I have these old family photos on a disk that my grandma gave me. There was this one of a young woman during the Victorian era. She looked so pretty, young, and innocent. I was really drawn to the photo and wanted to paint her. I asked my grandma what she knew about young the woman. This is what my grandma wrote: I think it is Viola's sister, Serepta. Where did you get the picture? My Grandmother, Pearl Henney, was the youngest child of Lucy Clay and John Rickel Henney. She had several brothers and two sisters, Viola, the elder, and Serepta. Serepta was born June 30, 1858. When she was about 32, she promised to marry W. I. Lafler. But, later, she told her family that she changed her mind and did not want to marry him. She was told that she had made a promise and she was expected to keep it. She married him in August, 1890. She died on June 20, 1891, in childbirth.
I gave her angel wings because she had such a sad, short little life. While looking for reference, I found that if you google "Victorian Wings," you will get all these pretty pictures of embroidered wings from Germany. As it turns out, Serepta's family is from Germany. I gave her a lace halo because she has a real feel of purity, and because lace became popular as an industry during her lifetime. So, that is poor Serepta.
