Betty Hanscombe once sat for a portrait for Sam Evans sometime in the 1940's.
In 1967, Victoria Winters, whilst searching for clues to her parentage, discovered the portrait at the Evans cottage and was instantly struck by Betty's resemblance to herself. Sam recalled that Betty left Collinsport six months after the painting was done and six months after that she died. As far as Sam was aware both of Betty's parents were dead and there were no other relatives. (60)
Elizabeth later speculated that a butler named B. Hanscombe, who worked at Collinwood sometime in the 1940s, might have had a daughter or niece named Betty. (93, 97)
Background information and notes[]
As documented in Shadows on the Wall, the series' bible, Victoria's search for answers to her mysterious past, which was the driving force behind her accepting the governess position at Collinwood, would have originally led to the revelation that Victoria was the product of an affair between Paul Stoddard and an unnamed woman. Elizabeth was to have discovered Victoria's existence the night she 'murdered' Paul, and her guilt over his death prompted her to send money to the Foundling Home. However, these plans were eventually abandoned as the series progressed, despite early references to Betty, due to the focus of the show shifting towards supernatural elements.