I love this photo. It was taken at the head or spring of Jessamine Creek that I knew somewhat as a child and my father knew as part of his daily life at the old home place. An original of this image is among the family heirloom artifacts I am in the process of documenting, which leads me to wonder if these men are ancestors of mine. The slope of the hillside, stacked layers of limestone formation, trickling water you can almost hear, the majestic shade tree with exposed mature roots like tentacles and brush in the foreground. I easily wax romantic about the richness of the scene. Additionally, this image appears in History of Jessamine County, Kentucky reference found in the Jessamine County Public Library. There are many great resources there.
Can anyone help me estimate the date of the image? The original print I have is affixed to a kind of cardboard so I am not risking damage to examine the back for any notes or context. Does the attire of the two men seated amongst the exposed tree roots provide clues? The man in suspenders does not look significantly of any particular time period as white shirt, trousers and suspenders is fairly common men’s attire. To me, the man on the right in his suit and with his hat and cane astride his lap looks reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln but that is not my assertion for it to actually be him. He would need to be squatted well into that spot, if so. There are physical similarities to my ancestor Pleasant Cook but I doubt the alignment of time periods.
At closer examination of the background milieu, I see the repetition of pattern similar to a fence, a barn and perhaps a farmhouse. I am in the process of determining at what point the land was acquired into our family. A Jessamine County deed recorded in the mid-1800s shows Pleasant Cook (my 2nd great grandfather) purchased 53 acres along Jessamine Creek, among several other sizable property acquisitions. When he died in 1917, the creek property passed to his only daughter, Mayme Cook Mathews, my great grandmother. After her passing, the property was owned by my grandfather, Pleas Cook Mathews.
The image below shows my grandfather, his brother and their cousin standing together adjacent to the Jessamine Creek springs. I can estimate this image to be prior to 1917, which is when Pleas left for France in WWI. I wonder if this could have been taken at a special occasion, like a funeral. They are dressed in a way that makes me think it possible.
As another in this series, here is young Robert Ira Mathews, my uncle, at the same rocky crag as the other images. This image is circa 1935 based on the other artifacts of the same period. The Jessamine Creek spring was an integral part of my father’s family life growing up on the farm. More of those stories to come…
that Kentucky girl 