Is this not the scariest picture of relatives you have ever seen? The mean woman who looks like she would eat you for lunch, the old woman whose hand is turned up in a secret “save me” signal. The man kidnapping the baby! And the mustachioed man calmly ignoring the madness around him.
If you are really brave, click on the photo to see it EVEN LARGER. Go ahead. You know you want to. I believe I actually have a clearer version, so I will get that scanned and replace what is here so as to enhance your experience.
The younger of the two seated women with the scowl and head turned as if she is assessing your ability to fight back when she whips that ax from behind her back (OK, probably just the sun in her eyes) is Nancy “Nannie” Montgomery Rigg (1847-1923). She was married to Thomas Willis Farley, and they were my 2nd great-grandparents. By all accounts she was actually a very kind woman.
The older seated woman is Jane Hamilton Montgomery (1825-1911); she was Nannie’s maternal aunt, and daughter of the famous Major Henry Montgomery who founded Montgomery Landing.
The older man with glasses and mustache is Stephen Columbus Rigg (1858-1947), Nannie’s nephew (and of an age since Stephen’s father James Rigg was Nannie’s much older brother of about 20 years).
The younger man with the baby is Stephen’s son, James Albert Rigg (1881-1959). The baby is his infant daughter, Mary Virginia Rigg (1910-1987).
Based on the age of “Baby Virginia” (as she was apparently known), I would date this photo to spring or summer of 1910.
Side note – I submitted this to awkwardfamilyphotos.com some years back; I can no longer find this photo on that website. One of the co-creators wrote to ask permission to include this photo in their first book, but that never transpired.
FridayJul17,2009 — 12:35 AM, Awkward Familyphotos wrote:
Hey Leslie,
I’m writing to you to let you know that we are about to begin the process of compiling photos for the official Awkward Family Photos book, which is being published by Random House. We want to save some of our best pics exclusively for the book and would love to include yours. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll send you some more information.
Mike
Co-Creator of AFP
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