Almost certainly Mrs. Katherine Davy née Day, the wife of Captain John Davy of the Royal Navy. The census of 1861 shows her living with her husband at Mount Amelia, Ingoldisthorpe, Norfolk. At the time of the census Mrs. Davy was 58 years old, so when she visited Silvy's studio to have this portrait made she would have been 59 years old. Her place of birth was Yoxford, Suffolk.

The census also shows that the couple's eldest child, John William Davy, aged 25, was living at home. According to the IGI, John William Davy, son of John Davy and Katherine Day, was christened at Kilverstone, Norfolk, on 29 January 1836, which gives us Mrs. Davy's maiden name. According to the same source, her and Captain Davy were married in February 1832.