow Brit, John (Jack) George Mason, whom he introduced to Sally. Sally married Jack Mason on November 14, 1929. Their daughter, Margaret Rose, was born on July 20, 1932.
In 1940, Jack and Sally Mason purchased their first home at 18466 Mendota, in the northwest side of Detroit. During the war years, Sally worked at the JL Hudson Department Store in the cafeteria. In the mid-1940s she took a job close to home, as a cafeteria worker at Detroit Country Day School.
In 1968, when Jack retired, Sally and Jack moved to their favorite vacation spot, Naples, Florida. Sally lost Jack in 1979. She continued to reside at their home in Naples until her passing in 1985.
Sally, who in addition to being an avid photographer, was an excellent seamstress and passed on this skill to her daughter Margaret, who passed it on to her daughters.
Sarah Wilson was born on June 11, 1898. Her father, Andrew Wilson, was a non-commissioned officer in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, and her mother was Margaret (née Lindsay), both of County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Sally, as she was called, was born in Belfast, the second oldest of seven children. The family followed the deployment of the Regiment in which her father served, as non-commissioned officers were permitted to take families with them. After a short posting in Canada, the family followed the Regiment to South Africa for the Second Boer War. They lived in Pietermaritzburg until about 1912, when the Regiment was returned to Belfast.
After the Wilson family returned to Belfast, Sally left school around the mid-1910s to work in the linen mills. Later, along with her younger sister Peggy, she crossed the Irish Sea to England where she and Peggy went into service. Their work history includes service at Harewood House (near Harrogate, North Yorkshire), the country home of Henry George Charles Lascelles, the 6th Earl of Harewood, at the time (February 28, 1922) he married the Princess Royal Mary, daughter of King George. Sally and Peggy’s visits back home to Belfast were exciting, as recalled by their sisters who enjoyed learning of the young women’s adventures and the latest dances.
Sally must have had pocket money during this period, and she spent some of her wages at photo studios, including the Ashleigh Studio at 112 Royal Avenue, Belfast. She has passed on many of the studio portraits from this period of her life. Several of the photos for which she and Peggy posed are fanciful, using kimonos, nurse uniforms, and other interesting props.
In the 1920s, her sister Peggy married Robert Miskelly, a childhood friend and later an officer in the British Merchant Marine. Shortly after their wedding, Sally emigrated with them from Belfast to Detroit, Michigan, where she found work in service for a Detroit family that summered in Northport, Michigan. Sally must have invested in a camera at this time, and some of her most interesting snapshots were taken with her fellow servants along the shore of Lake Michigan during their time off.
In his new job at Ford, Sally’s brother-in-law met a fellow Brit, John (Jack) George Mason, whom he introduced to Sally. Sally married Jack Mason on November 14, 1929. Their daughter, Margaret Rose, was born on July 20, 1932.
In 1940, Jack and Sally Mason purchased their first home at 18466 Mendota, in the northwest side of Detroit. During the war years, Sally worked at the JL Hudson Department Store in the cafeteria. In the mid-1940s she took a job close to home, as a cafeteria worker at Detroit Country Day School.
In 1968, when Jack retired, Sally and Jack moved to their favorite vacation spot, Naples, Florida. Sally lost Jack in 1979. She continued to reside at their home in Naples until her passing in 1985.
Sally, who in addition to being an avid photographer, was an excellent seamstress and passed on this skill to her daughter Margaret, who passed it on to her daughters.
Sally, as she was called, was born in Belfast, the second oldest of seven children. The family followed the deployment of the Regiment in which her father served, as non-commissioned officers were permitted to take families with them. After a short posting in Canada, the family followed the Regiment to South Africa for the Second Boer War. They lived in Pietermaritzburg until about 1912, when the Regiment was returned to Belfast.
After the Wilson family returned to Belfast, Sally left school around the mid-1910s to work in the linen mills. Later, along with her younger sister Peggy, she crossed the Irish Sea to England where she and Peggy went into service. Their work history includes service at Harewood House (near Harrogate, North Yorkshire), the country home of Henry George Charles Lascelles, the 6th Earl of Harewood, at the time (February 28, 1922) he married the Princess Royal Mary, daughter of King George. Sally and Peggy’s visits back home to Belfast were exciting, as recalled by their sisters who enjoyed learning of the young women’s adventures and the latest dances.
Sally must have had pocket money during this period, and she spent some of her wages at photo studios, including the Ashleigh Studio at 112 Royal Avenue, Belfast. She has passed on many of the studio portraits from this period of her life. Several of the photos for which she and Peggy posed are fanciful, using kimonos, nurse uniforms, and other interesting props.
In the 1920s, her sister Peggy married Robert Miskelly, a childhood friend and later an officer in the British Merchant Marine. Shortly after their wedding, Sally emigrated with them from Belfast to Detroit, Michigan, where she found work in service for a Detroit family that summered in Northport, Michigan. Sally must have invested in a camera at this time, and some of her most interesting snapshots were taken with her fellow servants along the shore of Lake Michigan during their time off.
In his new job at Ford, Sally’s brother-in-law met a fellow Brit, John (Jack) George Mason, whom he introduced to Sally. Sally married Jack Mason on November 14, 1929. Their daughter, Margaret Rose, was born on July 20, 1932.
In 1940, Jack and Sally Mason purchased their first home at 18466 Mendota, in the northwest side of Detroit. During the war years, Sally worked at the JL Hudson Department Store in the cafeteria. In the mid-1940s she took a job close to home, as a cafeteria worker at Detroit Country Day School.
In 1968, when Jack retired, Sally and Jack moved to their favorite vacation spot, Naples, Florida. Sally lost Jack in 1979. She continued to reside at their home in Naples until her passing in 1985.
Sally, who in addition to being an avid photographer, was an excellent seamstress and passed on this skill to her daughter Margaret, who passed it on to her daughters.
