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| Kuyrkendall family, Magnolia, Mississippi, May 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine. |
Kuyrkendall family, recently from farm. Three children in front
row (one ten and one twelve) and one boy not here, work in Magnolia Cotton Mills, Magnolia, Miss. Location: Magnolia,
Mississippi, May 1911, Lewis Hine.
According to Karen Walsh, these are the identities and approximate
ages of the persons in the photo: Front row (L-R): Ralph (10), Inez (13), and Hazel (14). Back row (L-R): Roy (9), mother
Emma (43), Emma (2), Dudley (6), father Jesse (61), and Mildred (1). Missing from picture are sons Jesse (17) and
Ray (15). Father Jesse died of consumption (tuberculosis) just six months after this photo was taken.
Edited interview with Karen Walsh (KW), granddaughter of Ralph
Kuyrkendall. Conducted by Joe Manning (JM), on April 16, 2007. Transcribed by Jessica Sleevi and edited by Manning. JM: How did you first see this picture? KW: I had started doing genealogy research on the Internet,
and for the first time, I Googled my grandfather's name, and it came up many more times than I imagined that it would. I just
started clicking on different things, and one of the last ones was the Lewis Hine photo. Actually, it didn't show the photo,
it just had the title. It was listed as being at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Library. So I emailed the research
librarian and said, ‘I think this might be my grandfather. Is there any way that I can see this photo somewhere?' And
he emailed back and said, ‘I can get it copied and emailed to you.' And when he did, he sent me two photos. I was really
excited. JM: Had you ever seen
a picture of your grandfather as a boy? KW:
No, never. JM: Did you know that
your grandfather came from Mississippi and worked at a cotton mill when he was a child? KW: Yes. I knew that area because that's where we would go on summer vacation. My dad would take
us there because that's where both of my parents were from. My mom was from McComb, and my dad was from Magnolia. I knew my
grandfather. He died in 1995. I think he was 95 years old. I think the last time I saw him was about 1989. JM: Did you grow up in Mississippi? KW: No, I was born in Florida, in 1958. My dad, Bruce, was
born in Mississippi, in 1919. He had to quit school in the eighth grade. What he made was added to what his father (Ralph)
made for a family with four children. Dad joined the navy about 1939, and continued to contribute to the finances of his parents
and siblings. He settled in Florida when his naval career was over. He died in 2002. My mother, Mary, is still living. She's
88. She was born Mary Boyd, also in Mississippi. JM:
What did your father do for a living after he got out of the navy? KW: For a little while he tried different things, like running a car lot with a friend. He was very
good with his hands, very mechanical, and he finally worked on the air conditioning and heating system for a company called
Independent Life. JM: What did
your grandfather do for a living? KW:
He worked at the cotton mill; then he was a carpenter. He also had a plum orchard. When he got older, he had a little shop
where he sharpened saws and fixed tools. JM:
When he worked as a carpenter, did he work for himself? KW: No. He worked on construction jobs. I remember hearing that once he fell from a two-story building.
I'm sure he was laid up for a little while. Amazingly, he did not get seriously hurt.
Continue with interview
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