I’m really fortunate that my father decided to document stories about his family. Over a period of about 8 years, he wrote the stories, and I put together the finished product. Joplin Hollow is the result, a collection of family stories, personal memories, and music. We printed about 50 hard copies for family and friends, and the companion website at joplinhollow.com includes additional photos and audio. Enjoy!
Category: Farley-Hite-Hale-Rice
Mystery Great-Great-Grandmother
This photo of a young woman standing by a chair is believed to be my great-great-grandmother. The problem is that I don’t know whether it is through the Jameson line, or the Rigg line.
This photo of a young woman standing by a chair is believed to be my great-great-grandmother. The problem is that I don’t know whether it is through the Jameson line, or the Rigg line.
The photo was in the possession of my great-aunt, Ruth Dare Farley (who passed away a few years ago), and said it was her great-grandmother. The photo was badly deteriorated, and she attempted to improve things by painting the background a bit. I welcome input from others on dating the photo and/or identifying the subject.
Alice, or Nannie?
Candidate #1 – Alice Jane Jameson
Alice was born in 1856, married William Hite in 1875, and died in 1941. The first two photos are of Alice with husband William, the second two are with grandchildren in the 1930s.
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Candidate #2 – Nancy “Nannie” Montgomery Rigg
Nannie was born in 1847, married Thomas Willis Farley in 1866, and died in 1923. Here are existing photos of her. The individual portrait is undated. The photo with three daughters is likely in the 1910s . The family reunion photos are about 1920. The Awkward Family photo with 5 generations is about 1910.
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Escape to Her Grandfather’s Ferry
This photo is from “Album of Virginia, Plate 26, Kanawha Fall. Edward Beyer, 1858” – the time period is very close to the time of this story, which refers to a period between 1847 (Nancy Montgomery Rigg’s birth) and 1852 (the death of her grandfather Henry Montgomery).
Frances Folsom Farley (1886-1076), known as “Aunt Aggie” to her family, recounted a story told by her mother, Nancy Montgomery Rigg (1847-1923), who was granddaughter of Henry Montgomery (1765-1852), founder of Montgomery’s Landing and the ferry service. This story was shared in about 1975 on audio tape.
“My mother [Nancy Montgomery Rigg] said that she was always in favor and got what she wanted from him [her grandfather, Henry Montgomery], and he would spoil her. He saw her coming and would say “Run! Run!” and she got down to the river just in time to jump into the boat [at the ferry]. I think her mother [Cynthia Montgomery Rigg] was after her and was going to spank her or something.
Basketball in the Family
Today is my paternal grandmother’s birthday; Audrey Vellence Hale was born on June 6, 1908. In this really fabulous photo, she is posing in her basketball uniform for Winding Gulf High School. Family lore is that she is turned to the side to hide a shiner received in a game a day or two preceding this picture. Continue reading “Basketball in the Family”
Football in the Family
Several years ago, my mother-in-law gathered photos of her sons’ grandfathers (with their football teams) and had them professionally cleaned up and enlarged, suitable for framing. My husband and I were inspired to expand on the idea by assembling a collection of photos (portraits and sports both) of grandparents on both sides of the family. I was able to find the football photos for my grandfathers (and a fabulous 1923 photo of my grandmother in her high school basketball uniform – that’s worthy of a separate story coming later). Below are those four photos, and a couple others of related family from roughly the same era. They represent participation in a variety of roles – player, manager, coach. You can click on any photo to bring up a larger version.