Do any of your ancestral mothers work outside the home either before or after marriage, contrary to popular beliefs? In fact, many did.
Michael Albrecht sent along several family photographs. Of particular note was two fascinating images from Baltimore, Md. depicting Boleslaw Cwalina’s tailor shop.
Before dismissing “Boleslaw” as an unusual name, try searching Baltimore for men named Boleslaw; there are quite a few!
Take a close look at this image; there are clues hidden among the fashion plates hung over the clerk.
These plates show fashion from late 1910s to circa 1920. Large feathered women’s hats with wide brims and tight, narrow skirts are telltale signs of this period in history.
The second image depicts working women seated around sewing tables.
Rarely will you come across a picture with an exact date stamped into its surface like this one does, which reads, “Feb 15, 1935 Model Coat Makers in Baltimore Maryland”.
Women appear to be crafting coats for customers to try on in this photo taken decades after its predecessor.
Utilize Clues for Research I hope Michael knows what happened in these two photos; I’d like to learn who’s behind the counter in the first one and if any of the women working in his family business.
Do you have old photos that depict female ancestors performing various occupations? Why not follow up on what these pictures reveal by researching these two forms of records. To gain further insight into their life histories.
Check a census category where women work and see if the company that employed her appears on that same line.
City directories sometimes list unmarried working women separately with their place of employment; married women tend to be mentioned next to their husbands in parentheses.
