#cincinnati servants

[handeaux]

Cincinnati’s Domestic Servants Endured Long Hours And Harassment For A Pittance

With the dawn of the new century in 1901, Cincinnati housemaids attempted to organize a union. That collective bargaining initiative didn’t last the year but offered some insight into the lives of domestic servants at that time.

According to Jesse Partlon, pioneering woman reporter for the Cincinnati Post [26 March 1901], the president of the nascent union was Maria “Maggie” Schuler, who was employed by the family of confectioner Samuel E. Elliott at their home on Gilbert Avenue. Nora Murphy, who boarded on Hackberry Street, was vice president. Mollie Dougherty, the treasurer, “did for” Matilda Besuden, wife of tobacconist Henry J. Besuden out on Duck Creek Road.

The union organizers were hardly inflammatory radicals. Their demands involved being treated with respect, reasonable sleeping accommodations, a fair wage ($2.50 weekly!) and permission to meet suitors indoors:

“Rule 6. Members must have an agreement with their employers about receiving company. Every girl is entitled to a beau, else she will never get married, and she owes it to her self-respect not to meet him at the corner.”

According to reporter Partlon, there were about 30 members of the Housemaids Union, a minuscule sample of the women employed locally as domestic servants in 1901. The United States Census recorded more than 8,000 domestic servants in Cincinnati in 1900, about evenly split between housemaids and cooks and almost exclusively female. A weekly salary of $2.50 was typical, with room and board included. The hours were grueling, from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at night. Partlon went undercover and got herself hired at a middle-class home. On reporting for duty, the household cook outlined her duties:

“The first thing you do in the morning is fill up the furnace and take out the ashes; then you take the snow shovel and clean the walks around the house and the front pavement; then you blacken the shoes, there are two men in this house, and then brush their coats and the Missus’ skirts – you’ll find them outside their doors. After that you dust the halls. About that time I have breakfast ready and you must wait on the tables.”

You heard right – all of that was before breakfast! After breakfast was a round of sweeping, making the beds, dusting and polishing, laundry, mending, picking up after the children and pampering the pets. Despite this backbreaking agenda, the “Missus” rarely trusted the help. According to Partlon:

“My employer insisted on following me all over the house the first day I was there, and never let me out of her sight for a moment. She locked every drawer and closet in the house right before my eyes, putting the keys in her pocket. ‘You see, I don’t know a thing about you,’ she said, in answer to my look of astonishment. ‘One can’t be too careful.’”

It is no wonder that so many young women departed domestic service at the soonest opportunity. Partlon interviewed a couple of housemaids who confessed that they would prefer to work in a factory or a store, primarily because they would have evenings off. They were reluctant to leave domestic service, however, because factory pay wasn’t much better and room and board wasn’t covered.

Partlon’s exposé touched some nerves in Cincinnati. One “Missus,” writing pseudonymously as “Nanette Napoleon,” chastised the Post for printing a series of articles supporting the grievances of housemaids who were unlikely to return the favor by buying a subscription.

“In hundreds of homes incompetent girls are taken in at HIGH wages, have to be taught how to work, are trained by careful housewives whose patience never ceases, who think all the while that for their labor they will finally have a good servant, only to find that they are met with impertinence and that they have trained them for someone else, for as soon as the girl thinks she knows it all, off she goes without a moment’s warning.”

In contrast, a housemaid congratulated the Post on the articles and complained about the tricks used by employers to undercut attempts by their servants to locate better positions.

“When one woman telephones to another about a girl who has applied for employment, this is the reference that is often heard: ‘She is all right, except for something I cannot tell just at present.’ That is worse than slander, and sends many a loyal woman to ruin or an early grave.”

In general, the housemaids told the Post, women employed by Cincinnati’s wealthier families were treated fairly well. It was the parvenus who earned the ire of servants.

“Girls in middle-class families who do general housework are subjected to treatment that makes them long for other employment. Often they have to sleep in cold rooms in the bitterest weather. Often – far more often than you would believe – they are stinted in their food.”

By 1909, changes in household management and improvements in factory conditions encouraged so many young women to find work other than domestic service that Cincinnati society women complained “no one wants to work anymore.” Carrie B. Haworth, who ran an employment agency on Ninth Street, told the Post [9 July 1909]:

“The average American girl doesn’t want positions as house servant. She has too many beaus, and, besides, she doesn’t like the work.”

Still, there were enough servants employed in Cincinnati in 1909 that new apartment houses were designed with servants’ quarters on the top floor. That arrangement led to its own unique complaints, according to the Post [29 December 1909]:

“This system was considered most ideal when started, but it is now considered the most diabolical agency for gossip ever invented, say the flat-dwellers who own servants. The result is that every family in the house knows what’s going on in every other family, via the servants, who get the news from each other when they go to their own apartments in the evening.”

Among the apartment buildings cited as the worst gossip mills was the Navarre Flats, still located today on Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills.

According to the U.S. Census, Cincinnati’s servant population declined from 8,000 in 1900 to 3,000 in 1920 and to just over 1,000 in 1950.

[portraitsofsaints]

Sr. Blandina (Maria Rosa) Segale 

Servant of God

1850-1941

Sister Blandina brought the Catholic faith to the American frontier. Born in Italy, her family emigrated to the U.S. when she was 4 yrs. old. She joined St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Sisters of Charity and was soon assigned to work in Colorado and later in New Mexico. Teaching was her main work but she also started orphanages and hospitals. Living in the lawless West, she disarmed gunfighters, lynch mobs and bandits (Billy the Kid) with her kindness. Sister returned to Cincinnati in 1894 to work with the poor Italian immigrants. She died of natural causes at 91 years old.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[generic-whumperz]

“The Aid” (Character Sheet)

How it began /vs/ where we are now (Picrew)

Playlist | Vibes | Ability Breakdown | Masterlist | Character Info |

Overview: The morning after his 18th birthday, a Mystic telepathic empath sells himself into high-class slavery at a Chattel Services Inc. facility in order to help his family flee from a war-ravaged and disease-ridden post-apocalyptic world. Stripped of his name, he is addressed only by his newly appointed ID number and later his trained designation title—The Aid. He is quickly bought by Madame Eleanor Sullivan, a So-Cal socialite, and the prestigious Sullivan family matriarch, to serve her as her live-in caregiver and confidant. After her death five years later, The Aid is bequeathed to Eleanor’s troubled and sadistic son, Wyatt. Surviving a year and a half of Wyatt’s draconian rein as his new Master, The Aid’s once plentiful optimism runs out when Wyatt’s relentless torture has no end in sight. That is, until one fateful day, a bloody and badly wounded stranger is brought to him, reigniting his hope for escape.  

Full name: [REDACTED]

Role: Main lead protagonist (Caretaker turned Whumpee)

Date of Birth & sign: February 10, 2007 (25), Aquarius (story takes place in the year 2032)

Gender: cis-male

Sexuality: *perpetually confused*

Height: 5’5”

Weight/body type/build: (when not being starved) slender with lean muscle, more on the petite side with compact features; ideally he likes being 135-ish lbs (currently 125lbs soaking wet)

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

Family Members: [REDACTED]

Left/right handed: ambidextrous

Fav genre of music & anthem: alternative/indie, Devil's Advocate by The Neighbourhood

Occupation: slave; designation: Grand Servant, Mystic Domestic Home Aid (professional bitch)

Ethnicity (+ American): white boi (European origin— mostly British, Scottish, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish, and German)

Hair color & length: chocolate brown; (ideally) cropped short, longer on top, brushed to the side. Straight, but slightly wavy when grown out. Facial hair: ideally clean shaven and well-groomed elsewhere, doesn’t have much body hair, will shave it off regardless.

Hygiene: very clean and hygienic, hates being dirty and smelly, takes immense pride in his physical appearance. The kind of guy that has a 10-step skin routine and loves nothing more than new skin care products.

Eye color: chestnut brown. Large almond-shaped hooded eyes, wears glasses

Skin tone: very fair with blue/cool undertones

Facial features: combo of squared & rounded head, square jaw with strong & pointed chin, pointy lips with prominent Cupid’s bow & heavy lower lip, droopy & downturned nose (now with a jagged bend on the bridge from a few badly healed breaks), manicured straight brows with slight soft rounded arch, squared ears that stick out slightly

Mannerisms: internal dialogue/thoughts do not always match spoken words and actions. Confines most facial expression to his eyes which are constantly shifting around and observing surroundings. Small half-smiles that don't reach his eyes. Silent sighs a lot. Generally very still and goes unnoticed. Quiet, soft steps. Mild-mannered. Feels too much all of the time. On high alert. Small nods and head tilts. Lip/side of mouth twitches when thinking hard, confused, or on edge. Shifts jaw a lot.

Nervous ticks: flushes/blushes, rubs fingertips, picks at cuticles/skin picking, chews/sucks in bottom lip, avoids eyes contact & keeps head down, eyes dart, stiff body language, balls hands into fists, lip & cheek twitches, occasional nose rubbing

Posture: straight and proper (currently doing the best he can)

Style: Whatever Madame Eleanor dressed him in! Usually wearing his custom designer Aid uniform complete with a metal o-ring collar. When at home, usually just in lounge wear.

Health: Originally very healthy before all the torture started and was very active. Former high school track star. Now has chronic pain and is addicted to painkillers. Currently in physical therapy and can’t walk for extended periods of time. Vegetarian. Known allergies: shellfish, penicillin, pineapple, pollen, chamomile, nickel metal, dust. Mental health is in the gutter (on anti-psychotic, mood stabilizer, and neuron blocker to nullify his telepathic abilities), anxious, depressed, suffering from psychosis. Having a bad time. Now missing some teeth and has a chipped tooth from Wyatt beating him up.

Piercings/tattoos: ears pierced and has 24k gold ear cuff. One tattoo on upper left shoulder of his CSI given ID number: 070210

Birthmarks/scars: too many scars to count at this point. But noticeable ones on face: long, u-shaped cut spanning under right cheek, a vertical nic on the tip of chin, and a long faint slice across his left temple. 1.5” scar on right palm and top of hand that he usually keeps covered up/hidden from himself. Born with a bilateral cleft lip and now has two C-shaped scars running between the points of his lip and nostrils.

Language(s): English, some Spanish

Personality: before Wyatt—happy, warm and approachable, charming, compassionate, helpful, confident, obedient, subservient, well-mannered, thoughtful, self-sacrificing people-pleaser. With Wyatt—combative, snappy & short, paranoid, jumpy, nervous, closed off and cold, angsty, vengeful, hopeless, depressive.

Vices: weed, panic cleans

Voice: measured, even tone, modulated and silvery. Typical North American accent.

Smells like: clean, zesty and sweet, like aloe, cactus flower, with a hint of citrus.

Face claim(s): I have been going back and forth with this forever. No one will quite look exactly like him, but I’ve finally concluded, after much deliberation, that he looks a combination of Iwan Rheon (left and top middle) and this random Russian guy I found on Pinterest, Arseniy Popov (bottom middle & right). However, both of them are a bit older than he is, so just 🌈imagine🌈 them aged down a little bit. Also, yes, it’s more than ironic that the guy who plays one of Wyatt’s character inspirations, Ramsy fucking Bolton, is also an Aid face claim. Full circle moment or cosmic horror? You decide.

This pic is slay and serving cunt (judging plebs with Eleanor)

Character inspiration: personality and ability-wise only—Deanna Troi (Star Trek TNG), June Osborne (Handmaid’s Tale), Peta Mellark (Hunger Games), Will Graham (NBC Hannibal)

Other: has two trackers, one embedded in his back between shoulder blades, the other in the back of his neck.

Character sheet filled out from his POV, post-Wyatt

[egypt-museum]

Bust of a Priestess of Hathor

The priestess served the Egyptian cow goddess Hathor who unlike many other gods and goddesses had both male and female servants. Egyptian priests were meant to serve the gods and with this responsibility many of them had to follow strict rules to fulfill their duties.

New Kingdom, 18th to 19th Dynasty, ca. 1395 BC-1186 BC. Limestone with traces of paint. Given by his friends in memory of Joseph David Nelson, Jr. On view in Cincinnati Art Museum. Gallery 102. 1966.266 Read more

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Louise Beavers

Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of Black Americans through her work and collaborated with fellow advocates to improve the social standing and media image of the Black population.

Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to school teacher Ernestine (Monroe) Beavers and William M. Beavers, who was originally from Georgia. Her mother's illness caused the family to move to Pasadena, California.

In Pasadena, she attended school and engaged in several after-school activities, such as basketball and church choir. Her mother also worked as a voice teacher and taught her how to sing. In 1920, Beavers graduated from Pasadena High School. She then worked as a dressing-room attendant for a photographer and served as a personal maid to film star Leatrice Joy.

Beavers' acting career began as a member of the Lady Minstrels, a group of young women who staged amateur productions and appeared on stage at the Loews State Theatre. Charles Butler, an agent for African-American actors, saw one of her early performances and recommended that she audition for a film role.

Beavers was initially hesitant to audition for film roles because of the negative portrayal of blacks in film. She once said, "In all the pictures I had seen… they never used colored people for anything except savages." However, she won a role in the film Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927) and went on to play stereotypical black roles such as those of a slave, a mother figure, a maid or domestic servant. With Claudette Colbert in Imitation of Life (1934)

After playing the role of Julia, the maid and mother figure to a young white woman, in Coquette (1929), Beavers gained more attention for her work and was able to transition to less stereotypical roles. Beavers played Delilah in Imitation of Life (1934), again in the role of a housekeeper, but instead of the usual stereotypical comedic or purely functional role, Delilah's storyline constitutes a secondary parallel plot in which her problems are given considerable emotional gravity. Some in the media recognized the unfairness of Hollywood's double standard regarding race. A contributor to California Graphic Magazine wrote: "the Academy could not recognize Miss Beavers. She is black!"

In 1936, Beavers married Robert Clark, who later became her manager. Beavers and Clark later divorced.

Beavers played the lead role in the film Reform School (1939), once thought to be a lost film, as a forward-thinking probation officer who becomes the superintendent of a reform school and implements major changes.

In the film Holiday Inn (1942), Beavers performed a song during a minstrel show number celebrating Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Because the number features Bing Crosby and others in blackface, some consider it racially offensive and it is often excised from television screenings of the film. Lobby card for the Million Dollar Productions film Life Goes On with "Harry M. Popkin Presents Louise Beavers" logo inset

As Beavers' career grew, some criticized her for the roles that she accepted, alleging that such roles institutionalized the view that blacks were subservient to whites. Beavers dismissed the criticism, acknowledging the limited opportunities available but saying: "I am only playing the parts. I don't live them." As she became more widely known, Beavers began to speak against Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of African Americans, both during production and after promoting the films. Beavers became active in public life, seeking to help support African Americans. She endorsed Robert S. Abbott, the editor of The Chicago Defender, who fought for African-Americans' civil rights. She supported Richard Nixon, who she believed would help black Americans in the struggle for civil rights.

In 1952, Beavers married Leroy Moore, with whom she remained until her death in 1962. She had no children.

In later life, Beavers was plagued by health issues, including diabetes. She died on October 26, 1962 at the age of 62, following a heart attack, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles.

Beavers was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976. She was an honorary member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American sororities

[lboogie1906]

Mamie Smith (Robinson; May 26, 1891 – September 16, 1946) made music history in 1920 when she stepped into a studio to lay down “Crazy Blues,” considered by industry scholars to be the very first blues recording. She was a glamorous and multi-talented entertainer, performing on stage and in film. Her pioneering musical career paved the way for more successful female blues and jazz artists like “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday.

Scholars believe that she was born in Cincinnati. By the age of 10, she was working as a vaudeville entertainer and touring with the Four Dancing Mitchells. She continued to tour with various acts throughout her teens. By 1913 she was living and working in Harlem and soon after married William “Smithy” Smith. She remarried twice after her career took off.

In 1918 she starred at the Lincoln Theater in Made in Harlem, a musical revue produced by Perry Bradford who also composed the legendary “Crazy Blues” song. Wishing to have some of his songs recorded, Bradford contacted and was rejected by several studios until signing an agreement with General Phonograph. In February of 1920, Bradford brought her to the company’s Okeh Studios in New York to record “That Thing Called Love” and “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down.” On August 20, she and Bradford returned to the studio with a group of African American musicians known as the Jazz Hounds to record “It’s Right Here for You” and “Crazy Blues.” It purportedly sold 75,000 copies within the first months of its release.

She found herself wealthy, and she spent much of her earnings on clothes, jewelry, real estate, and servants. She toured with the Jazz Hounds, recorded several follow-up records, and performed in New York theaters. She appeared in a series of low-budget African American films during the early 1940s. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[ettawritesnstudies]

#12/31

12. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

The first person born in the US to become a saint! Founder of the parochial school system! Champion of girl's education!

St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in NYC to parents who were part of the Church of England and taught her the first lessons in charity and social ministry. She had a rough home life, losing two mothers - one to childbirth and the other to a messy divorce, but she was well educated and ended up marrying a wealthy buisnessman. They had five children together before their shipping company went bankrupt during the war of 1812 and her husband died of tuberculous. As a widow, she started a girls school, but soon after became Catholic, and a lot of her students withdrew. Facing money problems and a decaying social life, she accepted an invitation from Sulpician monks to move to Emmitsburg Maryland with her family, and found the first Catholic seminary in the united states. While she was living there, she also established St. Joseph's Academy for young girls, and a new convent called the Sisters of Charity, which founded hospitals as far west as Cincinnati. She was involved in education until she died, and her charitable work helped shape early America and touched the lives of countless students!

31. St. Thomas Moore

We all clown on King Henry the Eighth for being so horny and egotistical he splintered the church to divorce and murder five wives before finally kicking the bucket, but there's a lot more to the backstory than his own buffoonery.

St. Thomas Moore was the Lord High Chancellor under the king, as well as an accomplished scholar, philosopher, and good father who gave his daughters the same classical educations as his sons, which was uncommon at that time. This even set an example for other noble families. He refused to support King Henry when he decided to break from the Church, and wrote extensively against the protestant reformation, and his clash with the king eventually ended him in the Tower of London, and eventually his beheading as a martyr. His final statement was that he was "The king's good servant, but God's first." He's now the patron saint of lawyers, and there's a catholic society dedicated to him!

All Hallows Ask Game

[whitesinhistory]

On June 30, 1829, officials in Cincinnati, Ohio, issued a notice requiring Black residents to adhere to laws passed in 1804 and 1807 aimed at preventing “fugitive slaves” and freed Black people from settling in Ohio, forcing hundreds of Black people to flee. The 1804 law required every Black person in Ohio to obtain proof of freedom and to register with the clerk’s office in his or her county of residence. It also prohibited employers from hiring a Black person without proof of freedom, imposed a fine on those who hid "fugitive slaves," and provided to any person asserting “a legal claim” to a Black person a procedure for “retaking and possessing his or her Black or mulatto servant.” The 1807 amendments to the law required Black people seeking residence in Cincinnati to post $500 bond guaranteed by two white men. In addition to increasing fines for employing a Black person without proof of freedom and assisting "fugitive slaves," the 1807 amendments prohibited Black people from testifying in court against white people. The 1804 law and 1807 amendment failed to stem the growth of Ohio’s Black population, and by 1829, Black residents represented at least 10% of Cincinnati’s population. In another attempt to discourage Black residence in Cincinnati, officials posted a notice informing the public that the 1807 law would be “rigidly enforced” and warning against helping any Black person in violation of the law. The notice effectively sanctioned mob violence against the Black community, stating, “The full cooperation of the public is expected in carrying these laws into full effect.” Recognizing the notice as a threat, hundreds of Black people organized, requested, and were granted asylum in Canada.

[arjaandsimoni]

Prologue

A Penthouse in Cincinnati Ohio

It was all planned out.

The prince held a meeting of his advisors every week like clockwork, and after the meeting was over he liked an hour of privacy to mull over what had happened. He sent away all his servants and guards so he could enjoy solitude. That was when they’d strike! He was just one old dried up corpse, what could go wrong?!

Well, he found out when they ambushed him from the closets of his room… and he moved like a blur and tore off Brian’s head, then grabbed the stake he’d brought in and drove it through Skeeter’s heart before turning around and punching a hole straight through Chris. Nate tried to grab him from behind but he had him by the leg before he knew what was happening and threw him through the window to crash into the streets below… and finally all that was left was him.

The prince stalked towards the surviving assassin, looking not even murderous but more annoyed as if he’d walked into his office and found a cat had gotten sick on the carpet. “Really now, did you think I wouldn’t know about some loudmouthed neonate planning my demise? Do you think this is the first time someone has tried this boy?” he sneered. He wasn’t a very tall man, infact the attacker was taller, and he was dressed in an outfit that would have looked more at home in a puritan meetinghouse than it would have in a modern penthouse (he wore it for official functions to remind those of just how ancient a vampire he was, and thus how powerful,) “You’re William’s childe aren’t you. The one he embraced for money. He’ll have a lot of explaining to do once we’re through here…” he smirked, and the shadows seemed to deepen around him.

The attacker was dressed in a baggy basketball jersey, long loose jeans hanging down to expose the top of his boxers, and designer sneakers. He had on some gold chains that jangled when he moved, and held a stake ready, and yet… he was terrified. This brought back memories of another night, when he had experienced his first real threat to his life. “Ain’t fuckin’ afraid of you Dracula!” he hissed between his fangs, but his trembling legs didn’t show it, “Humans know alla ‘bout weird shit now! We should just roll with it ‘n take over!” he spat. He tried to sound tough, like a ‘gangsta’ type, but this vampire was clearly nothing of the sort. The clothes were too new and clean, the chains polished and well kept, and clearly the only ‘gangstas’ he ever saw were in movies and on TV. A well-to-do white guy pretending to be tough by emulating what he saw as a teenager on MTV.

The prince smirked, his fangs extending, then suddenly he gasped and fell to his knees, then forward onto his hands as his eyes widened! His veins tightened within his body, the muscles locking up. “W-what…” he hissed, his eyes swiveling around as he felt his limbs rebel against him!

Then he heard in his ear, gentle as a moth’s wing brushing his flesh…

So sorry Archie, but after tonight’s little pow-wow we have a feeling this one will be a lot more open to our ideas than you were…

The vampire prince snarled, he knew that voice… “Traitors…” he growled under his breath, but his attacker saw him fall and rather than question it he raced forward and body-checked him onto his back, then sat and slammed the stake home!

The prince flailed and thrashed in pain, but couldn’t co-ordinate his limbs enough to move properly, as the young vampire looked confused. “Wait, that’s supposed to make ya freeze, right?”

Then he snapped his fingers and pulled it out, “Guess that wasn’t ya heart eh? Uh… uh…”

The prince heard an annoyed voice in his ear.

Ugh, neonates… I’ll do it myself!

Then the young vampire felt his arm suddenly move as if of it’s own accord and slam the stake down in the middle of the prince’s chest, just to the left of his sternum. Archibald, prince of the vampires of Cincinnati, trembled and fell still as his eyes rolled back in their sockets.

“Aight… now…” the young vampire leaned in and bared his fangs, then thrust them into the prince’s neck and began to drink deeply.

From there, instinct took over as he drew out the prince’s blood, pulling on the ancient vampire as Archibald’s vision began to darken. As he lost consciousness, he thought…

You fools… you put the jester on the throne thinking he’ll make a more pliable king… the vampire court will be in ruins by this time next year, mark my words…

Into his mind came the response, the same voice as before.

We’ll take our chances. See ya in Hell, Archie… oh wait, no we won’t.

The young vampire kept pulling and felt something else entering him. It wasn’t blood… it wasn’t anything physical… it was like that book he’d found said, it was whatever a vampire had that passed for their soul, and it was… indescribable. He felt powerful, he felt like he could do ANYTHING!

He leaned back as he finished and the prince’s body crumbled to dust under him… then suddenly the door to the prince’s chambers burst open and three men rushed in.

“Prince Archibald! We heard what sounded like a fight!” he shouted. He wore a dress shirt with pinstripes and suit pants, a pair of black leather shoes polished to a mirror shine. His tie was pinned in place, and it red patterned with gold… though if one looked close the gold made out odd rune like symbols on the material. He had glasses and slicked back hair.

“Dear god…” whispered another, this one was dressed as a dockworker might have back in the 1920s. A linen shirt and pants held up by suspenders, sturdy boots on his legs. He wore a flat cap and his muscles bulged against his outfit. “He… he killed the prince?! This neonate killed him?! HOW?!” he stuttered out, though... it sounded off, as if he was reading it from a script.

The young vampire froze as he saw them, then quickly stood and dusted off his clothes. “Yeah! That’s right! I killed the fucker, that means I’m in charge now, right?!” he demanded.

The three looked between themselves, sharing a grin, then one of them walked forward.

He was dressed in a suit that would have been popular in the disco era, a colorful jacket and pants with a wide tie. “Yeah, yeah that’s right boss. You took out the prince, so now you take his place.” he grinned, “What do we call you Prince…?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

The young man grinned widely; his fangs still wet with the former prince’s blood. “Al. Ya call me Al, and Boss works too.” he nodded.

Thus, in the shadows that evening, the fate of the undead of Cincinnati was decided.

Covington Kentucky

Across the river in Kentucky however, happier events were afoot.

Stephy sat before his computer in the Smith household, in his room across from Tex’s. Tara had insisted. She didn’t mind them being intimate, but sleeping together… well, in some ways she was a bit more traditional than her acceptance of her son and… gender undefined child… would suggest. Maybe when they were adults, but for now Stephy was just shy of his fifteenth birthday.

Stephy had decided to go with what Loren did regarding pronouns in the end. He? She? They? Stephy knew who they were, what they liked, and how they felt. What did they care what someone called them? Though, most of their classmates went with ‘she’ by default. It was hard not to at this point. Stephy’s time in Arcadia over the past few years had left him downright androgynous, with long blonde hair and eyes the color of the sky on a cloudless day in Winter, so the only way they could guess was by what he wore… and it was a rare thing to see him ever not wearing a skirt or dress these days. He was currently wearing a white nightdress under a matching robe as he looked through a website for prom dresses, the school hosting a Fall Dance soon.

There was a knock at the door and he looked up from the computer, idly tucking some hair behind his now rather prominently pointed ear. Mortals couldn’t see it, but those who knew him well could.

“Hey filly, mind if I come in?” came Tex’s voice.

Stephy giggled, “I never mind that, go ahead.” he smiled.

Tex walked into the room, wearing just a teeshirt and flannel pajama bottoms. His blonde hair was a bit shaggy, due for a haircut eventually, and he had the beginnings of a mustache and small beard on his chin now. The changes he got in the Nightside following Roger Fullmoon’s demise had ensured that he had the body he’d wanted, and it was aging just as such a body would have. In time he might even get a full beard, but for now it gave him a sort of rouge-ish charm that Stephy found quite delightful.

“Ya’ll pick yer dress yet Princess?” he asked, leaning in and kissing Stephy’s forehead.

The changeling boy let out a little squeal at that, then shook his head, “Ugh, no! I just can’t decide… and everything I have back in Arcadia is far too formal! I’d be the only person there dressed like I was doing Disney cosplay!” he sighed, flipping through the designs again.

Tex chuckled, “Well, mom found a few dress shops local. Maybe actually tryin’ some on would help?” he suggested, “We got a couple weeks left, why don’t we try that on Saturday eh?”

Stephy thought, then nodded and closed the browser, “I suppose its worth a shot, and you know I’ll never turn down a chance to dress up.” he grinned.

Tex smiled back at him, “It’s a date then.” he nodded.

Thus, on an evening of joy and excitement for two of our friends, and blood and plotting for one who would be a future foe did a new Supernatural Adventure begin.

Next Story

[millingroundireland]

Hotels and settling in Cincinnati [part 2]

Continued from part 1

Fast forward to 1901 when RBM I and Hattie were 39 years old. That year on June 4, they had their only natural child: Stanley Sterling Mills. They were living in Cincinnati’s Hotel Sterling, which sat at Cincinnati’s West End at 6th and Central Streets. It does not exist anymore and has been torn down since. The Hotel Sterling housed the “only integrated nightclub in Cincinnati” called the Cotton Club (which was likely after his time) which was host to “hundreds of famous black orchestras and the rooms at the Sterling was usually booked solid”: [8]

This hotel was the same place that Bert, at 10 years old, wrote a note to Santa, just as soon as Stanley was about to be born, as noted in The Packard/Mills Family History. RBM I would stay in the management of the Hotel Sterling (circa 1900-1914?), followed by management of other hotels like the Gibson Hotel in the 1910s, and the Grand Hotel in the 1920s. [9] He was one of the founders of the Cincinnati Hotels Association on January 18, 1935, but he was a member of the Cincinnati Hotel and Restaurant Association in 1904, and a member of the patriotic group of “Ohio gentlemen” called the Ohio Society of New York attending an anniversary of the group in 1935 at the Hotel Pennsylvania chaired by Herbert Hoover, as a non-resident member. He even gave his 140 employees at the Grand Hotel a ten percent raise in their salaries at a Christmas dinner in 1922, while his adopted son, Bert, became an associate manager at the Ventura after his father became manager of the Gibson Hotel. He was also a manager of the Grand Hotel for the short period.

In 1910, Hattie, RBM I, Bert, and Stanley would all be living at the Hotel Sterling. There would be nine servants, with the average of age 36 and the average age of 37 boarders being 48 years old. [10] 64% of these boarders were from Ohio, with the rest from Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Very few are foreign boarders, but of those that were born in foreign countries they came from Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland, among others. One of these borders was RBM I’s 52-year-old brother, Edward E. Mills, then living in Kentucky.

This was part of chapter 13 of a family history I sent to relatives. It is revised in order to remove all mentions of the Packards. In order to tell more of a story, it is reprinted here. It was originally published on the WordPress version of this blog in August 2018.

Hotel management, then, like now, was about accommodating travelers, making their institutions into “frontier between individual communities and the world beyond,” ensuring the safety of such individuals, and tempting guests to “emulate a higher standard of living.” [11] In the time that RBM I ran this hotel and others, the hotel industry began to be controlled by corporations. The automobile influenced the industry by fostering a “corresponding drive for standardization and scale.” Such hotel management embodied the “itch to...do something new, become someone new” with individuals as “builders, founders, risk takers,” which America supposedly represented. [12]

From the 1920s until the 1930s, RBM I was a hotel manager. As the story goes, every Sunday, Bert and Miriam (noted in the next chapter) would host RBM I and Hattie, who they hated, for dinner. The former were poor, with the job of fire chief originally low-paying, gaining money from the latter. To show their respect, they would put up Hattie and RBM I’s portrait on the mantle. After they left, they would shove the portrait in the closet. On June 18, 1950, RBM I died of coronary heart disease in Heath, Massachusetts. [13] The Cincinnati Enquirer would say he managed the “Sterling Hotel, Grand Hotel...Hotels Gibson and Sinton,” calling him a “prominent figure in Cincinnati hotel circles for 40 years,” with Hattie dying one year before. He was a member of Syrian Temple Shrine, Christ Episcopal Church, founding member of the Cincinnati Auto Club, and active in Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. He was buried, like Hattie, in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Three different views of the Hotel Bennett, courtesy of All Posters, Houzz, and Card Cow. RBM I and Hattie likely met her as noted in the earlier family history. Binghamton, where this hotel was located, still exists and is within the “central Southern tier at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenago Rivers,” sitting a few miles north of the state line with Pennsylvania and midpoint “between the Empire State’s east-west borders.” By the time they met, the city of Binghamton had a huge cigar industry, employing 6,000 people in 1888, an even-bigger shoe industry, with Endicott-Johnson shoes employing 20,000 in the town, with the “computer”/time recording industry (precursor to IBM was in the town) and the growing photography industry. Other industries such as airplane and patent medicine industries either came later on or were not as prominent. Since the hotel or hospitality industry was not mentioned on the Binghamton City’s Historical Brief, it seems evident that this industry was not big in the town at the time. That still doesn’t invalidate his employment at the Hotel Bennett however, it just means that hotels were only part of a economy in the town, but not a major part.

© 2018-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[8] Text courtesy of Dale Prout, Cincinnati Views. The original link seems gone (when you click on the link it says "page does not exist", but I did find a mention of it here and here on the current site. The only place that the original link I used is available is a page on the Wayback Machine, a page which also mentions the Grand Hotel, St. Nicholas Hotel, Hotel Broadway, and many others. Doing some digging, I also found a page noting Hotel Sinton, another for the Hotel Gibson, Hotel Alms, Plaza hotels, and various others here (Hotel Metropole, Hotel Havlin, Oxford Hotel, Palace Hotel, and others). As noted by the Urban League (in a link that cannot be found), “the original Cotton Club, in the Sterling Hotel, was the only integrated night club in Cincinnati and played host to the greatest black orchestras and performers of the era.” Many other meetings were held there. Even W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey met there in 1924.

[9] Williams Cincinnati Business Directory (Cincinnati, OH: Williams Directory Co. Publishers, 1909), 191, 244; Williams Cincinnati Business Directory (Cincinnati, OH: Williams Directory Co. Publishers, 1912), 949; Williams Cincinnati Business Directory (Cincinnati, OH: Williams Directory Co. Publishers, 1914), 938; Bizstanding, “THE CINCINNATI HOTELS ASSOCIATION,” accessed July 16, 2017; The Cincinnati Inquirer, Oct. 19, 1921, p. 7, courtesy of Newspapers.com; City Directories for Cincinnati Ohio, 1912, Hotel Alms, p. 949, courtesy of Fold3.com; The Cincinnati Inquirer, Jan. 11, 1954, p. 3, 5; The Hotel Monthly, 1922, Vol. 30, no. 347 (possibly), p. 66; Hotel World, 1922, Vol. 94, p. 13; Hotel Monthly, Vol. 94, no. 103, p. 50; Williams Cincinnati (Hamilton County, Ohio) City Directory (Cincinnati, OH: Williams Directory Co., 1922), p. 1927; “Mills,” Hotel World, Vol. 84, 1917, p. 43; “A New One,” Hotel World, Vol. 88, 1919, p. 13; Homepage, Ohio Society of New York (OSNY), 2017; OSNY, “Golden Jubliee Anniversary,” NY, Hotel Pennsylvania, Nov. 16, 1935, p. 1-2, 36-37. He would be treasurer and manager in varied hotels, proprietor of the Hotel Sterling from 1909 to 1914. Also see page 59 of the 1924 Book of Facts and Laws put out by the Ohio Hotels Association, page 66 of Hotel Monthly vol. 45 issued in 1937, page 949 of the Travel Book: Transportation International issued in 1931.

[10] Hotel Sterling in Cincinnati, 1910, U.S. Federal Census, ED 212, National Archives, NARA T624, roll 1193.

[11] The Gale Group, “Hotels and Hotel History,” Dictionary of American History, 2003, which seems to be only accessible as a database or book; Holly Cameron, “The History of Hotel & Restaurant Management,” USA Today, accessed on July 16, 2017; University of North Carolina, “Early Research and Treatment of Tuberculosis in the 19th Century,” 2007; Jan Whitaker, “The history of the restaurant of the future,” Restaurant-ing Through History, June 12, 2017; Waukesha County Technical College, “Hospitality Management,” 2022; WiseGeek, “What is Hospitality Management?,” Conjecture Corporation, 2017; Dominque Browning, “Gimme Shelter,” Sunday Book Review, New York Times, Dec. 2, 2007; Jeffrey S. Adler, The Hotel: An American History (review), Journal of Interdisciplinary History Vol. 39, No. 2, Autumn 2008, p. 290-291; A.K. Sandoval-Strausz, “How America Invented the Hotel: A history of hospitality,” Slate, 2007.

[12] Thomas A. Stewart, Alex Taylor lll, Peter Petre, and Brent Schlender, “The Businessman of the Century Henry Ford Alfred P. Sloan Tom Watson Jr. Bill Gates,” Fortune magazine, Nov. 22, 1999; United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Lodging Managers,” Oct. 3, 2022; Institute of Culinary Education, “School of Hospitality and Hotel Management,” 2022; University of Missouri, “Hospitality Management Degree,” 2022; Pennsylvania State University, “Careers in Hospitality Management,” 2017; George Washington University, “Bachelor of Science in Business,” accessed Oct. 8, 2022. Also see Paul Groth’s Living Downtown: The History of Residential Hotels in the United States, Andrew K. Sandoval-Strausz’s Hotel: An American History; Karl B.Raitz and John Paul Jones III’s article “The City Hotel as Landscape Artifact and Community Symbol” and Andrew K. Sandoval-Strausz’s dissertation, “For the accommodation of strangers: urban space, travel, law, the market, and modernity at the American hotel, 1789-1908” (behind a paywall of sorts) in 2002. Sandoval-Strausz has written about hotels many times, as noted by a listing on Google Scholar, including articles like "Travelers, Strangers, and Jim Crow: Law, Public Accommodations, and Civil Rights in America", "The hotel in history: evolving perspectives", "A Public House for a New Republic: The Architecture of Accommodation and the American State, 1789-1809", and "Why the Hotel? Liberal Visions, Merchant Capital, Public Space, and the Creation of an American Institution".  

[13] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 20, 1950, p. 25, courtesy of Newspapers.com. This falsely says that RBM II was adopted in 1934; RootsWeb, Obituary Daily Times, Ancestry.com; Gravestone of Robert Byron Mills; The Cincinnati Inquirer, Feb. 3, 1949, p. 30, 32, courtesy of Newspapers.com; The Cincinnati Inquirer, July 13, 1949, p. 29. He would die the same year as John Henry Packard, the son of Dora, his sister.

[sucaliaric]

12 May - Sharpening the Sword - Journal Entry by John

 After our discovery of Sundervere, our following night is more pedestrian.  The bishop advises that his speakeasy and bootlegger businesses have been hit - the delivery of alcohol has been stopped and police have raided the speakeasies.  He wishes for us to find out why and address the issue.  I am... displeased.  Why would my ghouls allow this without notifying me?  As we leave the bishop, I call my federal contact; he is not aware of any federal activity in Louisville, claiming that he is not involved in this mess.  I then call the chief of police, who states that he did not realize I had interest and he had been given targets by the mayor.  When I speak with the mayor, he is also unaware of my interest but he received direction from the governor.  This is... concerning.

 We take the Phantom to Frankfort, driving to the governor's house.  I knock and speak with a guard - the governor is in Tennessee and the lieutenant governor is currently in charge.  We move from there to the lieutenant governor - but another servant answers, stating that they do not know where the lieutenant governor is, but the secretary of state should.  I am once again getting annoyed... we travel to the secretary of state, and after some discussion they provide the information we need.  I am getting further annoyed by the minute - I finally wipe this worm's memory of all information it has ever known.  Perhaps an overreaction - but the kine must know who is in charge.  Finally, we find the lieutenant governor at an "undisclosed location."  I make my irritation clear - he states that funding came from the Dried Tears Society out of Cincinnati to raid specific speakeasy locations, some of which were in Louisville.  This points directly to the Camarilla - they will learn not to interfere with us.  After some discussion, he chooses to cease operations against the speakeasy locations.  On our way out, I advise him to speak with the secretary of state if he wishes to see the possible consequences if I must come back.  We then make our way to Cincinnati.  In Cincinnati, we find the exchange to the Dried Tears Society, but it turns out to be a dead end.  As we move back to the car, we are greeted by a Camarilla welcoming group.  They offer threats - I give them the opportunity to guide us to their boss, which they decline.  Laymik and I kill them, with Laymik diablerizing one.  The one that survives our initial attack gives us directions to a Nosferatu that they are associated with; we usher in final death and move to see the Nosferatu.  Once we arrive, the Nosferatu has limited helpful information, including directions for some Camarilla spies in Louisville, in exchange for my guarantee that he will never see us again.  I fulfil my promise, and after diablerizing him we travel back home.

[handeaux]

Don’t Eat The Oatmeal! The Curious Case Of The Dayton Street Poisoner

Among the most peculiar crimes ever recorded in Cincinnati was the mystery within a mystery spawned by breakfast at 912 Dayton Street on the morning of Friday, March 30, 1900.

Four generations lived in a two-story house at that address, owned by a renowned and aged Methodist minister, the Rev. Dr. Mordecai J.W. Ambrose. Doctor Ambrose was in poor health and was attended by a full-time nurse named Ellen M. Galvin. Also living under his roof were Ambrose’s daughter, Francephin, her husband Charles A. Aiken, their divorced daughter Susie Winold, and Susie’s two young children, Harold and Frances. A couple of weeks earlier, the Aikens had hired a servant girl who said her name was Violet Foster.

On the morning of March 30, Mr. Aiken arose early and left for his job at the American Book Company. Mrs. Aiken, Mrs. Winold, Harold, Frances, and Miss Galvin sat down to breakfast about 9:00 a.m. The new servant girl served an egg dish, but Mrs. Aiken sent it back and claimed the eggs were stale. The servant then offered oatmeal and served a portion to everyone except Mrs. Winold, who said she was not hungry. As the family got up from the table, everyone but Mrs. Winold complained of stomach pains and several became violently ill. Mrs. Winold ran to the kitchen to find the servant girl but she was not there. Mrs. Winold eventually located her upstairs in her room, apparently also ill.

Mrs. Winold called for a doctor who lived in the neighborhood. He immediately diagnosed arsenic poisoning. After caring for the obviously ill, he took one look at Violet Foster and determined that she was faking her symptoms. Someone called the police. The doctor’s suspicions were confirmed when a police detective ordered the servant girl downstairs and she got up immediately, showing no further evidence that she was in any sort of distress. Thanks to the doctor’s timely attentions, none of the poisoning victims died.

Police visited several neighborhood pharmacies. At the Overbeck drug store, employees identified Violet Foster as the woman who had purchased arsenic the evening before. Pharmacies at that time recorded the names of anyone who bought poisonous substances, and the young woman signed for the arsenic as Lena Heigh. It looked like a simple case of attempted homicide until Violet Foster, alias Lena Heigh, confessed.

The local newspapers swarmed to this story because Susie Winold and her children had created a front-page sensation in Cincinnati the previous year. Susie married a traveling salesman named Charles O. Winold in 1892. He was from Massillon, Ohio, and his job took him over most of the eastern United States. Over the years, the marriage soured. Charles blamed his mother-in-law. Whatever the cause, Susie moved out, taking her children, and relocated to South Dakota. Charles knew she was establishing residency to get an accelerated divorce, so he tracked her down and kidnapped their children. Charles first brought Harold and Frances back to his parents’ home in Massillon, then took them to Brooklyn. A nationwide search for the abducted children resulted in their discovery in Hoboken, New Jersey. Susie, now freshly divorced, and Charles met in a Brooklyn courtroom where she was awarded custody and he got weekly visitation. Charles made only minor efforts to see his children as his business kept him traveling, but neighbors began to report him watching the house on Dayton Street.

Violet Foster, under police interrogation, claimed that it was Charles Winold himself who forced her to buy the arsenic and that it was Charles Winold who had placed the arsenic in the oatmeal. Winold, the servant girl claimed, had appeared at the kitchen door on several occasions, explaining that he intended to kill his wife in revenge for taking his children away. As he was being dragged into this case, Winold was wending his way through his sales territory, making no effort to hide his location. He was apprehended in Baltimore and brought to Cincinnati for questioning.

Further investigation revealed that Winold had iron-clad alibis for every instance in which Violet Foster testified that he was threatening her at the Ambrose house. On the morning of the poisoning, Winold was in a Toledo hotel. The servant’s story crumbled further when police learned that her real name was Faltha Gilliam and that almost nothing she had told them about her past was true. Although she claimed her parents were dead, police found her mother, father and a handful of siblings living in poverty in Lower Price Hill.

Faltha Gilliam was tried and sentenced in Judge Rufus Smith’s courtroom in October 1900. She was sentenced to four years in the Ohio Penitentiary. At her sentencing, the newspapers reported that she had been flirting so indiscriminately with the male prisoners at the county jail that a couple of young men were ready to fight a duel over her.

Only a few newspapers looked beyond the version of the story assembled by the police and presented in court. Faltha Gilliam’s many and repeated lies called her credibility very much into question and enabled Charles Winold, confessed kidnapper, to totally escape blame. The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune [1 April 1900] published statements made by Gilliam to a reporter that suggest there might have beenh a very different motivation for the poisoning:

“The extraordinary creature admitted repeatedly yesterday that she has known and met Winold clandestinely since last December; that he knew when she secured the situation as a domestic at Dr. Ambrose’s residence in Dayton Street, and that he planned and she assisted for days in the arrangements for the commission of the crime.”

The Commercial Tribune reported that Gilliam had herself once worked as a traveling salesperson, met Winold on a train in Indiana, reunited with him in Cincinnati and that he had encouraged her to take the servant position at his ex-wife’s house. If true, Winold may have set her up to take the fall while he traveled to establish his alibis. It was never explained why Gilliam served poison oatmeal to Winold’s children after his ex-wife refused the deadly concoction.

Faltha Gilliam was released from the penitentiary a year early because of good behavior and she seems to vanish from the historical record. Charles Winold moved back to Massillon and remarried in 1905. He died from prostate cancer in 1914. Susie Winold lived a long life in service to the Methodist church and died in New Jersey, aged 80. Harold and Frances both recovered from their deadly breakfast. Frances married a man in Michigan in 1915. Harold served in the Navy through World War I, married and had a daughter. The nurse, Ellen M. Galvin, sued Dr. Ambrose, as head of the household, for hiring the poisoner without checking her background, and the pharmacy, for selling the arsenic, asking $10,400 from each. Both cases were dismissed. Although she claimed the poisoning left her unable to work, Galvin was listed as a nurse in the Cincinnati city directory for several more years.

[portraitsofsaints]

Sr. Blandina (Maria Rosa) Segale  Servant of God 1850-1941

Sister Blandina brought the Catholic faith to the American frontier. Born in Italy, her family emigrated to the U.S. when she was 4 yrs. old. She joined St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Sisters of Charity and was soon assigned to work in Colorado and later in New Mexico. Teaching was her main work but she also started orphanages and hospitals. Living in the lawless West, she disarmed gunfighters, lynch mobs and bandits (Billy the Kid) with her kindness. Sister returned to Cincinnati in 1894 to work with the poor Italian immigrants. She died of natural causes at 91 years old.

Prints, plaques & holy cards are available for purchase here:{website}

[thebookwormslair]

Welcome, dear readers, to a world where Jane Austen's beloved classic, "Pride and Prejudice," is reimagined and infused with a delightful twist. Today, we embark on a journey to explore some of the most entertaining and engaging retellings of this timeless tale. So, grab a cup of tea, settle into your favorite reading nook, and prepare to be thoroughly entertained!

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahame-Smith:

Yes, you read it correctly! This retelling adds a thrilling dose of the undead to the mix. Watch as the Bennett sisters navigate the treacherous world of Regency-era England, fighting not only societal expectations but also hordes of brain-craving zombies. It's a hilarious blend of romance, humor, and the undead that will leave you in stitches.

"Eligible" by Curtis Sittenfeld:

Prepare to be transported to modern-day Cincinnati in this contemporary retelling of "Pride and Prejudice." Sittenfeld brings the Bennett family into the 21st century, complete with reality TV shows, CrossFit enthusiasts, and even a Chipotle addiction. You'll find yourself rooting for Liz and Jane as they navigate the challenges of career, love, and family dynamics in a relatable and humorous setting.

"Bridget Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding:

While not a direct retelling, this modern classic draws heavily from the themes and structure of "Pride and Prejudice." Follow the lovably imperfect Bridget Jones as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, romantic mishaps, and hilarious diary entries. Filled with witty banter, endearing characters, and unforgettable moments, it's impossible not to fall in love with Bridget's endearing charm.

"Longbourn" by Jo Baker:

Ever wondered what life was like for the servants in the Bennett household? "Longbourn" takes us belowstairs, offering a fresh perspective on the events of "Pride and Prejudice." Delve into the lives of the hardworking servants, their triumphs and struggles, and the complexities of their relationships. Jo Baker beautifully weaves their stories alongside the familiar events of Austen's masterpiece.

"The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" by Kate Rorick and Bernie Su:

For those who prefer a multimedia experience, this retelling comes in the form of a web series. Adapted from a popular YouTube series, "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" presents the story through video blog entries by modern-day Lizzie Bennet. Follow Lizzie's witty and endearing journey as she navigates love, family drama, and her own prejudices in the age of social media.

From battling zombies to modern-day mishaps, these books offer a variety of engaging experiences that pay homage to Jane Austen's timeless classic. So, why not embark on a journey of laughter, romance, and delightful surprises? Pick up one (or all!) of these books and let yourself be transported into a world where wit and charm abound. Happy reading!

[historyhermann]

From one Tilghman to the next: Tench and his descendants [Part 1]

As noted by the Maryland State Archives, this painting by Charles Wilson Peale for the Maryland State Archives, "Peale added two figures to the foreground of his composition. The first, to Washington's immediate left...The second figure Peale added is Lieutenant Colonel Tench Tilghman (1744-1786), a Marylander who served as Washington's military secretary and aide-de-camp, who is shown in profile. Tilghman's portrait was painted from life."

As we wrote about about last week on this blog, the pension for Anna Maria Tilghman, the widow of Tench Tilghman, is stock-filled with information. This post aims to dig into that information even more. Tench's military career is evident without a doubt, and was part of the focus of my poster board in 2007 for the History Day competition titled "Tench Tilghman Pays a Price for Being a Patriot," for which I only got to the state level with their theme of "Triumph & Tragedy in History." That is part of the reason I'm writing these posts to be honest, to rekindle my interest in the subject I explored all those years ago, even though I did go to the Maryland State Archives, Maryland Historical Society (MHS), Historical Society of Talbot County, and the Library of Congress. [1] Back then I wrote about how I took notes from copies of original letters and documents at the MHS, a photograph of Tench Tilghman's uniform, and that Tench came from a privileged family with sympathies toward the British crown, eventually making "sacrifices for Patriotism, facing estrangement from his family and disease contracted in battle," leading to his early death at the age of 41.

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog.

Tench during the Revolutionary War and after

As far back as May 1769, George Washington was on good terms with the Tilghman family. He wrote James Tilghman, Tench's father (who was once written about by the Maryland State Archives), that year, asking for advice in getting "Entrys of Land for me, near the Settlement of Redstone, in the Provence of Pensylvania" since he was, at the time, "anxious of obtaining some little possession in a Country that I have experienced many toils and hardships in." Then in September 1774, Washington "dined at Mr. [James] Tilghman’s" house in Talbot County, Maryland. By 1776, Tench was translating letters in French for Washington as indicated here and here. By August, he had brought a deserter to George Washington himself! In all, within Founders Online, are 78 letters from Tilghman to other individuals, sometimes Washington. As the National Park Service puts it, "at Valley Forge, almost 30% of the correspondence that came out of Washington’s headquarters was written by Tilghman." That's an amazing feat!

On March 19, 1784, Tench wrote from Baltimore,  saying that there are not any bricklayers but only carpenters, to Washington's Mt. Vernon as noted in other letters. So, he is basically a caretaker of Mt. Vernon? In a letter a few months later he added that Irish servants arrived, saying the following:

I shall attend to your direction of substituting a Stone Mason in the room of a Bricklayer, should circumstances require it—I will also make enquiry for a Stucco Worker...he must be perfect, otherwise, like a bad Painter, he will deface what he ought to decorate. I beg leave to take this opportunity of acknowledging the rect of your Excellency’s letter of the 19th of May from Philada accompanied by a Badge of the Order of the Cincinnati, of which Society I have the honor of being a Member...I therefore take pleasure in informing you that Mrs Tilghman presented me with a Daughter [Margaret] a fortnight ago [May 25], and that she and her little Charge are both perfectly well

The next letter, the following month, is in the same vein, adding that in Baltimore there is a "demand for Carpenters and Masons, that the Master Builders in those Branches who are settled here, in order to intice the new comers to give them a preference," notes about Irish coming to Baltimore to work, whom would take not take "less than the high daily Wages given to such Tradesmen here." Again, these are about those who are coming to work at Mr. Vernon, with Tench meeting with the workers themselves. He adds in another letter about Mt. Vernon's specifications: "The Door of the House to be as large as you can conveniently make it—otherwise when the Trees come to any size, the limbs are broken and the Fruit torn off in moving in and out."

By March 1785, Tench is clearly not the caretaker of Mt. Vernon anymore. Instead he writes about the daughter of "the late Capt. William Anderson of London" who is in a bad way, worries about the "the health of Mrs Washington and yourself" and adds that "Mrs Tilghman is upon a visit to her Friends upon the Eastern shore" whom he will soon join. By May, he gives even more of a story, adding that he is currently tied down by business in Baltimore:

How much you flatter me, my dear General (for by that name I must ever be allowd to call you) by your kind invitation to visit you [in Mt. Vernon]. My circumstances require a close attention to Business, and I am, on that account, cheifly confined to the limits of this Town. I often wish for a good pretence to go as far as Alexandria or George Town. Once there I should not fail to pay my Respects at Mount Vernon. If I ever find time to make a jaunt of pleasure—Mrs Tilghman will assuredly be of the party. She joins in sincerest Compliments to Mrs Washington and yourself

By August, he is talking about those on a ship called the Pallas, owned by a Mr. John O’Donnell, an Irish-born man, with the crew on the ship mostly "from the Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, and are much of the Countenance and Complexion of your old Groom Wormely." As always, he (and his wife) wishes George and his wife Martha well. Later he recommends a man named John Rawlins to work at Mt. Vernon, describing him as a "masterly Workman" while also saying that he only has one regret, that he cannot make a visit, saying that "my Business ties me down to the Circle of Baltimore."

By October, he describes his sickness as getting to him, even as he claims he is getting better:

You will wonder at my long silence; but you will excuse me when I inform you, that your letter of the 14th of Sept. found me confined to my Bed by a most Severe nervous Fever, which kept me there near four Weeks. I am now far from being recovered, but as I can mount my Horse, I take daily Exercise, and find my Health and Strength returning by slow degrees.

His next letter is a couple months later in December, in which he writes about meeting a man named "Count Castiglioni...who, in pursuit of Botanical Knowledge, has thought it worth his while to visit this, hitherto, almost unexplored Continent" whom he recommends Washington meet. The same month he writes Washington again talking about gentlemen he has recommended to Washington, and seems to be a sort of caretaker of Mt. Vernon again, writing that "the Work to be began at Mount Vernon by the 1st or middle of April next—at farthest." In other letters he writes about sickness of some of these workers, and about his "Brother James [who] lives at Talbot Court House, the Central spot of the Eastern Shore Counties, and convenient to the State of Delaware also."

In 1786, there are four letters written by Tench to Washington. The first is on January 16, for which he talks about setting Rawlins to work on fixing up Mt. Vernon, again writing about this in March. On March 16 he again writes about his sickness:

I have been confined upwards of a Fortnight in great measure, to my bed, by the return of a Complaint in my side with which I was troubled some time ago. I recover but very slowly, but I hope that as soon as I am able to enjoy the favorable Season which is approaching I shall soon get recruited.

On March 23 he writes his last letter to Washington, in which he says that

I am still unable to leave my Chamber, tho I think I am rather better than when I wrote to you last.

On April 22, Thomas Ringgold Tilghman, Tench's brother, tells Washington about Tench's death only a few days before:

I have the most melancholy Task to perform, that was ever yet imposed upon me; that of making you acquainted with the Death of my poor Brother Tench. Painful however as it is, I thought a duty not to be dispensed with towards one for whom he had so high a Reverence & so warm an Attachment as for yourself. Not above three days before his death every symptom bade fair for a speedy Recovery, when an unexpected Change took place, which in a short time destroyed every hope. He retained his senses perfectly till within a few hours of the time that he expired, which was in the Evening of the 18th, when he went off without the least pain & even without a struggle: As it is our Wish to settle his Affairs as speedily as possible, I enclose your account, the Bale of which £54.10.4 you will be pleased to pay into the hands of Messrs Josiah Watson & Co. of Alexanda which mode of settling it, is agreable to his Intentions.

To this, Washington replies the following month with almost a eulogy:

As there were few men for whom I had a warmer friendship, or greater regard than for your Brother—Colonel Tilghman—when living; so, with much truth I can assure you, that, there a⟨re⟩ none whose death I could more sincerely have regretted. and I pray you, & his numerous friends to permit me to mingle my sorrows with theirs on this unexpected & melancholy occasion—and that they would accept my compliments of condolence on it.

That is all that can be said about Tench in Baltimore. There are letters regarding his efforts at delivering surrender papers from Yorktown to Annapolis and then the Continental Congress in 1781. [2] Apparently one his descendants, years later, would be named Oswald. The Maryland State Archives gives a quick overview of Tench's later life:

...[his children were] Anna Margaretta, born May 24, 1784 [who married]...her cousin Tench Tilghman, son of Peregrine Tilghman of "Hope"...[and] Elizabeth Tench, born October 11, 1786 [who married] Col. Nicholas Goldsborough...In 1784 formed a partnership with Robert Morris in Baltimore called Tench Tilghman & Co. Lived on Lombard Street...[died] April 18, 1786 in Baltimore [and was] buried [in] St. Paul's Church.

Within their sources is a chancery court case in which Samuel Stringer Cole sued James Carey, Margaret Tilghman, and Elizabeth Tilghman, a Baltimore Sun article, Papenfuse's "Remarks to Board of Public Works, February 4, 1998," other remarks, and a program. Most interesting is the 18-pages of a scanned inventory, showing that he had the many possessions when noted in May 1786. Instead of reprinting each (as that stretches for 7 pages), I picked the ones I thought were representative:

1 small sword 1 gold watch 10 coats with gold epaulets for a coat 13 shirts 14 socks 17 handkerchiefs 1 saddle cloth 1 pair of pistols 1 riding stick and 1 pair of spurs 2 military books 1 sword belt 22 silver table spoons 24 silver desert spoons 24 silver desert spoons and sugar tongs 12 Mahogany chairs 12 pewter dishes 100 lb good brown sugar

This showed his class position in society without a doubt, especially that he rode on a horse but did not own a plantation with enslaved blacks like his contemporaries (i.e. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington). The letter by Thomas to George Washington is not a surprise because he was the administrator of Tench's estate. Today, the MHS has papers specifically on the Tilghman family, as does the Library of Australia. Some even wrote a poem about him, with Washington placing "Tilghman among the prominent of the Revolution" as one writer put it.

Tench's wife, Anna Maria TilghmanBefore getting to Tench and Anna Maria's children, it is worth talking about Anna Maria. Buried on Talbot County MD, her former home was Plimhimmon, with her parents as Matthew Tilghman, an important figure in Maryland politics during the Revolutionary War, and Anna Lloyd, from the Lloyd family which was deeply rooted in Talbot County and also involved in local politics in the state (then a colony) of Maryland. Matthew's brother was James, who was the father of Tench, who had three other siblings (Richard, Anna Maria, and William). Anna Maria was, as the story goes, born at the "Hermitage," the family's plantation not to be confused with Andrew Jackson's home of the same name.Later, the "Hope House," established in 1800 would be the "Home of Tench Tilghman and his wife, Margaret Tilghman" with this Margaret Tilghman the "niece of Margaret Tilghman Carroll of Mount Clare – the daughter of Margaret’s sister Anna Maria and her husband, Colonel Tench Tilghman." Apparently in the Talbot County Historical Society hangs a copy of a "167-year-old portrait of Anna Maria...where she looks down through her old-fashioned glasses at the goings-on of the 21st century world," with the original in " the Shreve home."

Tench and Anna Maria's first daughter, Ann Margaretta

Ann Margaretta, or called Margaret for short, was born in 1755 as I noted in the previous post.As the letters above note, Margaret was born sometime in March 1784. Before her untimely death on March 18, 1812, she married a man named Tench Tilghman, the son of Peregrine Tilghman (whose father was Richard Tilghman who was the brother of Tench's father, James) and Deborah Lloyd. With this Tench she had three children. One of them, with the same name as his father, Tench, was mentioned in the pension documents in the previous article, while the other two children, an infant and William Ward, were not since they did not live very long (the infant died at less than a year old and William at age 4). Family history sites don't say much about her, except that her son Tench would be the future founder of the Maryland & Delaware railroad.

Nothing else can be currently determined.

Tench and Anna Maria's second daughter, Elizabeth

From our previous post it was clear that Elizabeth was born after Tench's death. Her gravestone only says she was 65 years old when she died on May 5, 1852, meaning she she can be the child of Tench and Anna Maria even though simple subtraction pegs her birth date in 1787 (when it was likely late 1786 but her birth date had not come up when she died). We also know that she married a man named C.T. Goldsborough and seemingly had a child named M. Tilghman Goldsborough and that she lived until at least 1843. Her gravestone shows that her husband was not "C.T. Goldsborough" but a man named Nicholas Goldsborough, and that she had six children with him:

Matthew Tilghman Goldsborough (1812–1861) [undoubtedly the same as "M. Tilghman Goldsborough"] James Nicholas Goldsborough (1814–1871) A Margaretta Goldsborough Hollyday (1816–1878) Sally Goldsborough (1827–1870) Nicholas Goldsborough (1829–1891) Mary Henrietta Goldsborough (1834–1907)

Due to the fact that she died in 1852, this is great for discovering more of her history, since she has to be in the 1850 census, the first that names all of those in the household, not just the head of the household.

Looking up Nicholas's name we find a record of his birth, but also the 1850 census for "Talbot county, part of, Talbot, Maryland, United States."  Rather than just linking the census it is worth reprint the image of the census itself, showing a household of 12 individuals!

Nicholas is called a Colonel, from what I can see, and is a farmer, with the Symthe family also living with them.

Before this, the 1820 census shows a Nicholas Goldsborough in "Trappe, Talbot, Maryland, United States," the 1830 census show a man of the same name in "Talbot, Maryland, United States" while the 1840 census shows a man by the same name in "District 3, Talbot, Maryland, United States." One can say these men are the same and that they are undoubtedly Elizabeth's husband of the same name. Additionally, it is likely that Elizabeth was living with him. Other records, within the 1850 "slave schedules" show that her husband is clearly a slaveowner, of at least three individuals. Hence, the Tilghman family could not escape slavery and was part of it without a doubt.

It is hard to say when Elizabeth married Nicholas. I say that because the 1800, 1810,  1820, and 1840, censuses show a woman named "Elizabeth Tilghman" in Talbot County, alone. Likely the "Mariah E Tilghman" in the 1840 census is Tench (the 1st)'s wife.

The story of Henrietta Maria Francis

As I noted in my post last week, a woman named Henrietta Maria Francis was first "acquainted" with Tench (in 1780), when she was age 25, and married the uncle of Tench, in 1783, with Tench visiting them after their marriage. She said in her deposition in the pension that:

...she intermarried with Philip Francis, the uncle of the said Tench Tilghman in the year seventeen hundred and eighty and was in the year seventeen hundred and eighty three was living near Eden Park, near the town of Wilmington, in Delaware, and that the said Col Tench Tilghman, before his marriage, and in the month of March of March seventeen hundred and eighty three made a visit to the despondents husband, at [Eden Park]

One history of Tench seems to mention this Philip fellow, saying that he is the brother of Anna Francis, the wife of James Tilghman, Tench's father, while another individual, "Tench Francis" is mentioned as Tench's uncle. Find A Grave is no help in this regard, only finding three individuals with the name of "Tench Francis." Other searches note a man named "Sir Philip Francis" but it not known of this is the same as Henrietta Maria's husband. The Wikipedia page for Tench Francis Sr gives the biggest clue:

Tench Francis (born probably in Ireland; died 16 August 1758) was a prominent lawyer and jurist in colonial Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...In 1724 he married Elizabeth Turbutt. Together, they had [a number of children including] Philip Francis, who married Henrietta Maria Goldsborough, who were the grandparents of Philip Francis Thomas...[and] Ann Francis, who married James Tilghman, who were the parents of Tench Tilghman...Tench Francis died in Philadelphia in 1758.

So, Henrietta Maria's maiden name was Goldsborough and her husband, Philip Francis, had the same father as Tench's mother, Ann Francis. Searching for "Henrietta Maria Goldsborough" turns up varied results on Find A Grave so it is not known which, if any, are the same as Philip's wife. The same can be said for the results on Family Search. Tech does seem to call him "Phil Francis" in 1776 so perhaps Henrietta did know Tench well.

Conclusion

The Tilghman family is a gift that keeps giving for research, one that can continue to be mined for research. For now there won't be a follow-up article, but if anything else comes up in the future, an article adding to previous documents may be released. As always, I look forward to your comments.

© 2017-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Continued in part 2

[seekfirst-community]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2022. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.net

Meditation: Like all godly Jewish parents, Joseph and Mary raised the child Jesus in the reverence and wisdom of the Lord. Joseph was given a unique task as the guardian and protector of Mary and of Jesus. What can we learn from the example and witness of Joseph? Joseph is a man of God, a man of unquestioning obedience and willing service. He is a man of prayer and a man of God's word. Through faith he recognized the hand of God in the mystery of the Incarnation - the Son of God taking on flesh as the son of the virgin Mary.

Joseph is a man of action, diligent in the care of his family and ready to do the Lord's bidding. Joseph fearlessly set aside his own plans when God called him to "take to the road" and to leave his familiar surroundings - his home, friends and relatives, and the security of his livelihood in order to pursue a hidden mission God entrusted to him as the guardian of the newborn King.

God has a plan for each one of us. With the plan God gives grace and the assurance of his guiding hand and care. Do you trust your heavenly Father for his plan for your life? Are you willing to sacrifice your own plans for the sake of God's plan? Are you willing to give God unquestioning service and to pursue whatever mission he gives you?

"Lord Jesus, make me a faithful servant of your word and guardian of your truth. Help me to obey you willingly, like Joseph and Mary, with unquestioning trust and with joyful hope."

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2022.

herod in your home

“Herod is searching for the Child to destroy Him.” —Matthew 2:13

Modern-day “Herods” are still searching for children to destroy (Mt 2:13). These Herods gain entry to the home right under the nose of the parents, who are paralyzed or asleep on the watch (see Mt 26:40). Once the new Herods gain access to the home, they attempt to take over formation of the children in that home.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton prophesied in the 1800’s that evil would come into every home through a “black box.” There are many such “boxes” in the modern home. Television is a major point of entry for modern Herods. Yes, there are godly TV channels and programs. Yet Herod constantly lurks, a mere thumb-click away from infiltrating the child’s mind and soul. Video games and cartoons often immerse children in violence. The child is gradually desensitized to human suffering, which can lead to violent attitudes and behaviors. Herod works through the internet, “prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). Herod enters a child’s soul through his eyes and ears. Children listen to secular music with ungodly lyrics for hours through black “boxes” such as tablets, smartphones, etc.

Parents, create a holy home environment. With God, you can more than conquer the culture of death (Rm 8:37). Evict Herod from every room of your home. Welcome Jesus to take Herod’s place (see Rv 3:20). Make Jesus the Lord of your home. Your house is His, and He wants it to be “full” (Lk 14:23) of love and faith.

Prayer:  Father, give parents the strength to “test everything; retain what is good” (1 Thes 5:21). May parents be holy in their conduct (1 Pt 1:15) so evil has no foothold in the home.

Promise:  “Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect.” —Col 3:14

Praise:  “Give to the Lord, you families...give to the Lord glory and praise” (Ps 96:7).

Reference:  (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from December 1,2022 through January 31,2023. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio April 12, 2022"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements