Minnie and Mattie Carpenter, Page One

"She was a good Christian woman and she provided for all of us children. I don't ever remember her going to bed without get on her knees to pray. She preached it to all of her children." -Cramer McDaniel, son of Mattie Carpenter

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This photo of Minnie and Mattie was the first one I chose to work on after I completed the search for Addie Card. As you can see, only Minnie was identified by Hine. As I state on the "About Lewis Hine Project" page:

After a month of painstaking research, I obtained a copy of Minnie's obituary. She died more than 30 years ago, single, with no children. A nephew, Cramer McDaniel of Gastonia, was listed as one of the survivors. In the Internet white pages, I found a person with the same name living in Gastonia. I called him, and he was the right person. He expressed great surprise about the photograph, and was very pleased when I told him I would send him a copy. I thanked him, dropped the photo in the mail, and called him three weeks later. He said excitedly: "I was hoping you would call me sooner. I've got some incredible news for you. The other girl in the photo is my mother."

I guess I should have guessed that the two girls were sisters. Mr. McDaniel was elated to receive the photo of his mother, and I realized that the possibility of repeating this story with other families, that is, sending them photos of their ancestors that they had never seen before, was reason enough to proceed with the project.

I had started my research on this photo by looking up Minnie Carpenter in the 1910 census. I found her right away, and it was a strange feeling to see her listed, along with her parents and siblings, as if this confirmed to me that she was a real person. I followed her through the 1930 census, which is the last one currently available to the public. And then I got very lucky. Because Minnie never married, I found her, still Minnie Carpenter, in the Social Security Death Index. She died in 1973. So I contacted the library in Gastonia, and they sent me a copy of her obituary from their newspaper archives.

Minnie Mae (or May) Carpenter was born on October 7, 1896, in Lincolnton, North Carolina, and Martha Rosanna "Mattie" Carpenter was born June 12, 1898. They were the daughters of Henry and Mary Carpenter. In the 1900 census, they are living in Gastonia. The two oldest children are working in a textile mill, probably the Loray Cotton Mill, one of the largest textile mills in the South. In the 1910 census, three children are at home, including Minnie and Mattie. In 1920, Minnie is the only child listed at home. The census was recorded on January 17, and exactly six months later, Henry passed away. Mary died in 1953.