The McCan Collection consists of McCan family photographs taken between the 1840s and possibly the 1860s. This collection relates primarily to Jane Hayden, daughter of Patrick and Mary Hayden, and her engagement and subsequent marriage to Lieut. Owen Wynne Gray. The photographs were most likely taken in London, around the time of their engagement to be married. Information about the photos has been included from a contemporary diary by Mary Hayden, in possession of the McCan family. Mary Hayden, the former Mary Anne McDermott from Dublin, was governess to the five daughters of Patrick Hayden of Carrigbeg, Co. Waterford. Patrick Hayden had married Bridget Sausse in 1803 but she died in 1815. In 1827, Patrick Hayden married Mary Anne. Patrick Hayden was Chairman of the Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary Famine Relief Committee. The Haydens were Irish Catholics, strong Repealers with vague stories about past dispossession. One of Patrick Hayden's daughters was a nun while two sons were priests. Patrick and Mary Hayden's second daughter, Jane, married Lieut. Owen Wynne Gray, 99th Regt., on 12 June 1852. The couple sailed with the regiment shortly afterwards from Chatham in "The Lady Montague", bound for Hobartstown, Tasmania.