This 1876 photograph appears in the book of James B Heyl photos published by Heyl’s daughter in 1951 so it is often assumed to be the Heyl children. In fact it is the Harvey and Vail cousins at Mount Pleasant and they were identified by the late Edward Harvey, son of the E Harvey in the cart, who had an original labelled copy of the photo. The Harveys lived in Newfoundland but often visited Bermuda, their father’s ancestral home, where the family maintained Mount Pleasant in Paget. The Vails were cousins through their mother and lived in New Jersey. The donkey, Jessie, and the cart belonged to Mr Heyl and transported him and his equipment on his photographic expeditions in the days when cameras were much bulkier and heavier than now.
Key to the children in the donkey cart