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| Alma Alves (three years old), Biloxi, Mississippi, February 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine. |
Alma Crosien, three-year-old daughter of Mrs. CoRa Croslen, of Baltimore.
Both work in the Barataria Canning Company. The mother said, "I'm learnin' her the trade." Location: Biloxi, Mississippi,
February 1911, Lewis Hine.
"It was hard times back then. That house they were living in
looks like a rundown shack. I'd seen some of those shacks down in Biloxi when I was a kid. You could see through the walls
when you went in them." -Joseph Olier, son of Alma Alves
************************** On August 25, 2009, I saw this photo on Shorpy.com, a popular photo blog that posts
historic photos, often those of Lewis Hine. After several frustrating hours of searching almost frantically, the only thing
I could find was Cora Croslen and her husband in Biloxi in the 1910 census, but childless. I posted this as a comment on Shorpy.com.
Two days later, I received an email from a Shorpy reader. "I
looked at the 1910 census record for the Croslens and saw that a neighbor, age 3, was named Alma. Her mother was also an oyster
opener. The parents were given as Peter and Angelina Alvells. In the 1920 census, Peter and Angelina Alves, with Alma, are
still there. In 1930, Peter is gone but Alma Olier and her husband live with Angelina Alves. Alma and Angelina work for a
seafood company. Hope this helps in your search. -Sharon" Within
a few minutes, I had found an Alma Alves Olier in the Social Security Death Index. She died in Biloxi in 1987. Then I found
some of the Alves family history on OceanSpringsArchives.net, a terrific site created by historian Ray L. Bellande. Before
the day was over, I had tracked down Alma's youngest son and talked to his wife for a few minutes. After I hung up, I went to my computer to print a copy of the photo, so I could mail it out to them. When I did,
I accidentally found another photo of Alma, this time with some of her brothers and sisters, identified as the Peter Elvis
(obviously Alves) family. From the moment I had seen the first photo, I wondered why Cora and Alma didn't look the slightest
bit alike. Now I knew. Cora was probably babysitting while Alma's parents were working. Both photos went out in the mail. The
next day, I found a photo of Alma's brother Joe.
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| Alma Alves (on porch), with her family, Biloxi, Mississippi, February 1911. Photo by Lewis Hine. |
Family of Peter Elvis, New Orleans, La. All except smallest baby work
in the Barataria Canning Company. Youngest boy, Jo., seven years old works Saturdays. Alma, the three year-old by the door
is "learnin' the trade" her mother said. Location: Biloxi, Mississippi, February 1911, Lewis Hine.
In front of porch (L-R): Joseph Alves, Wilhemina Alves, Jennie Alves,
Bertha Alves; on porch (L-R): Charles Alves (likely), Alma Alves, neighbor Cora Croslen.
More photos, and interview with Alma's son and daughter-in-law
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