Family - Aunt Carrie Duncan

 Family

Aunt Carrie

Contributor: Cindy W., my sister and our family historian

This is Grandma Dorothy's paternal aunt, Carrie Duncan.  This is probably one of the last pictures taken of her, around Stearnes, Kentucky around 1920.  I'll let Grandma tell you the rest of the story....

I remember when I was little being at Grandma Duncan's house and I had the measles while I was at her house. While I was in bed with the measles, my Aunt Carrie got drowned in swimming.

She was going in swimming with her boyfriend in the Big South Fork River and he was trying to save her and they were both drowned. And I never will forget; back then they didn't have any funeral homes. The dead was brought back home and laid out. Grandma's house had what they called the parlor and in the parlor was where Aunt Carrie was laid out. They called it laid out - they were in their casket and they put them in the parlor, in a room to themselves, until they were buried and had the funeral. I remember I was sick with the measles and Grandma didn't want me to get out of bed but I slipped out of bed and slipped in there in that parlor and looked at my Aunt Carrie. I never will forget.