The past presents a distinct image from the smaller families of today, where households usually consist of 1–3 children. Consider a family that Boston Herald-Traveller photographer Leslie Jones photographed in the 1920s.
This busy family included parents, two boys, ten girls, and an infant whose gender is still unclear from the pictures. Based on the photographs, it seemed that the smallest kid was around four years old, while the elder children were already in their teenage years.
One can imagine the home duties, the need to share, and the difficulty of keeping up with the elder siblings with such a huge brood.
They appear to have established a life inside their own familial sphere, nevertheless, despite the seeming disarray.
The parents must have taken great delight in having so many children. They had their own distinct way of doing things, from the painstaking shoe polishing to the clever planning required to squeeze everyone into the family’s one automobile.
Even though it appears ridiculous by today’s standards to fit a complete family into a single automobile, it was a monument to the ingenuity of the period.
Cars were driving at slower speeds, and there was no such thing as child car seats, so safety considerations were undoubtedly different back then.
The family persisted in spite of the difficulties, even making an effort to gather under one umbrella while going on excursions.
Even if it might not have been the best course of action, their efforts highlighted a sense of solidarity and unity.
These old photos, which capture the spirit and feel of a bygone age inside the family unit, are a comforting look into the past.
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