Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Rebecca Reeves Carver and Hester Howard Reeves

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  • This undated photograph of Rebecca Reeves Carver (1913-1999) on the left and sister-in-law Hester Howard Reeves (1919-2000) 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 Hester Howard. George Dexter Sherrill (1879-1931) opened the first photography studio in Haywood County on Depot Street in downtown Waynesville in 1902. In 1906 his studio became the first Eastman Kodak franchise west of Asheville and the third in North Carolina. Sherrill's photography roots began in Jackson County where he learned the art from his brother-in-law, A. L. Ensley. Beulah Eloise Ashe Ensley (1899-1991) apprenticed with Sherrill in 1917 and worked in the studio with her husband, Sherrill's nephew, Ralph Ensley (1894-1975) until Ralph's death. The Ensley's demolished the original studio in 1943, dug the site to street level, and built an International style building.