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| Helen Parker about 1969 or 1970 |
In 1940, my great-aunt Helen Killeen Parker (age 36) and
her husband Herbert Webb Parker (age 39) celebrated twelve years of
marriage. They also marked twelve years
of living with Herbert’s parents Ephraim and Margaret Parker at 1616 Atlanta
Avenue in Portsmouth, Virginia.
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| 1616 Atlanta Avenue, Portsmouth, Virginia from Google Maps |
Helen must have gotten along well with her in-laws.
Between 1930 and 1940, Helen changed jobs leaving her
position as a stenographer for a plumbing company to become a clerk for the railroad. Herbert was also a clerk for the
railroad. He was employed all 52 weeks
of 1939 and earned $2100. He worked 44 hours the last week of March 1940. Helen must have joined the railroad in late
1939 as she worked only 13 weeks and earned $195. She worked 45 hours the last
week of March.
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| Click to enlarge |
So both Herbert and Helen were clerks for the
railroad. Obviously Herbert had some
seniority, and maybe there were all kinds of clerks with varying degrees of
responsibility, but the difference in pay is staggering. Herbert’s pay was about $40 per week. Helen’s was $15 a week. Education must not have been a factor as
Herbert had completed nine years of school to Helen’s two years of high school.
©2014, Wendy
Mathias. All rights reserved.
Wow, 12 years of living with her in-laws - I can't imagine that - I did one year with my ex mother-in-law and that was enough. lol.
ReplyDeleteHA -- I loved my in-laws, but I wouldn't want to live with them, especially for 12 years.
DeleteWendy, I always enjoy the way you write so lovingly about, and the research and detail you put into your family history. I have nominated you for the Illuminated Blogger Award.
ReplyDeletehttp://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/
Oh, aren't you nice!
DeleteWow...$40 compared to $15 per week! I'll bet she worked harder too!
ReplyDeleteNo kids?
Happy Sunday :)
Yes, I noticed that big diff too. Nope, no kids.
DeleteThat shows you the difference in pay for women and men.
ReplyDeleteHelen was always fun to be around. I love my little wash stand that had been in her garage storing paint cans and painted white at least 8 times, LOL Momma had a time getting all that white paint off.
We need to drive around P-town and check out her house as well as Mae's.
We can do that!
DeleteMore railroad relatives! That's awesome! He made a good salary back then. I've seen salaries in the 1940 census that were not at all as good as his.
ReplyDeleteYep - more railroad people. I think I'm about done with those though. The rest are jobs like carpentry and car-repair.
DeleteBravo to your mom and all the teachers like her.
ReplyDeleteI always laugh when today they talk about class size being too large at 30 students. Most of my class sizes were around 30 and the teachers were able to teach us and give individual care. The students were disciplined because our parents and the teachers expected it. We didn't have as many bright shiny distractions. It's just not the same today.
Thanks to your mother for being there.
Ooops -- somehow this got attached to the wrong post, but that's ok. It's the thought that counts! I agree with you -- when I was in school, I knew if the teacher sent a note home about bad behavior I was gonna get it at home even worse. That's not the case much anymore. Parents are more likely to say the teacher is wrong.
Delete