HISTORY OF THE PHOTOGRAPH
By Jim Bellis

This picture of the August 19, 1928 Carney Reunion was originally owned by  James Franklin "Frank" Moore, son of Walter Moore and Artelia Jane Burrow  Moore.  Frank was the grandson of Harrison Moore and Mariah Carney Moore.  Frank's daughter Susie Jane Moore Stringham tells that she remembers her  father always being proud of the photo.  After Frank Moore's death in  1964, the picture remained in it's original frame with the matting on the back in the possession of  Frank's son, Clyde Franklin Moore.  Clyde Moore died in 1993 after which time his widow, Velma Gillig Moore gave the picture to James Dale Bellis, great-grandson of Frank Moore through
Frank's daughter, Bernice Moore.  The original photo is about three foot wide and 10 inches tall.

The Carney Reunions were conducted for several years during the 1920's and  30's near the Carney Branch and two Carney Cemeteries at Carney, Missouri in Stone County near Cape Fair.  History of the Carney Reunion is sketchy but was obviously a well attended event, at least before the Depression. Held each summer the weekend before school started, families would make the trip for several miles in horse drawn wagons and small automobiles.
The block building seen in the picture and the school house steeple barely visible to the right of the tree, are still standing at the site today.

It is interesting that most everyone in the picture is dressed in white shirts, nice dresses, hats, ties, etc.  Many of the young girls are even wearing stockings. It is a wonder what the prosperous appearing families must have gone through as the depression began a little more that a year later.

Sue Stringham recalls the narrow path through thick brush that led to the church and cemetery.  Pies and other food would be stacked carefully so to provide food for the two day event.  She recalls all the work her mother went through to make sure the whole family looked their best for the reunion.   Sue remembers distinctly that her mother had made new bonnets for her and her sister, Mary Virginia.  Shortly after they arrived, Neal McNeill sped down the path in his fancy new car having to drive in the wheel ruts after a recent rain.  The new car splashed mud on the new bonnets worn by Sue and Mary Virginia.  That's why the two Moore sisters were not wearing their hats in the picture. After hearing this story, Lyle McNeill even remembered the car Neil McNeill drove as a being a Buick Touring Car.  Ruth Asher remembers that just to the right of the picture is where the row after row of cars were
parked.

We are trying to identify as may individuals in the picture as possible, so each person has been given a number.  Please help us identify this group by submitting the names and numbers of the people you recognize to Jim Bellis at [email protected] .  Many of the Carney descendents are working on records of the family.  We would be grateful for everyone to share what they know of the reunions and the families that attended them.

Below are names of those identified so far, and who identified them.  Don't hesitate to also let us know if someone has been identified  incorrectly.
 
 

NUMBER AND NAME

IDENTIFIED BY

7. Ruth Henson (later Asher)  8. Gertie Henson  21. Lois Epperly Butler ??  25. Susie Jane Moore (later Stringham)  26. Mary Virginia Moore (later Johnson)  32. May Elizabeth Jennings Moore  33. Grace Carney  37. Minnie Carney (wife of Bill)  40. Lula Carney Wiley (daughter of Minnie Carney)  41. Ester Carney ( Lula's daughter)  42. Ethel Jones (daughter of Minnie Carney)  46. Loreena WIley (Lula's daughter)  59. Lillie Dunn Lasiter 60. Charlie Carney  63. Jane Carney Builderback  65. Bernice Moore (later Bellis)  66. Nellie Henson (later Bright and Tromley)  68. Ema Calhoun (died the next month in  Sept. 1928 of typhoid)  70. Clala Durham (later Bowman)  71. Fern Calhoun (Henry's daughter)  74. Emer Henson Durham  75. Dorma Durham (later Robbins)  77. Clyde Franklin Moore  79. ? Durham (John & Emer's daughter)  81. Henry Calhoun  82. Johnny Calhoun (Henry's son)  83. Auddie Calhoun  86. Wilma Bennett (a Calhoun neighbor)  87. Nola Calhoun (Henry's daughter)  88. Blanch Calhoun (Henry's daughter)  89. Dorothy Calhoun (Henry's daughter)  90. Belva Calhoun  92. Odessa Carney Seitz  94. ? Welch  105. Nora Calhoun  107. Exa Durham  108. John Durham  109. Sally Durham  129. Norman Carney  130. "Whiskey Maker"  137. Mae King Peck (Margerie Jordan's mother)  141. Joe Overstreet  145. John Melton  146. ? Carney  154. ? Carney  156. Dr. Clyde Blyth (a Dentist in Aurora - his wife taught  home-ec at Aurora)  157. Oval Wilson  159. Joe "Bum" Swearingen  162. (was visiting from outstate)  163. (was visiting from outstate)  165. James Franklin "Frank" Moore  167. James Carrick Blythe (His wife, Mary Elmira Carney died just a couple of months prior to his reunion)  168. ? Calhoun  172. John Marshall Taylor (Ruth Asher's grandfather)  173. Edward Kerr Henson (Ruth Asher's father)  177. Manard Taylor  180. Neil McNeill  182. Nadine Wiley  185. Will Blythe  184. Jewell Carney Snow  188. Blanche Carney  193. Jim Carney (son of George G. "Cooney" Carney)  196. Buck "Rama" McNeill  201. Henry "Hen" Carney (??)  205. Jim Carney (Burton Carney's son, married a  Henson)  212. Isaac Epperly ??  217. Joe Dean McNeill

Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Jeanne Kelley  Sue Stringham  Sue Stringham  Sue Stringham  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Leona Ellingsworth  & Betty Brown Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Jim Bellis Family  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Sue Stringham  Ruth Asher  Sue Stringham  Sue Stringham  Jim Bellis Family  Sue Stringham  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Sue Stringham  Janice Parker  Sue Stringham  Sue Stringham  Sue Stringham  Ruth Asher  Don & Lyle McNeill  Ruth Asher  Don & Lyle McNeill  Don & Lyle McNeill  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Sue Stringham Jeanne Kelley  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Jim Bellis Family  Jeanne Kelley  Janice Parker  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Don & Lyle McNeill  Jeanne Kelley  Jeanne Kelley  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher and Jeanne Kelley  Ruth Asher  Don & Lyle McNeill  Ruth Asher  Ruth Asher  Jeanne Kelley  Lyle McNeill & Ruth Asher