Tag: who am I

Searching for Her Name – Lawrence Family Photo

Behind the Lawrence family’s fence on Five Points Road in Riner stands an unidentified African American woman—her name unrecorded, her story unknown. She appears behind Canaan and Mollie Weaver Lawrence, whose wealth came from farming, commerce, and the post office in the late 1800s.

Searching for Her Name

In this photograph, taken in Riner, Virginia, a white family stands proudly in front of their home on Five Points Road, Riner, Virginia. Behind the fence, partially obscured, stands an unidentified African American woman—someone whose name and story have not yet been recorded.

She is pictured behind Canaan (1840–1905) and Mollie E. Weaver Lawrence (1838–1931), whose home and farm once stood at this site. Canaan, a Confederate veteran, was listed as a farmer, D.G. merchant, and postmaster in 1893—the sources of the family’s prosperity. Born in Floyd County, he moved to Auburn by the 1870 census. Mollie, born in Auburn, remained there her entire life.

This photograph was shared by their granddaughter, Virginia Deal Lawrence, a longtime teacher at Auburn Elementary School, who preserved many family images and documents. Despite a search through census and local records, the woman’s name remains unknown.

We will continue to look through Virginia Deal’s papers and scrapbooks in hopes of finding a clue.

If you recognize this woman or know anything about the African American community connected to the Lawrence family, please contact us—we would be honored to record her name and story.

Please let us know if you can identify this woman behind the fence.
Lawrence Family Photo
Canaan Lawrence
1893 Canaan Lawrence was Postmaster of Riner, Va
1895 Canaan Lawrence was the Postmaster in Riner, Va
Mollie Elizabeth Weaver Lawrence
Virginia Deal Lawrence, granddaughter of Canaan and Mollie Lawrence
The Riner 1995 Calendar filled with Virginia Deal Lawrence’s photos