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Snippets for Aunt Sharon: James Maher, Cleveland Tailor

This tailor shop vignette shows young workers seated on the table in the “tailor’s pose.” They sewed by the natural light afforded by windows. James Maher may have done work like this early in his career. (Image: rawpixel.com)   The first evidence of James Maher, one of my Aunt Sharon's great-grandfathers, is in an 1861 Cleveland city directory—the telephone books of their day. 1   James Maher's entry in the 1861 Cleveland city directory.   James was a tailor in the days when Cleveland was on the verge of rivaling New York as a capital of the garment industry in the United States. 2 Earlier in the 19th century, before the spread of industrialization, clothing was still handmade, usually by women in the family. The wealthy might have their garments made by a tailor or seamstress. As the 19th century progressed, the need for ready-made clothing became more important for occupations like mining, for sailors, and for slaves. 3   Bird’s eye view of Cleveland, 1877. P...

GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021 - Newspaper Clipping II

GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021

Newspaper Clipping II -  January 29th entry of a 31-day challenge to post a document, photo or artifact on social media every day in January.  

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

 



This clipping is a bit of a mystery, as it was loose in a box of my Mom's things. I don't have a date or a newspaper. I'm assuming that it is from The Cleveland Press, as they are listed as a sponsor of this Folk Festival in which my Mom, Anna Margaret "Margie" Kozlina Gilbride, was performing. She is shown in the small trio to the right, on the left side. 

Mom participated in Croatian folk dance for several years, and I'm lucky enough to have several great photos of her in her costumes. I never saw any of these costumes in person, so they must have belonged to the troupes and not to her personally.

I know that Mom went on at least one tour with a folk troupe, as I have a great letter from her to her family describing the hotel she was staying in. (See Mom's Big Trip.)

I plan to do some further research to date this article and find out more about the folk festival event. Look for updates in a future post.


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