File:Native American woman carrying firewood, circa 1900 (MOHAI 12927).jpg

Mabel Elizabeth "Lizzie May" (Denny) Thompson (1875-1968) was the daughter of Orion Orville Denny (1853-1916), and Elva Flowers (Coulter) Denny Richmond (1858-1919). Mrs. Thompson was an active participant in Seattle society; she was a founding member of the Seattle Historical Society (now MOHAI), and a member of the Daughters of the Pioneers, the Mayflower Society, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mrs. Thompson and her husband, Howard Goodell Thompson (1862-1926), were also avid world travelers. They had one child, Mary Elizabeth (Thompson) Ostrander (1912-1977). In addition to her other pursuits and hobbies, Lizzie May Thompson was a prize-winning photographer and member of the Photographic Society of America. Mrs. Thompson did not describe where and when, or of whom, the photograph pictured here was taken, although it was likely after 1894 when she married Howard Thompson. The woman in this image appears to be Native American and is wearing western-style clothing. The woman is carrying a basket on her back that is filled with a bundle of short wood sticks that she has likely gathered to use as firewood.

Handwritten beneath image: Mabel E. Thompson Handwritten on verso: Indian woman with fagats. Photographed by Mrs. Howard G. Thompson Caption information sources: "Pioneer Portrait: Mrs. Howard G. Thompson," The Seattle Sunday Times, December 21, 1941, p. 47; and "Mrs. Mable E. Thompson, 93," The Seattle Times, July 6, 1968, p. 28.

• Subjects (LCTGM): Indians of North America--Washington (State)--Seattle; Indigenous peoples--Washington (State)--Seattle; Portrait photographs