This is my ninth year of blogging the A to Z Challenge. Everyday I will share something about my family’s life during 1950. This was a year that the USA federal census was taken and the first one that I appear in. At the end of each post I will share a book from my childhood collection. Click on any image to enlarge in another window.
“Three generations were present at the festive board of Mrs. Jennie Turner on Harding ave. A delicious Thanksgiving dinner was served, which Mrs. Turner who has been an invalid for several years, enjoyed in her wheel chair, while surrounded by her daughters, Misses Daisy and Alice Turner, and her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Graham; granddaughter and son, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Elkins, and their two children, and Mrs. Turner’s sister, Mrs. A. Brown.”
Actually Four generations were present – my great grandmother Jennie Turner and her sister Abbie (who is enumerated with her niece Fannie), her daughters (which included my grandmother), my aunt Mary V and her daughters DD and Barbara. Since my mother Doris and her family (including me) were in still living in Springfield, Mass, and missed this dinner.
Looking at the census we see that all three members of my great grandmother’s household were born in Alabama and were enumerated as Negro. They lived in an integrated neighborhood on Detroit’s east side. Neither Daisy or Alice had ever been married.
Jennie V. Turner was listed as the head of the household. She was 81 years old and unable to work. Not surprising since she was 81 years old and in a wheelchair. She was a widow and had been for decades.
Daisy P. Turner is the only member of the family working outside of the home. She was 58 years old and worked at a fur store as a layaway clerk. The fur store was Annis Furs in downtown Detroit. Daisy had worked 48 hours in the past week and 52 weeks in the past year. Obviously Annis Furs was not a union store. She filled out the extra questions so we see more information. She completed 12th grade and earned $2,300 from her job and $482 from other sources.
Alice Turner was 37 years old. She did not work outside of the home and took care of her mother and the house.
Other posts about the Turners
A link to some historic photos of Annis Furs
Daisy Turner Dead at 70 Has links to other posts about Daisy
Jennie Turner – my mother’s memories of her grandmother
Memories of Alice – 5 Family Members Remember Alice Turner
You have put in so much work in the research. Amazing! I had shown the kids’s story video you had shared earlier to my kid and she was delighted. I’ll show this one to her now.
Dropping by from https://momandideas.com
I’m glad she enjoyed the book video and that you enjoyed the post.
The extra information about Daisy’s job is interesting. Did she support her mother and sister or were they on some sort of pension?
I always marvel at the social notes, they are so useful to us as family historians and that sort of detail is not collected anymore. I think social media will not be so useful to family historians as there are too many events and too many details.
Unless that other income of $482 was from my great grandmother’s pension, which I don’t think it was because pensions weren’t common then, Daisy was supporting the household on her own. Their household income was only $120 less than that of my Graham grandparents and my grandfather was definitely the only one bringing in income over there.
Yes, social items are invaluable!
You have been on A to Z for 9 years …wow… these pictures are of great quality though like a century old
These were probably taken with a Brownie box camera.
Isn’t it amazing to find newspaper stories about Thanksgiving dinners and the like? I love how those details were published.
Did you say Annie Furs weren’t a union shop because she worked 48hrs &/or worked 52 weeks with no holidays? What would have been the normal working week? Great detail on the census isn’t there?
I love those little newspaper items. They give information that rounds the picture of life during those times like statistics cannot.
That is why I said it. The 40 hour work week became law in 1940. Maybe she got overtime?