Figure 1.--Here we see the Methodist Chirch at Blanton Town, Florida in 1906. The men wear suits while the boys wear shirtsand blouses, most are barefoot.

First Communion was a particularly important event in the lives of many immigrant American families, especially Irish and Italian communities. New suits were often purchased for the occasion. Sometimes but not always the suits were white symbolizing the purity of the children. It was much more common to buy white dresses for the girls than white suits for the boys. Irish and Italian mothers were more likely to insist on white suits. The suits through the 1940s were often short pants suits, but since the 1940s they are more likely to be white. The purchase of a new suit, especially a white suit, just for first communion has gradually passed out of fashion, cost being the primary factor especially as a white suit has few other uses. Now boys in many places simply wear white shirts. Girls still often are outfitted in dresses purchased just for the occassion. A Maerican reader has des described his experiences as an altar boy. We note a candle compamy in 1915 that pit altar boys on their promptional calandars.

First Communion

First Communion was a particularly important event in the lives of many immigrant American families, especially Irish and Italian communities. New suits were often purchased for the occasion. Sometimes but not always the suits were white symbolizing the purity of the children. It was much more common to buy white dresses for the girls than white suits for the boys. Irish and Italian mothers were more likely to insist on white suits. The suits through the 1940s were often short pants suits, but since the 1940s they are more likely to be white. The purchase of a new suit, especially a white suit, just for first communion has gradually passed out of fashion, cost being the primary factor especially as a white suit has few other uses. Now boys in many places simply wear white shirts. Girls still often are outfitted in dresses purchased just for the occassion.

Confirmation

We note a lot of images of American boys doing First Communion in the early 20th century, but we have very little information about the 19th century. We note boys doing First Communion, often but not always dressed in white. Often they wear blouses rather than suits. We also notice some what older boys dressed in dark suits, presumably they are doing their onfirmation. An example of a Catholic comformation about 1913 is Harold Crown. The avaiable portraits do not always indicate if the boys were Catholic or Protestant. We know at least some were Catholic because they are with younger boys doing First Communion. An example here is Cletus Hullen and Henry Oelschlagen about 1915. Details as to the age and nature of these ceremonies are not readily apparent. After Wotld War I, these confirmation portaits become less common, although we continue to note many First Communion images. Here I am not sure what the relative availability of photographic portraits means. We note an American confirmation in 1960. One American contributor to HBC recalls a rather touching confirmation suit his mother made for him because they did not have money for a new store-bought suit. This account also includes a great deal of useful information about the 1970s

Altar Boys

Serving as an altar boy was an important experience in the life of many Catholic boys. This is primarily a Catholic experience, although some Protestant churches such as the Anglicans (Episcopalians) also have altar noys. America was settled as a Protestant country. There were some Catholics in Maryland, but America in the early 19th century was a predominantly Protestant countrfy. Many disident Protestant groups came to America, but relatively few Catholics. It was not until the Irish Potato Famine (1840s) that large number of Catlholics came to America. The numbers increasded in the late 19th century with the arrival of Italians and eastern Europeans such as the Poles. Many of these immigrants settled in the rising American industyrial cities. We do not have any images of American altar boys from the mid-19th century. We do have some from the late 19th and turn of the 20th century. There seems to have been awide range of vestment styles worn by the boys. Some boys wear very elegant surplioces while others wear very simple garments. We do not have much information on actual altar boy experiences. An American reader has described his experiences as an altar boy. We note a candle compamy in 1915 that put altar boys on their promotional calandars.

Church Attendance

Images of people attending church over time provide a fascinating look at how people dressed up. People tended to put on their best clothes to attend church. The rerm in the early 20th century was Sunday go to meeting clothes. Thus photographs of church goers over time provide a goos idea as to how people dressedup at time. Here it is helpful to know when the photograph was taken, where it was taken, and the religious denomination. Al these factors affected the clothing that the children wore ti church. The season of course was also a factor. The religious denomination to some extent had social class connotations. Anglicans (Espiscopalians) had the most upper-class members. Fundamentalist Protestanct scets were often low-income people. The same is true of Catholic churches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as many were new immigrants.

Sunday School

We are not yet sure about the historical development of Sunday schools. One author dates the first Sunday school to Britain about 1790. I am not at all sure this predated developments in northern Germany and other Protestant sttes on the continent. The subject is somewhat complicated by the fact that many early schools were founded and supported by churches rather than states. This was the case in America during te early colonial era. Sunday schools became increasingly important in the 19th century with the development of public schools in America. As churches lost control of schools, sunday schools became the medium by which the various denominations educated children in the dogma of the faith. They also provided activities to attract and hold the interest of children. Sunday schools not inly had an educational purpose, but they were a way of providing "constructive" activities for children on Sunday. As far as we can tell, sunday schools were especially important for Protesants because Bible reading and study was much more important in Protestant denominations than the Catholic Church. In addition Catholics after they began arriving in large numbes in the 1840s (at first mostly Irish), set up their own school system with religious instruction part of the curriculum. There was a Protestant influence in early public schools, but this was limited by theological differences among the major denominations. By the late 19th century the Sunday School movement was a major American institution.

Religious History

Religion played a major role in the founding and early history of the United States. There were two major traditions. The first was the Church of England or Anglican (Episcopal) Church which was set up at Jamestown (1607) and dominated the southern colonies. The second was the Puritans that arrived on the Mayflower (1620) and other discenter groups which dominated the early northern colonies. The Puritans and other discenters did not believe in religious freedom, they simply objected to the dominance of the establisheded Church of England. As American developed more diversity was injected into the American relgious mosacic. The British annexedd the Dutch and Swedish colonies which introduced Calvanist and Luthern strains of Protestantism. The Great Awakening was an important part of the evolution of religious thought in Colonial America. The Scotts-Irish which settled the back woods of American rejected the established Church and played an important role in the victory of the Colonials in the American Revolution. The rejection od establish religions was inshirined in the Bill of Rights. Germans with strong Lutheran leanings were the principal immigrant group in the early 19th century. While America's religion was diverse it was mostly Protestant with a few Catholics (mostly in Maryland) and Jews (mostly Germans). This changed with the Irish fleeing the Potato Famine on the 1840s. The Irish were the first destinct national group which came in large numbers. Their poverty and Catholcism shocked many Americans. After the Civil War, the influx of Catholics from southern Europe and Jews and Orthodox Christians from Eastern Europe further diversified American religions. Since the 1960s, changes in the immigration laws have increased the immigration from non-Christian countries making Islam and Hinduism a part of America's religious diversity.

Created: 9:17 PM 4/26/2005
Last updated: 5:51 AM 3/23/2007