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This photograph depicts the Stuard family (1905). They were a farm family in Smith county, Mississippi. Notice one of thev adult boys holds a magnolia blossom, the state flowere. The girls also have flowers. We can see the parents and seven children, five boy and two girls. The younger boys all wear Fauntleroy blouces. They ould hve been about 5-13 years of age. Boys at the time commonly wore blouses rather than shirts. These blouseswere quite common in
the 1900s decade, both throiughout the country and by different social classes. The younger boys has knee pants and his older brother long pants. All three are barefoot. Notice no one is wearing overalls. This is ineresting because by the 1910s, overalls were virtually universal in rural America. In the 19th century, we don't see a sharp divide between how rural and cvity American children dressed. Something happrened about 1908-09 which we do not fully understand. The blouses are the same style worn by city boys. The pants are a little different. Most city boys this age wore knee pants. And shoes with long stockings. Of course climate was also involved. Mississippi is one of the Deep South states. Looking at the photogrph cloely, the yoingest boy is holding a rifel or a shotgun. Of corse it was vey common for farm famles to have some sort of gun. Having a little boy handle a gun reflects how the family viewed fire arms and must also mean that the boy was looking foeaed to reaching he age that he could use that gun.
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