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!
Tag: Farley
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.
Rigg Water Pitcher
This 19th century water pitcher is one of the more interesting of our family artifacts to survive to the 21st century. It appears to be made of clay; it weighs 10 pounds on the nose and is about 13 inches tall. It originates from the Rigg family in Kanawha Falls, and was also used by the Farley family. It came to my great-grandfather, Frederick Lee Farley (1879-1945) who passed it down to his son (Willis Hite Farley); it made its way to my father and is now in my care.
It seems extremely sturdy to be at least 130-150 (or more?) years old but we still treat it tenderly. It’s a wonderful example of the blend of art and craft, and I imagine it gave pleasure as an item to have for every day use. Continue reading “Rigg Water Pitcher”
Farley’s Furlough
Thomas Willis Farley was born in Buckingham County, Virginia in 1841. Having three older sisters, he was the first son and youngest child when he lost his mother around six months of age. His father remarried and two more children were born to the family. He is my 2nd great grandfather. Continue reading “Farley’s Furlough”
Hats
I have been scouring through all my photos and other documents to determine what would be appropriate material for this website, and in quick succession came across several images featuring hats in all their glory. Enjoy! (Clicking on any image will bring up a larger version.) Continue reading “Hats”