Household staff in the North during the Civil War era.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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In slave states during the Civil War era women of means had enslaved household staff but how did this work for women of means in non-slave states? In the early years they may have had indentured servants as household staff but the practice of indentured workers was probably not common by the start of the Civil War. So I assume that women of means had hired household staff. Would have these household staff lived in the women of mans house or lived in thier own homes and come to work everyday?

I have not seen any records that any of my direct ancestors had any household staff living with them, but they may have not had enough money for household staff. I do have a post Civil War great grandmother who lived at her employer's house as a cook, but she later married him. When my dad was young his father had a hired man or two living with them and my father's mother of and on had a hired girl who lived with them as well. My father's parents were not well off so they would not have had any real household staff but just one hire girl to help my grandmother. My grandfather did not pay his hired men and they worked for room and board.

When you research you ancestors did any of them have live in household staff? Were any of you ancestors live in anyone's house as household staff?
 
I think where staff lived depended on the circumstances. On the North Shore of Long Island there were/are some very wealthy areas. There are a lot of homes built in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. There were staff living in the homes and in the neighboring communities. Teddy Roosevelt's estate at Sagamore Hill was built in 1884 and has 2 or 3 bedrooms for domestic servants. People providing other services like gardening, taking care of animals etc. often lived in small local communities.

Life was much more labor intensive.
 
Large pre Civil War houses here in Michigan often had servant bedrooms in what I would call the attic. I have visited Michigan pre Civil War houses where the domestic servants lived in the basement. Some of these large homes had the kitchens in the basement with a dead waiter type device to bring the food up to a serving room next to the dinning room. I have seen separate buildings for domestic servants to live in, but have only seen these at post Civil War homes.
 
I can't speak to the North as all my folks are Southern. But the experiences of my family might still give you some clues. All of my family who could afford to had slaves before the War and live in help after. These workers are included in the Census records as household members with their occupations clearly marked - "domestic," "gardener," "servant," and similar terms. Other family members had servants who lived in their own homes and came daily - usually six days a week. In Census records their occupations show that they do this work. Looking at the 1940 Census, for instance, in the town my father grew up in, I find several women who have "housekeeper" as their occupation and "private home" as their industry - all listed at their own residences. The same goes for similar occupations - "cook," "maid," etc.

Household work was hard and dirty and anyone who could afford to hire help did so.
 
@major bill if you can find any newspapers of that era, look in the 'Wanted' section of classified. You will find both single submissions looking for work, and families petitioning for a nanny or keeper.
Lubliner.

Thank you for the information. When the local libraries reopen I will have to check.
 
I recall reading that the practice of "hiring out" or being hired out by one's family for domestic work was commonplace in cities and towns, and--especially for men seeking work as farm laborers, but also for women--in rural areas. I think the Lincolns' experience in Springfield of employing a succession of "hired girls" to help Mary with household chores was a frequent arrangement for prosperous families at the time. A National Park Service ranger discusses the Lincolns' use of household help in this brief video.
 
I recall reading that the practice of "hiring out" or being hired out by one's family for domestic work was commonplace in cities and towns, and--especially for men seeking work as farm laborers, but also for women--in rural areas. I think the Lincolns' experience in Springfield of employing a succession of "hired girls" to help Mary with household chores was a frequent arrangement for prosperous families at the time. A National Park Service ranger discusses the Lincolns' use of household help in this brief video.
This is an interesting video. I did not know this about Lincoln and new have a better understanding of 'hired girls'.
 
In slave states during the Civil War era women of means had enslaved household staff but how did this work for women of means in non-slave states? In the early years they may have had indentured servants as household staff but the practice of indentured workers was probably not common by the start of the Civil War. So I assume that women of means had hired household staff. Would have these household staff lived in the women of mans house or lived in thier own homes and come to work everyday?

I have not seen any records that any of my direct ancestors had any household staff living with them, but they may have not had enough money for household staff. I do have a post Civil War great grandmother who lived at her employer's house as a cook, but she later married him. When my dad was young his father had a hired man or two living with them and my father's mother of and on had a hired girl who lived with them as well. My father's parents were not well off so they would not have had any real household staff but just one hire girl to help my grandmother. My grandfather did not pay his hired men and they worked for room and board.

When you research you ancestors did any of them have live in household staff? Were any of you ancestors live in anyone's house as household staff?

One of my Vail family ancestors appears in census records as head of a household that included a live-in Irish serving girl. Can't remember the exact year, but it was pre-Civil War.
 
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