Figure 1.--This portrait shows the Wiggs family. We know that they were from Tennessee, but we don't know just where. The portrait is undated. We we know it was taken in 1903 because we have the baby's age. We know their names: Left to Right - Standing: Norman, Zula, John Henry, Lela, Hubert, Bert. Seated: Henry Patten, Phoebe, Robert. Children in Front: Gene, Earl, Brown. Henry and Phoebe Wiggs had 10 children. They look to range from infancy to 17 or 18 years of age. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the family.

This portrait shows the Wiggs family. We know that they were from Tennessee, but we don't know just where. The portrait is undated. We would guess it was taken during 1903. Earl, the baby boy, was born on November 28, 1902. in the very early 20th century. We know their names: Left to Right - Standing: Norman, Zula, John Henry, Lela, Hubert, Bert. Seated: Henry Patten, Phoebe, Robert. Children in Front: Gene, Earl, Brown. Henry and Phoebe Wiggs had 10 children. They look to range from infancy to 17 or 18 years of age. The family obviously dressed up for the portrait, but the younger children are mostly barefoot. The photo is one of the many testimony that bare legs were seen as acceptable only with bare feet. Most Amnerican boys wore black long stockings in the 1900s. The major exception were the boys who went bsarefoot during the summer. This was most common in rural areas and small towns and regionally in the South. (Tennessee is a southern state.) Formal portraits like this with the children barefoot seem the most common during the 1900s. We are not sure why. One might have thought going barefoot would have been more common in the 19th century. It probably was, but for some reason, boys in the 19th century usually put their shoes on for formal portraits. Most of the boys probably wore knee pants, although we can only tell for a few of the boys. The younger boys wear ruffled blouses and floppy bows. Oneboy's collar is not ruffled, but because of his large bow e can't tell just what kind of collr it is. Two of the older boys have rounded detachable collars. The older boys have suits. All the boys have short hair cuts. Note the girls' black neck bands, no doubt seen as very stylish. Even though they dressed up, they did not go to a very well established studio. At least the back drop suggests it was rather a shoe-string operation. Perhaps it was an itinerant photographer or a photographer at a county fair.

Created: 6:08 AM 10/13/2007
Last updated: 4:48 PM 12/17/2011