Tanned leather horse collars hung like Christmas lights along the back wall of the store that Lee Price and his wife, Stella, owned and operated around 1915 in Danville, Georgia.

[UPDATE (November 27, 2020): Thank you to the expertise and helpful eye of Sherlock Cohn: The Photo Genealogist. She more accurately dated this photograph to about 1926. Among other clues, she based this on the clothing being worn.]

Stella stood behind a display of hats, dozens of them in varying types and sizes. She wore a dark, wide brimmed one herself. There were also bolts of cloth, perhaps canvas or burlap or linen, all stacked neatly for customers to inspect. Beneath her were boxes of Kerr Wide Mouth Mason Jars (the “Self Sealing Brand” type) and a basket of straw fans for farmers, ladies, and laborers to cool themselves in the Georgian summer air.

Across from Stella, standing in the center aisle of the store, stood her husband, Lee, his left elbow resting on more textiles stacked eight bolts high. Bespectacled and suspendered, he tousled his mustache and looked across the store toward his black hatted wife.*

Opposite the wall of horse collars were glass display cases framed with rich mahogany. Rows of boxes, and more cloth, adorned the shelves behind him. Other times for sale: bowties, handkerchiefs, and Red Bird cigars. What else can you see?

There were four others standing in the store, two men and two women. Was one “Charlie Price” as noted on the back of the photograph? Was he their son? Was that “Pearl”, a daughter of Stella and Lee’s, identified on the 1910 U.S. Federal Census? Who were the others?

Here is what we’ve been able to learn about the Price family.

The 1910 U.S. Federal Census shows a Lee Franklin Price, born about 1874, living with his wife, Stella, and three others: Pearl (daughter, age 6), and two “laborers” named James Roberts (33) and Charles W. Brandon (27). Lee was listed as a “general farmer” who was born in South Carolina.

Lee’s 1918 World War I Draft Registration card describes him as tall with a medium build, dark hair, and brown eyes. He is identified as a self employed Grocery Store owner.

The 1920 U.S. Federal Census shows Lee as a “Merchant” in “Retail Groceries”. He lived with his wife, now listed as “Estella”, on Milledgeville Road in East Macon, Georgia. Pearl was not living with them.

The 1930 U.S. Federal Census shows Lee as a “Propietor” of a “Retail Grocery Store” and Stella as a “Saleslady” at “Husband’s Store”. No one else was living with them.

In my quick newspaper research I was not able to find any mentions of Lee or Stella that I was confident in. This, however, appears to be their Find a Grave memorial. Lee Franklin Price (1874-1946) and Stella K. Price (1878-1940) are laid to rest at Macon Memorial Park in Macon, Georgia.

Who are Lee and Stella and what are their stories? Though the photo doesn’t seem like a grocery store, per se, was it the one referenced in the census records? Let us know if you find any clues or make any discoveries!

* I’ve used a mix of given information, discovered documents, educated guesswork, and artistic license to bring to life the story of the Prices and their store. Errors and omissions are expected and I welcome correction or alternate interpretations.

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related posts: 1910s