Hunter Library staff create website for families to find unclaimed photos
Daisy Myers (1921-1991) and likely her sister Flora (1919-2011) sitting on chairs placed in front of the porch steps. The photograph is from film that was brought to Sherrill’s Studio for developing, but the prints were never picked up. The name written on the unclaimed envelope is Myers. Sherrill’s studio was founded by George Dexter Sherrill (1879–1931) in 1902 and was the first photography studio in Haywood County.
Years ago, residents and tourists brought their film for developing at Sherrill’s Photography Studio in Waynesville. Sometimes, the person who dropped off the film did not return to pick up their photographs and the only clue to their identity was their last name written on the unclaimed envelope.
The envelopes date as far back as the 1920s. The Haywood County Historical Society kept the envelopes when the studio closed in 1975.
The society donated the collection to Western Carolina University in 2018.
Jenny McPherson, digital initiatives technician and her colleagues in Hunter Library’s special and digital collections collaborated with Grey Jenkins from WCU’s library web services to find a way to connect with the owners of the unclaimed envelopes.
“Together, we created the ‘Mystery Photos Website’ where visitors can search for family names and possibly find long-lost family photographs,” she said. “Visitors to the site can search for people by last name to see digitized photographs or browse the unclaimed photographs in the Southern Appalachian Digital Collections.”
Sherrill’s Photography Studio in Waynesville
Those who recognize a person or place can click on the image and fill out a form to provide information, which McPherson and her team will add to the online archive. In thanks, the library will send a digital copy of the image or images to the mystery solvers.
“Additionally, not all of the envelopes have been digitized, so users of the website may request to see the contents of any envelope under the “More Names” tab,” McPherson said.
As of Summer 2024, McPherson has provided 64 people with the contents of 123 envelopes and worked with community members to add additional information to 40 images already online.
One happy patron commented, “Thank you again for being a big part in making these families aware of these hidden treasures and having the ability to share them back as they were meant to be viewed. For my family personally, those pics will take us all the way back to 1938-40.”
Visit mysteryphotos.wcu.edu for more information and to search for photos.
