Myrtle Bagwell, Spartanburg, South Carolina, May 1912. Photo by Lewis Hine.

Myrtle Bagwell, one of the youngest of the spinners in Spartan Mills, Spartenberg [sic], S.C. Lives 104 Duncan Street. Been working nearly 2 years. Older sister said she could not find the family bible. Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, May 1912, Lewis Hine.

One morning, I got up early, did some poking around on the Library of Congress website and saw this photo. I started searching for information immediately, and by the time I finished breakfast, I had learned that Myrtle married a John Steading, then died in 1934, at the age of about 34. By lunchtime, I had found and called one of the sons of John Steading's second marriage. He knew about his father's first wife Myrtle, but knew nothing about the Lewis Hine photo. 

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