Sarah Vincent Claywell at her 100th birthday celebration.
A few months ago I wrote about Sarah Vincent Clayweil’s 100th birthday celebration. In the post, I said hopefully someone held on to photos taken of Sarah at the celebration.
Turns out someone did.
Photos Found In Texas
Click to enlarge. Sarah’s children or grandchildren?
All of the photos in this post are, in one way or another, associated with Sarah Vincent Claywell — including the top photo which is from her 100th birthday celebration.
A person connected to the family line of one of Sarah’s daughter-in-laws forwarded images she had received from Gloria Brown. Gloria’s husband is a descendant of Sarah’s grandson and wife — Sanford (pictured below) and Annie Curry. Gloria found the photos while cleaning out a garage in Texas. The photos were in a box marked “Martha’s pictures.”
Sanford is Nancy Isabelle Claywell Curry’s oldest son. (Family historians: Nancy went by Belle). As I noted in the previous post, Belle is mentioned in Sarah’s will as her deceased daughter. According to the will, Belle’s four children, Sanford, James, Cora and Nora receive $1 to $25 when Sarah’s estate was settled.
Who’s In The Images
Sarah Vincent Claywell is seated in the wheelchair. Based on newspaper articles this image is taken at a daughter’s home.
Two possibilities exist for the image of the two young women pictured above. The first possibility is they are Sarah’s grandchildren — and Belle’s twin daughters — Nora and Cora. The other possibility is they are Sarah’s great-granddaughters — Cora and Willie Roe’s twin daughters, Mable Faye and Anna May.
Click to enlarge. Pictured, front row, William Curry and Nancy (Belle) Isabelle Claywell Curry. Their sons, Sanford (back), James; daughters Nora and Cora.
The photo to the left is Belle with her family: Husband William Curry and children Cora, Nora, James and Sanford. According to Sanford’s 1958 Missouri death certificate (also sent to me), Sanford — a farmer — was 80 when he died. He was born in Glasgow, Ky.
True Treasures
Receiving old photographs like these is always greatly appreciated. Vintage images and old documents are visual reminders of the family thread that runs through us all, and I wholeheartedly agree with the lady who sent me the photos. She wrote,
Sarah V. Claywell
It is hard to find words to describe how a picture of a person (who shares your genes) can fill in a space inside you that you didn’t know was empty, making you stronger and your life richer because of it…. I am humbled to have been given such treasures to care for and direct their path.
Charlie R. Claywell 