Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 013/Mac Mabe/Mrs. Jim Shelton

Overview

Mac Mabe, or Mrs. Jim Shelton, was a wife, mother, and farm woman living throughout northern North Carolina during the late 1800’s to mid 1900’s. She was interviewed by Louise L. Abbitt and Claude V. Dunnagan on January 23, 1939 for the Federal Writers’ Project Papers.

Biography

Early Life

Shelton, was born near Danbury, NC in Peters Creek. She was born to a low-income family with 14 children; her father had seven children with his first wife and seven children with his second wife. Shelton’s mother died when she was still a child and considered her father disinterested in his family throughout her childhood. Because of her absent father, Shelton was largely influenced and raised by her neighbors and studied in school until the fifth grade. Having grown up on a farm, she and her siblings often skipped school to help with any farm related duties.

Adulthood

Shelton married her husband, Jim Shelton, at 23. Her and Jim were never prosperous. They lived in the mountains for a couple of years before moving to a farm in Dennis, located in Forsyth County. Years after having seven children, Jim grew sick with heart troubles and the Shelton’s left their farm to move to Walnut Cove, NC to be near their grown son. On July 1, 1937, Shelton’s husband, Jim, committed suicide. The day of her husband’s suicide was traumatic for her and she later faced difficulties with money. Afterward, she lived with her two children and granddaughter. She received an old age pension and took care of her granddaughter, whose mother died while giving birth. She was raised a Primitive Baptist and believed in the Bible’s teachings, but did not identify with the church. She claims “Of course, I believe in the Bible and its teachings, but I think a person can be just as mean in the church as anywhere else, so I never did figger that belongin’ to a church would do a body much good.”

Social, Political, and Historical Context:

School Systems in Rural America

School systems in rural America were suffering and required modifications for the benefit of its communities, making it difficult for many women to become educated and enter the workforce. In 1870, approximately half of US children had no formal education, and with only six states having education laws held in place. Even if free education was accessible, “economic realities kept many children working in mines, factories, or on the farm.” Recognizing the need to improve the living conditions and education systems of people living in rural America, the Country Life Movement and rural education reform rose in the early 1900’s. They focused on rural depopulation, land settlement, adult education, and primary education, while still attempting to preserve rural culture. With initiatives such as these, quality education became more accessible and required.

Shift in Female Domesticity during the Early 1900’s

In the middle of the 19th century, a movement known as the Cult of Domesticity, set the standard for women across America, especially in middle and upper-class families. Wives and mothers were expected to be submissive and had responsibilities tied to their household and children exclusively. During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s after the Seneca Falls Convention, feminist movements began to gain popularity, as women became more vocal about pursuing educational and professional opportunities. Women gained the right to vote by the 19th Amendment in 1920. However, female domesticity was still prevalent across the US, especially in rural areas with poor school systems.

Female Role in Farm Families

Many wives and mothers located in rural areas assumed work at home, as they served as caretakers for their children and home as well as the farm. The role of the farm woman was shifting in the early 1900’s, as their responsibilities were seen more as a profession. For example, their roles became “more diversified and consumption-oriented”, while still remaining “auxiliary to and less central than that of men.” It is stated “over 56% of these home workers took care of their children themselves”. This shift took a more progressive approach to the female domestic sphere, considering the limited resources for those living in rural America.

References

• Abbitt, Louise and Claude Dunnagan. “Life History of Mrs. Jim Shelton.” Federal Writers

Project Papers (January 1939): 3646-3653, The Southern Historical Collection.

• Danbom, David B. "Rural Education Reform and the Country Life Movement, 1900-1920."

Agricultural History 53, no. 2 (1979): 462-74. Accessed July 9, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/3742421.

• Devault, Ileen A. “Family Wages: The Roles of Wives and Mothers in U.S. Working-Class

Survival Strategies, 1880–1930.” Labor History 54, no. 1 (2013): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656x.2012.759806.

• “Education.” ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association. Last modified 2019.

https://www.ushistory.org/us/39a.asp.

• Thatcher, Linda, and Patricia Lyn. Scott. “The Professionalization of Farm Women: 1890–

1940.” Essay. In Women In Utah History Paradigm Or Paradox?, 154–77. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2005.

• Wigington, Patti. “Cult of Domesticity: Definition and History.” ThoughtCo. Last modified

August 14, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/cult-of-domesticity-4694493.