John Millsaps on horse
Gideon Thomas Laney (1889-1976), also known as Gid, was the prominent photographer for the Brasstown and Sweetwater areas of Clay County, North Carolina in the first part of the 20th century. Trained as a portrait photographer and motivated by the need for flexible work after the death of his wife Martha Creech Ison in 1929 left him a single parent, Gideon borrowed his sister’s bellows camera and began to photograph the people and events of his community. He sent his film off to be developed by Weaver Studio in Copperhill, Tennessee and later by Crisp’s Studio in Murphy, North Carolina. From the negatives, he made 6 cent postcard prints using his in-home darkroom.
—Southern Appalachian Digital Collections
What a striking image John Millsaps makes sitting on his horse in the middle of the dirt road. If you’d like to see an enlarged image go to this page and click the photo.
I enjoy looking through the photos and other materials in the Southern Appalachian Digital Collections, but I especially like the pieces that are connected to my area.
Since Gid Laney was from Brasstown I love looking at his photos, like this one of John, and wondering if there is a connection to my people. Might be that John knew my Papaw or his father Bird.
The only bad thing about the photos in the digital collection is that we don’t know the story.
Where was John headed? Did he just come from church or maybe he was headed to town? Is the road here in Brasstown or up towards Hayesville? Is the road now paved and still in use? Did he buy the horse or raise it himself? Might his daddy, brother, or grandpa have raised and broken the horse for riding? Or yet it might even be a borrowed horse.
Even if I knew all the answers to those questions it wouldn’t be enough for I would want to know if he was married and how many children he had and where they lived and is their house still standing? I’d never run out of questions till I knew everything there was to know about John Millsaps and his horse. I feel like that about all of Gid Laney’s photos.
Recently I had the opportunity to watch a video made back in the 80s of an older gentleman in his garden. He was speaking with a family member and they talked about everything from their gardens to old times they’d lived through or been told about by elders. The audio was fairly good, but the person in charge of the camera didn’t remotely keep it still. You about get whiplash watching the quick jerky movements.
For a little bit I was frustrated with the erratic filming, but then decided I don’t need to quarrel about nothing they did because they actually got the image and the story. Although it’s not up to our modern day standards it is preserved for future generations of their family and friends.
Tipper
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I love looking at old photos and I to want to know everything about the picture. It makes you really think. Thank you for sharing this wonderful picture of John Millsaps.
I can see how old pictures bring out that curiosity, a picture tells a lot but also brings to mind so many questions too, like what year was this picture made… That’s neat to read how he made his pictures into a business that worked for him and his family sadly after his wife died. I like all of the questions you would want to ask, I would have the same kind of questions. It made me think of the comedian Jeff Foxworthy. I don’t know what you all think of him but he has a funny bit that he tells about “Women Have Questions”. If you’ve never heard this bit that he does maybe you could look it up and watch the short video. My husband laughed so hard because it is such a picture of us all day long. LOL!!
I guess women ask so many questions and want to know every little detail so they will be able to tell a man everything he did wrong and then tell him how he should have done it! Reckon Tipper is doing this to Matt while he is building the shed! We need to get him off to the side and talk to him.
I love the photo of John Millsaps on the horse. He looks like many of my own relatives way back then. I’m glad for Gid Laney & his photo collection. I have many questions as well. If I would have known the deep hunger I would have now that I am older, the questions I could have asked !
An older friend and I went on a trip from Tallahassee, Florida, to the Ozarks in Arkansas many years ago. On the road, we entertained ourselves by making up life stories about the people we saw. A bent old fellow leaning on a hoe had come up hard through the Depression. We wondered how many children he and his wife had raised, how they had turned out, and where they now lived. A family walking along the highway between towns were probably sharecroppers who had known nothing but tough times and “slim pickin’s.” Crops, gardens, livestock, and farm equipment also got our attention. We caught a few trout in the White River and ate some good food in Mountain Home and Mountain View, but those made-up stories about people we saw remain the most memorable part of the trip, those and the time spent with Mr. Raymond Johnson, now deceased, as are most of my friends.
Interesting photo Tipper and what you shared. Like you, I enjoy looking at old pictures or reading books articles etc. of where I grew up or spent much of my childhood; hearing the stories available of the people and their lives back then. Such information is hard to come by as not much was documented either by camera or writing, so one has to rely on ‘word of mouth’ and whatever memories they have. Thank you for sharing and for keeping ‘then’ alive in the ‘now’ about Appalachia.
bittersweet
Oh Tipper, you sound like me. I want to know EVERYTHING! We have snow again this morning here in Northern MI. But we are thankful to be recovering from the Ice Storm of a lifetime. And we know Spring really will come. And the sooner our yards are cleaned we can get planting. Thankfully for me the gardens does not have tree limbs down and I hope to get peas planted this week. Blessings and prayers for all.
The first thing I noticed was how very thin the legs of the horse are, like toothpicks holding up 900 to a thousand pound animal, plus the weight of the feller sitting on the horse. You can tell, I’ve always loved horses and owned one for a short time, a Tennessee Walker. I noticed that was a fancy bridal and bit on it’s head. The second thing I noticed was the barn in the background. I love barns and that is a biggun. When we moved to SC PA, we found many swiss-bank barns where we live. A lot of these farms were sold to developers and the huge barns torn down and 100’s of homes built. I have had the privilege of walking up and into one of those barns before it was torn down and I just stood there in awe of the massive timbers that I could see. I got teary eyed thinking about all that had been protected in that old barn and if it could talk the stories it could tell. The third thing I noticed was the way that feller had his tie on. At first, I didn’t quite know if he was making a fashion statement, cause I had never seen one worn tucked into a man’s shirt; but I’m thinking now it was to keep the tie from flying up in his face if the wind blew up. I also noticed he didn’t have a wedding band on; might not been able to afford one but also might have been going courting. My Grandmother told us that our Grandfather and her had horses and would go courting on their horses:) My Grandparents were born in 1885.
Michelin Tire Company celebrated being in the United States 50 years last week. I was there 38 of those 50 years. When I started working there in Feb.1976 all managers were required to wear ties, they had to be tucked inside of their shirts just like in today’s picture for safety purposes. This kept them from getting caught in machines, shirt tails had to tucked in pants and no long sleeve shirts. Another French safety measure was both hands had to be used to press to push button switches for opening or closing doors, clamps etc on the machines. This kept your hands away from these items.
I love this picture and the story behind Mr. Laney’s career. It reminds me of my dad. I have several old pictures of him on horses, including one when he was a very young teenager…makes me miss him even more this morning.
Meant to tell you Lucky is kin to Millsaps that came North Carolina. His name was Zep Millsaps. He was a preacher. Lucky said kin by marriage. Lucky met your neighbor Reggie that drives a propane truck. He told Lucky that your girls went to school with his kids. He had nothing but kind words to say about you and your family. God bless. Trying to get our garden going but it is raining and windy.
Could that be Zebulon Vance Millsaps born in Graham County NC in 1877- died in McMinn County Tennessee in 1962? My Zeb worked at a sawmill but that don’t mean he wasn’t a preacher.
Did you notice the sore on the horse’s shoulder? Looks to me like its hooves are in need of a farrier too but I’m no expert on the care of horses.
I love old photos. We are blessed to have some. Lucky has a photo of his step-grandpa and full blooded great uncle carrying a deer around his neck. The photo was probably taken around 1915.
I enjoy looking at old photos too. Glimpses into history. I often wish I could go back in time and talk to the folks in the photos to get the background.
Like you, those old photographs always leave me wanting to know more.
I just love looking at these old photos. I also wonder about the lives of the people.
The thing that struck me most about that old photograph is the casual way the man sat atop his horse! He looks relaxed with the one hand so casual-not unlike a man today eased back into the seat of his antique car or motor cycle. The horse looks very healthy and happy too. How I wish we lived in times past. It was better and people were better. I’d like to stop, ponder, wonder and ask questions about that man’s life and others of interest, but I got too many questions needing asked just concerning me and what in the world is going on in my world that I can’t see much further than that. Lol but I will say it’s a wonderful picture indeed of a handsome man. God bless you all today!
good morning friend God bless you very much
I had a great uncle, Will Kirby, that was a photographer in Gaffney, SC. He died about 1960, so it would have been in the years before then. I don’t remember much about him but have heard he could tell some stories.
This is for Carol B. Yesterday you asked about my wife’s favorite flower, she was not into flowers like a lot of ladies but her favorite color was purple. My deceased daughter also liked purple. I keep fresh artificial flowers on their graves year round and will often pick out arrangements that have purple flowers in them. So I would say plant anything that will have a purple bloom. I cannot tell you how much you wanting to plant a flower in her memory means to me. All I can say is Thank You. Her death certificate says she died 4 years ago today April 15 at 4 o’clock pm but in my mind she died April 9 at about the same time during the surgery. I intend to go and sit at her grave for awhile today. It gets harder and harder for me to walk to her her grave, but I am going to do this even if I have to crawl.