What do you notice? What do you wonder?
The first thing that I noticed about this ad was that it was placed in 1916 in the Chicago newspaper the Chicago Defender. That was 3 years before the Chicago race riot of 1919. The Defender was an extremely important black newspaper at the time. This is also around the time of the Great Migration when millions of blacks left the south on trains ending up in various cities along the lines like Chicago. Mary is searching for two of her brothers who were originally in South Carolina until 1858, then Vicksburg, Mississippi. One brothers last known whereabouts was Jersey City. Is it possible that her brothers fought for the Union as freedman during the Civil War? Has Mary been searching for them since 1858?
Time/Place:
Chicago was becoming home to a growing black migrant population during that time. Blacks were limited to the places they could travel and often ended up in cities at the end of rail lines. Other family or friends may have told them about the city and many read ads about the city in this same newspaper. World War 1 was being fought during 1916 as well. The war created new job opportunities for blacks leaving the South.
Implications/Conclusions:
World War 1 created new opportunities for Blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South. These new opportunities made it possible for family members to began looking for others in hopes of bringing them to the city as well. Racial tensions in the North were high due to the influx of new arrivals not only from the South but immigrants fleeing war in Europe. Irish immigrants frequently fought blacks for jobs. The end of the war and the return of soldiers would increase those racial tensions and competition for jobs. In 1919 those tensions would explode into a devastating race riot.
Discussion question
What other means of locating relatives would have been available to people at that time other then newspaper ads?
Nice work! I like how you notice the historic milestone of Chicago. At that time, there would be hard to find their relatives other than newspaper ads. I think other means of locating relatives would have been available might be leaflets, inquiry, or the electronic contact forms at that time.
Hi Aaron! Thanks for all the great context you provided about Chicago in the 1910s. I think this context is quite intriguing to consider when we think about Mary Saunders' decision to place this ad. I do wonder if she'd been searching for her brothers since 1858, and if so, how. In response to your question, in some of the other ads that have been analyzed, we've seen that people ended up finding relatives through existing networks (churches and community organizations), and some others through word of mouth. Mary Saunders' decision to place her ad in the Chicago Defender, which as you note was a very important Black newspaper, might have ensured a very wide readership and maybe more potential that she could locate her brothers.