Mystery Photo – Men In Aprons

kanawha-falls?-masons?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.

Middle Name of Henry H. Hopkins

Henry H. Hopkins was born 09 January 1809 in Caroline County, Virginia, and died 12 June 1874 in Boone County, WV of an ulcer as reported by his wife Julia Ann Hill Hopkins (1827-1902). Henry was a notorious slave owner in Boone County (that’s a story for another day); he also was one of the most prosperous citizens of the county and father to nine children, seven of whom lived to adulthood. Henry was my 3rd great-grandfather. Continue reading “Middle Name of Henry H. Hopkins”