1904 Kentucky Rainwater Reunion

Left to right: DeWitt Dick, J. W. Ware, Enoch Rainwater, Virgil Rainwater, Carl Rainwater, Monroe Rainwater, Terressa Rainwater Porter, Ada Rainwater Simpson, Mrs. Paralee R. Rainwater, Miss Mary Rainwater, Mrs. Amanda R. Rainwater, Adaliza Rainwater Ware.

This photo of a Rainwater family reunion held in 1904 shows the family of Martha Compton and Enoch Rainwater of Pulaski Co., Kentucky. Three family members are missing from the photograph: Martha Compton Rainwater, who died in 1898, William Harrison Rainwater and Caldonia Rainwater Tate, who were living at the time. It’s worth noting that Ada and Terressa were twins. Also shown are James Wright Ware, husband of Adaliza, and DeWitt Dick, who Enoch Rainwater’s nephew by marriage.

Enoch Rainwater was the second son of James Rainwater and Mary “Polly” McDaniel of Pulaski Co., Kentucky, and grandson of William and Patsy Rainwater of North Carolina. He was a farmer, owning a significant amount of property in the Harrison District. He died in 1906.

Two of the daughters, Paralee and Amanda, married cousins also named Rainwater. Paralee’s husband, Fountain Rainwater, was a Baptist minister, school teacher and farmer. His name appears on a remarkable number of Rainwater marriage licenses as the official in charge. The son of Miles Rainwater and Frances Chaney, Fountain and Paralee were first cousins once removed. Amanda married Francis Rainwater, a farmer and the son of Daniel M. Rainwater and Ann Whitaker, making them second cousins.

Credits
This photo was offered for sale on Ebay by an individual who buys identifyable family photos at flea markets and lists them on Ebay as a way of helping the photos find their way back to their families. He has found homes for more than 30 such photos. This photo was purchased by and was last known to be owned by the late Betty Rainwater Craig.

© 2018 Susan Chance-Rainwater
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License