Title: Oral History Interview with Emma Whitesell, July 27, 1977. Interview H-0057.
Identifier: H-0057
Interviewer: Kuhn, Cliff
Interviewee: Whitesell, Emma
Subjects: Children--Employment--North Carolina    Women in the textile industry    
Extent: 00:00:01
Abstract:  Emma Whitesell started her working life at age twelve, inspecting cloth at a textile mill, and continued work after marrying a childhood friend and bearing five children. In this interview, she describes her work at these mills—many in or near Burlington, North Carolina—sharing details about the kinds of work she did. As she does so, she offers a glimpse into the life of a working mother in the early twentieth century. This interview provides a portrait of a strong personality, as well as a broad sense of the world of the white working class in the American South.