History & Notes: These petite bootees were worn by the Russel Lowell Wooden, brother of Leafy May Wooden Bolton in 1901 when the family still lived in Smithfield, Indiana. Russel died when he was just nine months old, something all too common in an era where roughly 100 of every 1,000 children born did not live to see their first birthday. Unlike her Russel and another of her siblings, Leafy grew to adulthood, and moved to Idaho in about 1920 where she married William Bolton. Leafy and William settled in Dietrich, Idaho, and in 1966, she donated her baby brother's shoes to the Idaho State Historical Society.
Description: Tan leather and textile baby bootees. Sole, toe box, base of the vamp, tongue, and back of the bootees are of tan leather. Textile portion is a woven green-gray and white striped fabric. Lacing is of cream cord tipped in metal aglets. Toe is adorned with cream yarn puffball. Each bootee features 10 metal grommets for the laces. Interior is lined in a cream twill fabric.
Object Number: 1966.089.0013
Object: bootee
Category: Women's Footwear
Circa: 1900
Materials: