The back of this photo reads “Carrie Lawrence – Daughter of George and Nancy Jane Lawrence,” and unlike many of the other “rescued photos” that we post this one was inherited from my great-grandmother. This set of photos has always always intrigued me both because one… the volume on that hairstyle is amazing! But also because of the structure of the uncut one-inch tall portraits. So this week I set out to finally figure out: Who was Carrie Lawrence?

My great-grandmother seemed to love both taking and collecting photos of family and friends, so perhaps unsurprisingly it turns out that Carrie Lawrence was a 1st cousin to my second-great grandmother!

Carrie Bell Lawrence was born in May 1889 to George and Nancy Jane (Sadler) Lawrence of Adairville, Logan County, Kentucky. She married Dathan Bagby in January 1912, and they had one son, George Levi Bagby, born in 1913. Unfortunately, Tuberculosis claimed Carrie’s life in February 1914 at the young age of 25. Carrie’s son George Levi was less than a year old when he lost his mother, and it appears he was raised by his grandparents Lawrence. George passed away in 1963 as a single man, so it looks like this line is now gone, but at least now we can remember Carrie appropriately.

If you look closely at her ring finger, she is wearing a wedding band, so we can date these photos between 1912-1915. Her high collar and wide, hat supporting hair are also indicators of the time period.

One family mystery solved, and thousands more to go!