In the early 1900's, it was rare to find a professional female photographer in the U.S., but one of those pioneers was Jennie Rust Dugat.
Thanks to the photographs that Dugat took, we have an idea of what life was like around the Coastal Bend back at the turn of the 20th century.
"I know she was a leader, I guess is the word I consider her. A matriarch in that field in this area," said Alice Whitley, Dugat's great-granddaughter.
Whitley said the family still has most, if not all, of the pictures Dugat took over her lifetime.
"We say our family never threw anything away. We have everything they ever owned," Whitley said.
In the late 1880s, Dugat graduated from a high school in Buffalo, Mo., and then began teaching at that school; but she soon caught the photography bug, and that carried her to Beeville to become a professional photographer.
It was back in 1901 when Dugat arrived in Beeville and heard that a photography studio was for sale, so she decided to buy it and set up shop.
Dugat's business focused on taking family portraits, but she also photographed most everything that caught her eye -- including Sidney Dugat. Sidney was a Beeville rancher, and Jennie not only captured his image but his heart as well. The two were married in 1905 and went on to have children.
"I think the fact that she was a woman ahead of her time. Now that wouldn't be that unusual to hear about a woman who is a wife, mother, businesswoman and taking on hobbies and interests," Whitley said.
Dugat eventually sold her business. She died in 1967 at the age of 92. What she left behind was a real treasure trove of photos -- in the two-book edition of the historical story of Bee County, most of the photographs seem to have been taken by her.
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