Second street: Life as a south Boston Massachusetts working class family in the early twentieth century

This study takes a historical and feminist look at the life of the McSolla family in South Boston, Massachusetts during the years 1910 - 1930. The history of this family leads to the present, and to my legacy; the youngest of the McSolla children, Claire McSolla was my grandmother. Claire's life was interwoven with those of her close Irish-Catholic family. The strongest threads of this family tapestry were formed by the bond between Claire and her two sisters, Anne and Alice. Although women's lives in the early twentieth century were limited and restricted by a patriarchal society, women, particularly women of new immigrant stock, were making their own choices, making inroads into the workplace, and defining their own lives.