Thomas Somers was a second generation Irish American, born in 1893, into a middle-class
family on Milwaukee's North Side. He attended St. Gall's Parish School on Locust Street and
later enrolled in a Milwaukee trade school. His father died in 1912 leaving him with the
responsibility of caring for his forty year old mother and siblings: Alice, Katherine,
Florence, Madelyn, Gertrude, and Phil. He often refers to "the kids" in his letters. In 1918
the children ranged from ten to twenty-eight years old and lived in their mother's home on
North 6th Street, either working or attending school. After the war ended, Somers returned
home and worked as a clerk. He eventually married and lived with his wife, Rose, on the
South Side of Milwaukee.
