Children of the 1910s

Children and Growing Up

Popular 1910s Names – Many of the names for children born in this decade were what we would consider “classic” names in the early 21st century, like: John, William, James, Robert, Mary, Helen, Dorothy, and Margaret. These names were also among the most popular during the previous decade.

The practice of sending homeless or parentless children on “Orphan Trains” (typically called “Baby Trains” or “Mercy Trains” at the time) from the big cities on the East Coast of the United States to live and work on farms in the Midwest (or even further west) began in the 1850s and continued until the 1920s. The theory was that living in the country and working on farms would be more wholesome for them than remaining in crowded cities. It worked out very well for some of the children, however some were simply exploited as a source of cheap labor on farms. The practice declined and eventually ended in the 1920s, due to an increasing number of states passing laws against placing children in new homes across state lines (End of an Era). The Orphan Trains can be considered the earliest form of formal, documented foster care in the United States. This video explains more about the origins of the orphan trains.

By 1910, there were more than 1000 orphanages throughout the United States, and on average, they held more children than the orphanages of the 19th century. Some people were becoming concerned about the quality of care that children received in orphanages and pushed for more children to be placed out in foster homes. During the early part of the 20th century, the term "foster" referred not only to those to temporarily cared for children in their homes but also those who adopted children permanently. There was little distinction between them in terminology. Until about 1950, there were more children living in institutions than in foster homes ("Fostering and Foster Care").

In 1910, two major camping and activity groups for children were established in the United States: the Boy Scouts of America and the Camp Fire Girls of America. Part of the reason for their founding was that society was becoming increasingly urban, and some people were concerned that young people of the time were not learning some of the traditional values and outdoor skills associated with more rural life. At the time of its formation, the Camp Fire Girls was supposed to be the girls’ version of the Boy Scouts. The Girl Scouts organization did not yet exist in the United States, although it would become established about two years later.

The Camp Fire Girls’ original focus was similar to the one that the Girl Scouts would later have, somewhat like the Boy Scouts but with a more feminine/domestic emphasis, teaching skills like sewing and having the girls learn about famous women. The Girl Guides of America, which later became the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, was established in 1912. Its founder, Juliette Gordon Low, was inspired by British scouting organizations. She suggested a merger with the Camp Fire Girls, but the merger never happened because the Camp Fire Girls was the larger organization of the two at that time, and it rejected the offer. The two organizations are still separate in modern times. Another way that the two organizations differed was in their approach to race and ethnicity. Even at its founding in 1910, the Camp Fire organization allowed girls of different races to join. (The Camp Fire Girls later became Camp Fire Boys and Girls in 1975, when it started accepted both boys and girls as members. In the 21st century, about 100 years after its founding, it is simply known as Camp Fire and prides itself on including any child or youth who wants to join, citing inclusiveness as one of its strengths.) However, the Girl Scouts were segregated. A significant reason for the difference between the two groups on race was that the Camp Fire Girls had their start in Maine and Vermont, and the first Girl Scout troops began in Georgia. It was about 50 years after the beginning of the Civil War, still within living memory of the event, and people living in different regions of the country had different feelings on subject of race (see Birth of a Nation in the movie section below). In the South, segregation was maintained by law, and the policy of the Girl Scouts was to follow local laws regarding racial segregation. However, girls of different races could form their own troops. The first troop for African American girls was formed in 1917, five years after the founding of the organization. The segregation of troops lasted until the 1950s, when the Girl Scouts began a process of desegregation.

Another interesting fact about the first American Girl Scouts is that their original uniforms were homemade, and they were dark blue. The color changed to green in the 1930s.

These scouting organizations were not the first camping/scouting/wilderness activity groups of their kind to exist, and there were other, small groups that were being founded around the same time in different areas of the United States, but the smaller groups did not last, and the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Camp Fire groups became the major organizations of their type in the United States during the 20th century and into the 21st century. Soon after the creation of these organizations, scouting and camping activities became themes in children’s literature with series of books featuring the adventures of scouting groups.

There were books about the Camp Fire Girls written by multiple authors:

• Camp Fire Girls series by Jane L. Stewart. Some of them are available to read online through Project Gutenberg
• Campfire Girls series by Hildegard G. Frey. Some of them are available to read online through Project Gutenberg
• Camp-Fire Girls series by Stella M. Francis. Some of them are available to read online through Project Gutenberg

I haven't actually read those books yet, although I've read reviews of them, some of which caution readers to watch for racial language in some of the books. It's something that I recommend that people watch for in vintage children's books. Not all vintage children's book have inappropriate racial language, but just be aware that it can appear sometimes in unexpected places. Children's books, like other forms of literature and entertainment, are very much products of their times, like the people who wrote them.

Children's Books

In other trends in children’s literature during this decade, the Stratemeyer Syndicate was already producing its first series, although it had not yet produced some of the series for which it would be best known later, including the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series. The Syndicate soon developed successful patterns for producing series of children’s books and continued producing new series throughout the following decades. Even early in the Syndicate’s history, it faced criticism for producing formulaic series which caused children to be “mentally lazy.” However, children enjoyed the various series which the Syndicate created and featured children and young people who had exciting adventures and solved mysteries, often with little or no help from older adults. Some of these books also contained questionable or inappropriate racial language and attitudes, but the series that were still in print were rewritten and reissued around the time that the Civil Rights Movement began in the mid-20th century, removing those parts as well as updating the books to include more modern technology and speech patterns.

Among the other children's books that were published during the 1910s were:

• Mother Carey’s Chickens (1911) - A widow and her children struggle to make a new life for themselves in a small town in Maine while taking in a cousin who is a snob. Later, it was also the basis for Disney’s Summer Magic. By Kate Douglas Wiggin.
• Peter and Wendy (1911) - This was the novelization of the play from 1904, Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.
• The Secret Garden (1911) - An orphan girl born in India goes to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, England in a house filled with secrets and sadness and finds herself investigating a mysterious walled garden and trying to bring it back to life.
• Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) - A wealthy benefactor provides money to a young orphan girl, Jerusha “Judy” Abbott, so that she can go to college. He asks that she write to him about her college experiences and progress in class but insists upon remaining anonymous. Judy nicknames him “Daddy-Long-Legs” in her letters because she has only had one brief glimpse of him and only knows that he is very tall with long legs. Through the course of the book and her letters, she eventually discovers his true identity. By Jean Webster.
• Pollyanna (1912) - A young orphan brightens her aunt’s life with her optimism even while she faces serious problems herself. By Eleanor H. Porter.
• Understood Betsy (1916) - A young orphan girl goes to live with relatives on a farm in Vermont and finds a happier home than the one she left behind and a new sense of self-confidence. The author, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, was an early advocate of the Montessori method of education in the United States, and in particular, this book presents many of the principles of the Montessori method and how it can help children.

Children's book series that were being published during the 1910s:

• The Rover Boys (1899-1926) - The first of the Stratemeyer Syndicate series. Three brothers, Tom, Sam, and Dick Rover, have adventures and solve mysteries while attending a military boarding school. (If you read these, beware of racial language and situations.)
• The Bobbsey Twins - This Stratemeyer Syndicate series began in 1904. Two pairs of fraternal twins have adventures and solve mysteries. Early books were more adventure/general fiction than mystery, but the series evolved over time.
• Anne of Green Gables series - The series began in 1908.
• Tom Swift series - A Stratemeyer Syndicate science fiction series that began in 1910. A boy genius uses his inventions to solve problems or mysteries.
• Raggedy Ann series by Johnny Gruelle - The series was created in 1918.
• The Ruth Fielding series (1913-1934) - This Stratemeyer Syndicate series was a precursor to Nancy Drew. An orphan girl in the early 20th century grows up to become the owner of her own film company in Hollywood. Along the way, she solves mysteries with her friends at school, on vacation, and later, on filming locations, and helps the war effort during World War I. Unlike Nancy Drew, Ruth Fielding aged throughout the series, grew up, got married, and eventually had a child of her own before the series ended.
• The Moving Picture Girls (1914-1916) - Teenage girls join a silent film company along with their father. They have adventures, solve mysteries, and find romance on filming locations. Contains many details about filming silent movies. A Stratemeyer Syndicate series, credited to Laura Lee Hope.

Children's Toys

Although most of the toys made during this time period were made with basic materials, like cloth, wood, and metal, some of them could be very complex. Among the new toys for children that were developed in this decade were:

• Erector Sets (1913) - Metal construction sets that were sold in the US, based on the older Meccano construction sets from Britain.
• Tinker Toys (1914) - A construction set with wooden sticks that would fit into holes in wooden spools. Tinker Toys would continue to be popular for decades afterward.
• Lincoln Logs (1918) - They were actually invented by a son of Frank Lloyd Wright around 1916-1917, but he began marketing them in 1918. These are wooden building toys are shaped like logs with notches in them so that they can fit together. There are also flat pieces to use as roofs of buildings. The original set came with instructions for how to build certain structures like Lincoln's cabin and Uncle Tom's cabin (from literature). They would continue to be popular for decades afterward.

Girls still liked to play with dolls, and the Raggedy Ann doll was introduced in 1918 along with her story books. Raggedy Andy, her brother, would not be introduced until 1920.

Among the new board games of this decade were:

• Pirate and Traveler (1911) - A game played on a board decorated with a map of the world. Players try to transport goods from one sea port to another in order to earn points, but they also turn into pirates and rob other players.
• The Uncle Wiggily Game (1916) - Based on the character of Uncle Wiggily, an elderly rabbit with a cane that looks like a candy cane, from children's stories written by Howard Roger Garis.

Resources

Children's Literature of the 1910s

These sites have lists of children's books that were published in the 1910s.

Forgotten Books and Stories: Books from the 1910s.

The 1910s page from my website/blog where I do reviews of children's books. I include some historical information with the pages for different decades, some of which is duplicated here.

Goodreads — Best Children’s Books, 1900-1920

A list of 94 books from Goodreads of books published from 1900 to 1920. The books are listed individually, not sorted by genre or series. They are also not listed chronologically. Click on individual titles to read descriptions and reader reviews.

Classic Children’s Books By The Decade: 1910s

A list of 10 recommended books from this decade with descriptions.