Migrant Mother (or Prairie Mother), by Dorothea Lange. The last and most tightly
composed of six pictures of a woman and children at a migrant pea-pickers' camp in
Nipomo, California, on a wet day in early March 1936. Lange, then employed by the
Resettlement Administration (RA) under Roy Stryker, visited the camp on impulse while
travelling with her husband, Paul Taylor. The family seems to have been completely
destitute; indeed, the woman had just sold the tyres of her car to buy food. The
photographs were taken more or less without preliminaries, although the final one was
evidently arranged so that the mother's face dominates the composition. Surprisingly,
Lange did not record her subject's name or history; she was subsequently identified as
Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old mother of seven.
In 1960, Lange gave this account of the experience:
I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do
not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she
asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same
direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-
two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding
fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy
food. There she sat in that lean- to tent with her children huddled around her, and
seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort
of equality about it.
Lange knew she had the picture she wanted. ‘I did not approach the tents and shelters
of other stranded pea-pickers, ’ she wrote later. ‘It was not necessary; I knew I had
recorded the essence of my assignment.’ Her photograph appeared immediately in the
San Francisco News, with the result that food was sent to the camp: a more than
usually tangible effect of RA photography. Migrant Mother rapidly achieved iconic
status, and in 1938, for aesthetic reasons (and despite Stryker's protests), Lange
retouched the negative to remove the mother's left thumb from the foreground. It was
exhibited at MoMA in 1941, was included in the Family of Man exhibition in 1955, and,
between 1936 and the 1970s, was adapted as propaganda for various causes. Florence
Thompson died in 1983. In 1998 an unretouched vintage print of Lange's photograph
was acquired by the Getty Museum for $244, 500.
composed of six pictures of a woman and children at a migrant pea-pickers' camp in
Nipomo, California, on a wet day in early March 1936. Lange, then employed by the
Resettlement Administration (RA) under Roy Stryker, visited the camp on impulse while
travelling with her husband, Paul Taylor. The family seems to have been completely
destitute; indeed, the woman had just sold the tyres of her car to buy food. The
photographs were taken more or less without preliminaries, although the final one was
evidently arranged so that the mother's face dominates the composition. Surprisingly,
Lange did not record her subject's name or history; she was subsequently identified as
Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old mother of seven.
In 1960, Lange gave this account of the experience:
I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do
not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she
asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same
direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-
two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding
fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy
food. There she sat in that lean- to tent with her children huddled around her, and
seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort
of equality about it.
Lange knew she had the picture she wanted. ‘I did not approach the tents and shelters
of other stranded pea-pickers, ’ she wrote later. ‘It was not necessary; I knew I had
recorded the essence of my assignment.’ Her photograph appeared immediately in the
San Francisco News, with the result that food was sent to the camp: a more than
usually tangible effect of RA photography. Migrant Mother rapidly achieved iconic
status, and in 1938, for aesthetic reasons (and despite Stryker's protests), Lange
retouched the negative to remove the mother's left thumb from the foreground. It was
exhibited at MoMA in 1941, was included in the Family of Man exhibition in 1955, and,
between 1936 and the 1970s, was adapted as propaganda for various causes. Florence
Thompson died in 1983. In 1998 an unretouched vintage print of Lange's photograph
was acquired by the Getty Museum for $244, 500.
unobtrusive as possible, and look at things and people. Down-and-outs of the Bowery,
bustling marketplaces, the Jewish ladies in their schechtels, or black wigs.
Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn was born May 26, 1895, in Hoboken, New Jersey,
where two painful events left indelible marks on her life.
When she was seven years old, she contracted polio, which left her with an obvious
limp. The neighborhood children made fun of her and even her mother, Joan, acted
ashamed of her crippled daughter.
Then in 1907, when she was twelve, her father walked out on the family. They neither
saw or heard from him again. They moved into the home of Sophie Lange, the
bustling marketplaces, the Jewish ladies in their schechtels, or black wigs.
Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn was born May 26, 1895, in Hoboken, New Jersey,
where two painful events left indelible marks on her life.
When she was seven years old, she contracted polio, which left her with an obvious
limp. The neighborhood children made fun of her and even her mother, Joan, acted
ashamed of her crippled daughter.
Then in 1907, when she was twelve, her father walked out on the family. They neither
saw or heard from him again. They moved into the home of Sophie Lange, the
| ********** |
 |  |  |  |
| If you have a picture you'd like us to feature a picture in a future quiz, please email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of your picture. You will also receive a free Forensic Genealogy CD or a 10% discount towards the purchase of the Forensic Genealogy book. |
| Quiz #175 Results |
 |  |  |  |
Dorothea Lange's "White Angel Breadline" photo was taken at the White Angel Jungle
soup kitchen where Lois Jordan, dressed in a white hat and gown, fed multitudes of the
hungry. Today, a small historical marker with photos marks the site. The location is
near Levi's Plaza Park at 1160 Battery St. next to The Embarcadero road at the end of
Pier 23 in San Francisco. The excellent guide book "Walking San Francisco" by Liz
Gans and Rick Newby, on page 77 clearly describes how to get there.
Stan Read
soup kitchen where Lois Jordan, dressed in a white hat and gown, fed multitudes of the
hungry. Today, a small historical marker with photos marks the site. The location is
near Levi's Plaza Park at 1160 Battery St. next to The Embarcadero road at the end of
Pier 23 in San Francisco. The excellent guide book "Walking San Francisco" by Liz
Gans and Rick Newby, on page 77 clearly describes how to get there.
Stan Read
| ********** |
| Click here to see results of 5th occasional photoquiz survey. |
| Click here to see results of 5th occasional photoquiz survey. |
| Answers to Quiz #175 - September 14, 2008 |
| ********** |
| This picture of a breadline was one of many by this photographer that depicted the impoverished during the Great Depression. 1. Who was the photographer? 2. Who ran the breadline? |
| ********** |
| Thanks to Stan read for suggesting this quiz. |
| 1. Dorothea Lange 2. Lois Jordan |
| ********** |
Dorothea Lange was a natural photographer in the truest
sense because she lived, in her words, "a visual life."
She could look at something: a line of laundry flapping
in the wind, a pair of old, wrinkled, work-worn hands,
a bread-line, a crowd of people in a bus station, and find
it beautiful. Her eye was a camera lens and her
camera--as she put it--an "appendage of the body."
During her last illness, as a friend sat near her bed, she
suddenly said to him "I've just photographed you."
Lange had engaged in this camera-less sort of
photography for decades, from the time she was a
young girl, and it served as both the foundation of her
art education and her first apprenticeship. Bored and
disillusioned with school, she would often cut class and
go walking through her neighborhood, the lower-east
side of New York. She would make herself as
sense because she lived, in her words, "a visual life."
She could look at something: a line of laundry flapping
in the wind, a pair of old, wrinkled, work-worn hands,
a bread-line, a crowd of people in a bus station, and find
it beautiful. Her eye was a camera lens and her
camera--as she put it--an "appendage of the body."
During her last illness, as a friend sat near her bed, she
suddenly said to him "I've just photographed you."
Lange had engaged in this camera-less sort of
photography for decades, from the time she was a
young girl, and it served as both the foundation of her
art education and her first apprenticeship. Bored and
disillusioned with school, she would often cut class and
go walking through her neighborhood, the lower-east
side of New York. She would make herself as
| Dorothea Lange www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=d_lange |
I loved reading about Dorothea Lange! In the article on Wikipedia there is a copy of
"Migrant Mother". In the lower right of the photo is an attempt to retouch out her
fingers on the tent pole. They managed to retouch most of her thumb out but left the
index finger. If you look closely you can see a ghost image of the thumb. So it looks
like there is just a finger "stuck" to the tent pole.
I found this interesting since my mother was a professional photographic retoucher. I
remember once she was retouching the graduate photos from the School of Nursing at
the University of Michigan. One of the graduates forgot to wear her cap and my mother
retouched one in. It looked perfect...you couldn't tell that it had been etched into the
negative with a blade. Once I tried to retouch some sample negatives (under her
direction) and terribly over-retouched them. It gave me a healthy appreciation of her
skills. Now I can do a respectable job with Photoshop. It's so much easier and less
messy than the "old" way......and you can always 'undo', something the retouchers
didn't have. Mary South
*****
... Another wonderfully interesting topic, thanks!
My final authority turned up at [Click here]. The sign in the upper right of the photo
caused me some fear that it might be part of the name of the agency, but I finally
worked past it. According to two sources the name of the soup kitchen was "White
Angel Jungle." I haven't been able to find why you would call a relief station a "jungle."
I understand "hobo jungle." for a settlement of homeless. Interesting.
Here's a link to my very favorite photo of Ms Lange: http://www.shorpy.com/node/945
There's discussion of which Graflex camera that is, and whether she's wearing
Converse All-Stars. ^_^ I do know that's a Ford V-8. Rex Cornelius
*****
If the banks in the U.S. continue to fail, we will soon see breadlines once again in that
country! Tom McChesney (from Canada)
*****
Three cheers for another quiz highlighting our greatest photographers. I have long
admired Dorothea Lange's work and agree with those who call her our greatest
documentary photographer.
What I also found interesting is that beyond the Lange photograph there is very little
information on the soup kitchen and Lois Jordan. I began to look when my brother
Rex questioned the odd name of the soup kitchen which was White Angel Jungle. I
saw Lois Jordan referred to as a widow and wealthy but there must be a story there
somewhere. She apparently wrote a book in 1935 which did not show up in any of the
book search engines. Carolyn Cornelius
*****
This photo sold for $822,400 at Sotheby's Auction in Oct 2005. I dug around some on
this photographer and learned she took many, many photos of this era that I recognize.
What a talent she had to capture emotions in black and white photos.
Rhonda Hensley
*****
The "White Angel" was a sobriquet for Lois Jordan, a wealthy woman who fed up to
2000 people a day through this outlet, which was located on the Embarcadero near
Filbert Street in San Francisco, according to the information I was able to dig up. Years
ago, when I was doing consulting work for the Office of Presidential Libraries, I
worked with both still and motion picture photography, and I remember this photo well.
Bill Utterback
*****
Well I'm on a roll here. This link shows the sequence of pictures Ms Lange too leading
up to "The Migrant Mother. " I am fascinated how she gets to the best shot through a
series, not exactly trial and error - better than that. She worked out what tells the story
best. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/lang/html. Maureen O'Connor
*****
The photo I like is the nursing photo. I understand it could not be published at the time,
but it shows strength in the mother that the published photograph does not. I was a
new mother at the same age and did not have near the wrinkles. I didn’t live in a tent
and have 4 other children running around. My daughter and daughter-in-law, a new
mother, are 28 and do not have near the wrinkles and worn look around their faces.
The photos did display to the nation the plight of these people. It is too bad that some
direct aid did not go to the Migrant Mother herself. The other shots show the pole
better and that the family was really living in a tent. Judy Pfaff
*****
I spent a ton of time looking for soup kitchen sites, not thinking about breadlines. Oh
well, it wasn't a waste of time, look what I learned by being on the wrong track.
Gina Hudson
*****
I love the Dorthea Lange photos. As an avid photographer, I can appreciate the way
she was able to capture the emotions of her subjects while placing them within their
environment (esp. The Migrant Mother) Evan Hindman
*****
Both Angels thought this was a trick quiz-meaning they thought I was the guy wearing
the hat...ha! and they want to graduate at the end of the school year...
Mr. Rick tattling on his Quiz Angels
Ashley Hicks and Jina Yi
"Migrant Mother". In the lower right of the photo is an attempt to retouch out her
fingers on the tent pole. They managed to retouch most of her thumb out but left the
index finger. If you look closely you can see a ghost image of the thumb. So it looks
like there is just a finger "stuck" to the tent pole.
I found this interesting since my mother was a professional photographic retoucher. I
remember once she was retouching the graduate photos from the School of Nursing at
the University of Michigan. One of the graduates forgot to wear her cap and my mother
retouched one in. It looked perfect...you couldn't tell that it had been etched into the
negative with a blade. Once I tried to retouch some sample negatives (under her
direction) and terribly over-retouched them. It gave me a healthy appreciation of her
skills. Now I can do a respectable job with Photoshop. It's so much easier and less
messy than the "old" way......and you can always 'undo', something the retouchers
didn't have. Mary South
*****
... Another wonderfully interesting topic, thanks!
My final authority turned up at [Click here]. The sign in the upper right of the photo
caused me some fear that it might be part of the name of the agency, but I finally
worked past it. According to two sources the name of the soup kitchen was "White
Angel Jungle." I haven't been able to find why you would call a relief station a "jungle."
I understand "hobo jungle." for a settlement of homeless. Interesting.
Here's a link to my very favorite photo of Ms Lange: http://www.shorpy.com/node/945
There's discussion of which Graflex camera that is, and whether she's wearing
Converse All-Stars. ^_^ I do know that's a Ford V-8. Rex Cornelius
*****
If the banks in the U.S. continue to fail, we will soon see breadlines once again in that
country! Tom McChesney (from Canada)
*****
Three cheers for another quiz highlighting our greatest photographers. I have long
admired Dorothea Lange's work and agree with those who call her our greatest
documentary photographer.
What I also found interesting is that beyond the Lange photograph there is very little
information on the soup kitchen and Lois Jordan. I began to look when my brother
Rex questioned the odd name of the soup kitchen which was White Angel Jungle. I
saw Lois Jordan referred to as a widow and wealthy but there must be a story there
somewhere. She apparently wrote a book in 1935 which did not show up in any of the
book search engines. Carolyn Cornelius
*****
This photo sold for $822,400 at Sotheby's Auction in Oct 2005. I dug around some on
this photographer and learned she took many, many photos of this era that I recognize.
What a talent she had to capture emotions in black and white photos.
Rhonda Hensley
*****
The "White Angel" was a sobriquet for Lois Jordan, a wealthy woman who fed up to
2000 people a day through this outlet, which was located on the Embarcadero near
Filbert Street in San Francisco, according to the information I was able to dig up. Years
ago, when I was doing consulting work for the Office of Presidential Libraries, I
worked with both still and motion picture photography, and I remember this photo well.
Bill Utterback
*****
Well I'm on a roll here. This link shows the sequence of pictures Ms Lange too leading
up to "The Migrant Mother. " I am fascinated how she gets to the best shot through a
series, not exactly trial and error - better than that. She worked out what tells the story
best. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/lang/html. Maureen O'Connor
*****
The photo I like is the nursing photo. I understand it could not be published at the time,
but it shows strength in the mother that the published photograph does not. I was a
new mother at the same age and did not have near the wrinkles. I didn’t live in a tent
and have 4 other children running around. My daughter and daughter-in-law, a new
mother, are 28 and do not have near the wrinkles and worn look around their faces.
The photos did display to the nation the plight of these people. It is too bad that some
direct aid did not go to the Migrant Mother herself. The other shots show the pole
better and that the family was really living in a tent. Judy Pfaff
*****
I spent a ton of time looking for soup kitchen sites, not thinking about breadlines. Oh
well, it wasn't a waste of time, look what I learned by being on the wrong track.
Gina Hudson
*****
I love the Dorthea Lange photos. As an avid photographer, I can appreciate the way
she was able to capture the emotions of her subjects while placing them within their
environment (esp. The Migrant Mother) Evan Hindman
*****
Both Angels thought this was a trick quiz-meaning they thought I was the guy wearing
the hat...ha! and they want to graduate at the end of the school year...
Mr. Rick tattling on his Quiz Angels
Ashley Hicks and Jina Yi
began. She learned how to set up a camera and studio lights, met many rich and
famous people, and studied the artistry with which Genthe portrayed people: he didn't
just snap their picture; he seemed to make the camera understand the people. This
sense that an understanding of a subject was essential in making a portrait was truly the
artistic part of photography, and something that Dorothea would take with her for the
rest of her career.
Although she was never able to get rid of the vestiges of polio, Dorothea dropped the
memory of her father almost completely. She took her mother's maiden name, Lange,
famous people, and studied the artistry with which Genthe portrayed people: he didn't
just snap their picture; he seemed to make the camera understand the people. This
sense that an understanding of a subject was essential in making a portrait was truly the
artistic part of photography, and something that Dorothea would take with her for the
rest of her career.
Although she was never able to get rid of the vestiges of polio, Dorothea dropped the
memory of her father almost completely. She took her mother's maiden name, Lange,
| Dorothea Lange 1936 |
children’s maternal grandmother, and great-aunt Caroline.
Joan took a job as a librarian in Manhattan. It was during
long walks through downtown Manhattan to meet her
mother after school that Dorothea discovered a wealth of
visual imagery and decided that she wanted to take
photographs.
Dorothea was fiercely independent. Instead of becoming a
teacher as her mother wanted, she went uptown to the
studio of a famous portrait photographer, Arnold Genthe,
and asked him for a job. She was hired, and her life's work
Joan took a job as a librarian in Manhattan. It was during
long walks through downtown Manhattan to meet her
mother after school that Dorothea discovered a wealth of
visual imagery and decided that she wanted to take
photographs.
Dorothea was fiercely independent. Instead of becoming a
teacher as her mother wanted, she went uptown to the
studio of a famous portrait photographer, Arnold Genthe,
and asked him for a job. She was hired, and her life's work
| Dorothea Lange 1895-1965 |
| Second Photo of Same Breadline Scene by Dorothea Lange |
as her own last name, and refused to speak of
her father, even to her own children.
The pain of her childhood, however, gave her a
fuller sense of what suffering meant, and later
on, when the government hired her to document
the effects of the depression, it deepened her
compassion for the destitution and despair that
her father, even to her own children.
The pain of her childhood, however, gave her a
fuller sense of what suffering meant, and later
on, when the government hired her to document
the effects of the depression, it deepened her
compassion for the destitution and despair that
| See a short video of the White Angel Jungle Click here. |
| "A photographer's files are, in a sense, his autobiography. More resides there than he is aware of. ...As fragmentary and incomplete as the archaeologist's pot sherds, it can be no less telling." Dorothea Lange |
she saw all around her. She would walk into camps, where homeless pea-pickers and
refugees of the Oklahoma dust bowl were scraping by, sometimes starving to death,
and talk to them until they felt comfortable enough to have their pictures taken. Her
limp, she thought, created an instant rapport between herself and her subjects. She said
that people trusted her more because she didn't appear "whole and secure" in the face
of their poverty and insecurity. Read more...
refugees of the Oklahoma dust bowl were scraping by, sometimes starving to death,
and talk to them until they felt comfortable enough to have their pictures taken. Her
limp, she thought, created an instant rapport between herself and her subjects. She said
that people trusted her more because she didn't appear "whole and secure" in the face
of their poverty and insecurity. Read more...
| Migrant Mother Dorothea Lange's Most Famous Photograph http://www.answers.com/topic/migrant-mother http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/128_migm.html |
| Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" before and after retouch. Note removal of image of thumb on the post to the lower right. |
| Haywood Daily Review Tuesday, August 18, 1931 |
We were interested to learn more about
Lois Jordan and her charitable work, but
information on her seems very scarce. All
we've turned up is the following:
http://www.weeklywalker.com/Walks%20
by%20county/San%20Francisco%20Coun
ty/Waterfront%20History%20walk.htm
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?q
id=20080419225018AAsuMou
http://wjdglover.blogspot.com/2007/04/thu
rsday-26th-april-2007.html
The information provided with Dorothea
Lange's picture states that she was a
widow, but it would appear that she was
either divorced or living apart from her
husband.
Howard John Jordan, born April 1860 in
Canada of Canadian parents; married
Lois Jordan and her charitable work, but
information on her seems very scarce. All
we've turned up is the following:
http://www.weeklywalker.com/Walks%20
by%20county/San%20Francisco%20Coun
ty/Waterfront%20History%20walk.htm
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?q
id=20080419225018AAsuMou
http://wjdglover.blogspot.com/2007/04/thu
rsday-26th-april-2007.html
The information provided with Dorothea
Lange's picture states that she was a
widow, but it would appear that she was
either divorced or living apart from her
husband.
Howard John Jordan, born April 1860 in
Canada of Canadian parents; married
In the 1930 census, both Percival and brother Frank are back living
with their mother Lillian. They are still Marine Engineers for a
shipping merchant marine, and Percival was in the Naval Reserve and
Frank had served in WW I. Lois and Sydney are not to be found
in the 1930 US census.
In the 1920 voter registration records, Lois lists her occupation as
"housewife."
In the 1930 voter registration records, Lois lists her occupation as
"instructor."
In the 1933 voter registration records, Lois lists her occupation as
"social worker."
The California Death Index lists a Lois Bryan Jordan (b. 9/13/1883 in
an unspecified foreign country) as having died in San Francisco on
4/28/1949. This would appear to be the same Lois Jordan but, if the
with their mother Lillian. They are still Marine Engineers for a
shipping merchant marine, and Percival was in the Naval Reserve and
Frank had served in WW I. Lois and Sydney are not to be found
in the 1930 US census.
In the 1920 voter registration records, Lois lists her occupation as
"housewife."
In the 1930 voter registration records, Lois lists her occupation as
"instructor."
In the 1933 voter registration records, Lois lists her occupation as
"social worker."
The California Death Index lists a Lois Bryan Jordan (b. 9/13/1883 in
an unspecified foreign country) as having died in San Francisco on
4/28/1949. This would appear to be the same Lois Jordan but, if the
family moved to Oroville in northern California, where Cleo joined his brothers and
sisters working in the fields picking peaches. Cleo died from a high fever at the age of
32 soon after moving, and was buried in Oroville. At the time of Cleo's death Florence
was expecting a child. During the next two years, Florence stayed around Oroville
while her husband's family followed the crops around the state, returning to winter at
Oroville. Read more...
sisters working in the fields picking peaches. Cleo died from a high fever at the age of
32 soon after moving, and was buried in Oroville. At the time of Cleo's death Florence
was expecting a child. During the next two years, Florence stayed around Oroville
while her husband's family followed the crops around the state, returning to winter at
Oroville. Read more...
| ********** |
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/boards/sfhistory/messages/872.html
Diane Burkett and Marilyn Hamill
Diane Burkett and Marilyn Hamill
| Florence Owens Thompson Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Owens_Thompson |
| Oakland Tribune Sunday August 12, 1934 |
| Hayward Review Monday, Sept 25, 1933 |
Lillian Hart, born January 1869 in Eureka, Humboldt, California. Parents were George
Hart, born in 1838 in Maine and died before 1900, and Martha J Cox, born Sep 1835 in
Ohio, parents born in New Jersey and Ohio.
Percival Jordan is listed in the 1900 census living under the name Howard Jordan with
Lillian his mother and sister, Lotta, in 1900 in Eureka, CA where he was born. Howard
was a Woods man.
Howard and Lillian Jordan were living in Eureka still in 1910. Howard was a fireman for
a lumber camp. Son, Howard Percy or Percival was a fireman for a locomotive.
Percivals' lifelong profession was that of a ship's engineer. During the period
1929-1935, he was Chief Engineer on the "Ruth Alexander" which primarily sailed the
Pacific Coast route between Vancouver-Victoria, BC and Seattle, WA. He served in the
Merchant Marine during WWII enlisting in 4/1942 and is listed in the rosters of the
WWII dead. Stepson Sydney followed the same profession during his working life and
is documented as ship's crew as early as 1921.
In the 1920 census, Lois Jordan (age 34) lived on Jones Street in San Francisco with
her husband Percival Howard Jordan (age 30), his brother Frank (age 25), her son
Sydney Jordan (age 14) and a boarder, seaman Anders Jorgenson from Denmark.
Percival and Frank are both Marine Engineers for a passenger boat. Both Lois and
Sydney are listed as natives of Australia with Lois arriving in 1907 and Sydney in 1915.
Sydney was almost certainly a son from a previous relationship given his age relative to
Percival's age and his father is listed as having been born in Australia. Mother and son
were naturalized as US citizens in 1917.
Hart, born in 1838 in Maine and died before 1900, and Martha J Cox, born Sep 1835 in
Ohio, parents born in New Jersey and Ohio.
Percival Jordan is listed in the 1900 census living under the name Howard Jordan with
Lillian his mother and sister, Lotta, in 1900 in Eureka, CA where he was born. Howard
was a Woods man.
Howard and Lillian Jordan were living in Eureka still in 1910. Howard was a fireman for
a lumber camp. Son, Howard Percy or Percival was a fireman for a locomotive.
Percivals' lifelong profession was that of a ship's engineer. During the period
1929-1935, he was Chief Engineer on the "Ruth Alexander" which primarily sailed the
Pacific Coast route between Vancouver-Victoria, BC and Seattle, WA. He served in the
Merchant Marine during WWII enlisting in 4/1942 and is listed in the rosters of the
WWII dead. Stepson Sydney followed the same profession during his working life and
is documented as ship's crew as early as 1921.
In the 1920 census, Lois Jordan (age 34) lived on Jones Street in San Francisco with
her husband Percival Howard Jordan (age 30), his brother Frank (age 25), her son
Sydney Jordan (age 14) and a boarder, seaman Anders Jorgenson from Denmark.
Percival and Frank are both Marine Engineers for a passenger boat. Both Lois and
Sydney are listed as natives of Australia with Lois arriving in 1907 and Sydney in 1915.
Sydney was almost certainly a son from a previous relationship given his age relative to
Percival's age and his father is listed as having been born in Australia. Mother and son
were naturalized as US citizens in 1917.
Florence, born in Oklahoma and of Cherokee
descent, married farmer Cleo Owens on St.
Valentine's Day in 1921.[2] In 1922, Florence and
Cleo Owens moved to Shafter, California. In 1924,
they moved to Porterville, some 50 miles (80 km)
north of Shafter, where Cleo and his brothers had
found work at a sawmill. But the mill burned down
in 1927, so they moved 125 miles (200 km) further
north to Merced Falls. There were no "Falls", but
there was a sawmill, a strong river to carry logs
down from the hills, and a small town. Merced
Falls sat on the eastern side of the California
Central Valley in the foothills and consisted of five
or six streets, one store and one school. In
September 1929, Florence gave birth to the fifth of
her seven children, a girl named Sapphire. In the
same year, the Wall Street stock market crashed.
Cleo lost his job at the sawmill in 1931, and the
descent, married farmer Cleo Owens on St.
Valentine's Day in 1921.[2] In 1922, Florence and
Cleo Owens moved to Shafter, California. In 1924,
they moved to Porterville, some 50 miles (80 km)
north of Shafter, where Cleo and his brothers had
found work at a sawmill. But the mill burned down
in 1927, so they moved 125 miles (200 km) further
north to Merced Falls. There were no "Falls", but
there was a sawmill, a strong river to carry logs
down from the hills, and a small town. Merced
Falls sat on the eastern side of the California
Central Valley in the foothills and consisted of five
or six streets, one store and one school. In
September 1929, Florence gave birth to the fifth of
her seven children, a girl named Sapphire. In the
same year, the Wall Street stock market crashed.
Cleo lost his job at the sawmill in 1931, and the
| Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail By Daniel Bacon, Yongki Yoon Illustrated by Yongki Yoon Published by Quicksilver Press, 1997 ISBN 0964680416, 9780964680418 251 pages |
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| Lois Jordan Submitted by Diane Burkett and Marilyn Hamill; newspaper clippings submitted by Marilyn Hamill |
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| One of six images Dorothea Lange took in her series of photos of the Migrant Mother http://lcweb2.loc.gov/... |
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| Click on Image Below to Read Excerpt |
| Fresno Bee Friday, November 17, 1933 |
| Oakland Tribune Thursday January 26, 1933 |
| ********** |
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birthdate is correct, would make her some 7-9 years older than Percival. Her son
Sydney Jordan died in 1970 in Washington State at the age of 66.
According to the Flink-Hanson Family Genealogy found on Rootsweb, Percival died 12
February 1942. Frank got married in 1930 in New York City. We contacted the author
of this genealogy but she never wrote back.
It's not clear how Lois Jordan can call herself a widow in 1933 when her (ex) husband
was still alive. A marine engineer must have made a lot of money to be able to give her
a settlement that allowed her to be a benefactress, or she was independently wealthy.
Or perhaps she had money from her first husband. We couldn't find out.
Sydney Jordan died in 1970 in Washington State at the age of 66.
According to the Flink-Hanson Family Genealogy found on Rootsweb, Percival died 12
February 1942. Frank got married in 1930 in New York City. We contacted the author
of this genealogy but she never wrote back.
It's not clear how Lois Jordan can call herself a widow in 1933 when her (ex) husband
was still alive. A marine engineer must have made a lot of money to be able to give her
a settlement that allowed her to be a benefactress, or she was independently wealthy.
Or perhaps she had money from her first husband. We couldn't find out.
