Kathy Welder  writes about the above photo: My search for members of my King family of Harlan Co. led me to an unknown cousin, Mark Ball of Walton, Ky. just this year. A year earlier Mark in his search had discovered a story containing this photo. The story itself was of the Black Mountain Academy, then located in Evarts, Ky. Mark was "struck dumb" when he discovered the name of two King ancestors and made several copies from the publication, Harlan Mt. Roots. The photo was first published in 1987 Vol. I. 
Upon my receiving the page with the photo, I immediately decided to try and find an original copy. The article mentioned the 1896 photographer as Mr. Bill Woods of Pennington Gap, Va. and the photo was "from the collection of Mr. Walter Asher, Harlan". Slim clues to go on, at best. But having dealt in the past with Mrs. Thelma Creech of the Harlan Heritage Seekers and the Harlan Public Library, I wrote asking for her help. I got lucky. Mr. Asher was alive and well and living in Baxter, Ky. I immediately phoned him from my home in California and ask if he would be so kind as to send me a copy of this photo. He not only consented to send, not just one copy but 4 of them! The more to share with other cousins!