Reginald Simpson Graham appears to have been a friend of John Peter George Smith, who seems to have been established in Brazil at that time. According to a letter by Smith to Graham (described in Santos et al 2010 [
here], p. 187, where Smith and Graham appear, somewhat incidentally, in a text introducing paintings by Smith's wife), Smith intended to return to Europe and, in Dec 1844 in Pará, was preparing to dispatch unaccompanied baggage to England.
Smith's wife, Emma Juliana Smith, née Gray, was the daughter of
Maria Emma Gray, who became the wife of John Edward Gray after the death of her first husband (Emma Juliana's father, Francis Edward Gray -- and a cousin of John Edward). See also [
here], where Smith is said to be Gray's son-in-law. Smith himself was a life member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science ([
here]), and many specimens in the British Museum were presented by him as well (see, e.g., [
this]). These include "a large collection [of reptiles and batrachians] from Pernambuco and Para", presented in 1845 by him and his wife (see [
here]).
Would Smith, after Reginald's death, have presented bird specimens in his name to the Museum...?
In any case, the context seems to be there...
Agreed, but the father died on 15 Aug 1829 if we believe [
this] (last § of p. 355). Thus the risk of confusion in documents from around 1845 should in principle be quite low.
