Adams & Bazemore Cotton Warehouse, 4th near Poplar, circa 1877.
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While overseers involved in textile manufacturing possessed technical knowledge of the machinery used in production—indeed, some were well versed in particular facets of textile technology—their duties concentrated on personnel matters, namely supervising workers and ensuring proper use of materials as well as the quality of the goods produced. Margaret's father was an "outside overseer" and saw to the people who moved the large bales of compacted cotton from the storage to the mill. Often the heaviest work went to African American men, who moved large bales of cotton, loaded wagons or rail cars with finished goods, and worked amid the dirt and dust of the opening and picking rooms. Until well into the 1960s, Black men and women could only work in textile mills as “mill laborers,” a catch-all position that typically included the hardest and most back-breaking work—and at a fraction of a white worker’s wages. Outside the factory, overseers were often heavily involved in their communities political, social, and cultural lives. Margaret's father took on a position as a magistrate and sheriff's deputy during his lifetime.
Citations:
American Historical Association. (n.d.). Mill Village and factory. Mill Village and Factory: Introduction. Retrieved 2023, from https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/teaching-and-learning-in-the-digital-age/the-history-of-the-americas/like-a-family-the-making-of-a-southern-cotton-mill-world/mill-village-and-factory-introduction
University of Massachusetts Lowell. (n.d.). Overseers in Lowell's Textile Mills: Introduction. Introduction - Overseers in Lowell's Textile Mills. Retrieved 2023, from https://libguides.uml.edu/men-at-work-overseers
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
"In the textile industry, increases in production and the labor force occurred as manufacturers successfully met war-time production goals. Cotton consumption by textile mills increased more than sixty percent between 1939 and 1943. But heavy war industries, such as aircraft plants in Georgia and weapons plants in North Carolina, did not exist in South Carolina. The closest to such industries in the state was the Charleston Navy Yard, which produced more than three hundred medium-size and small vessels while repairing numerous others. Aiding the yard were small steelworks, such as Kline Iron and Steel in Columbia and Carolina Industries of Sumter, which built ship components and then delivered them to Charleston for assembly. Military bases across the state also gave employment to civilians, who provided services, repairs, and construction expertise."
Citation: Hamer, F. (2022, August 26). World War II. South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/world-war-ii/
Citation: Hine, Lewis Wickes, photographer. Mr. Smith, overseer.... Nov. 28/08.Location: Chester, South Carolina / Photo by Lewis W. Hine. South Carolina United States Chester, 1908. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018674371/.
Mr. Smith, overseer in Wylie Mill, Chester, S.C. He will not let his children work in the mill. Says it is no place for them. Plenty of children below 12 work in his mill. He said that it is common throughout the South for employers in cotton mills to evade the child labor law by allowing young children to help their older sisters or brothers. The name of the small child is not on the books. "That is the way we manage it."