Photo – Dare to Discover

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.

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.

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.

Mystery Photo – Men In Aprons

This photo was among a dozen or so large photos of the Rigg and Farley families in the Kanawha Falls area of West Virginia that were in the possession of my grandfather, then my father, and now to me. There is no notation on the photo and thus far the date, identities and location are a complete unknown to me (hence the “mystery” tag on this story). I’ve not done any cleanup of this photo, but you can click it to see a larger version, age spots and all.

The aprons, rods, pendants and other paraphernalia suggest to me that this is a group of Freemasons. I assume there is someone from the Farley or Rigg family in this photo; my grandfather and great-grandfather were both quite committed members. As I have no photo of Thomas Willis Farley (my 2nd great-grandfather), I like to speculate that maybe he is the bearded fellow seated on the front row with the jaunty hat.

Possible Photo of Montgomery Home

I recently posted a story about this mystery photo. It was included in a packet of photos of various people and locations related to the Rigg and Farley clans in the Kanawha Falls area. Continue reading “Possible Photo of Montgomery Home”

Awkward Family Photo

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. Continue reading “Awkward Family Photo”

Mystery Photo – House Ruined by Fire

This photo was part of a packet of photographs of the Rigg and Farley family. I assume the house damage was caused by fire due to the dead trees in front, but there certainly could be other explanations. I do NOT believe that this is the Rigg/Farley Ferry House (post coming on that before long), as that house was right at the river’s edge and this appears to back up to a wooded area. Continue reading “Mystery Photo – House Ruined by Fire”