A Day in the Life of an Enslaved Lady's Maid | These Roots Episode 1

My name is Cheyney McKnight i'm a living  historian and i live and work in the spaces   of black folks throughout society in  order to better understand their lives   from the north to the south east to west join us  and learning about the day-to-day lives of black   folks throughout North American society this is  Not Your Momma's History presents These Roots This month we're at stratford plantation  exploring what the day-to-day life was like   for enslaved persons who worked in the great  houses of plantations in colonial Virginia   Stratford Hall was home to four generations  of the Lee family like the Washingtons   the Randolphs and the Carters they had land money  and lots of enslaved persons that made their   lavish lifestyle possible and today i'll show  you what it was like for enslaved ladies maids   we don't know specifically which of the enslaved  women would have attended to the lady of the great   house at stratford hall plantation but Fick who  is listed in Philip Ludwell Lee's 1776 probate   could have possibly been Elizabeth's Steptoe  Lee's enslaved lady's maid a lady's maid's job   was not as laborious as other enslaved persons but  it was just as exhausting physically and mentally   her skills were mini she was in charge of  dressing her mistress changing her mistress   clothes throughout the day she trained in the  care of clothing hairdressing makeup creation and   application she was her mistress stylist and was  expected to keep up with latest fashions and even   sometimes acted as a dressmaker and milliner and  while literacy was not required it was desirable   in order to keep up with the latest fashion trends  a well-known ladies maid was Ona Judge who was   ladies made to Martha Washington Ona would later  escape citing a desire to simply be a free person   according to enslavers skilled ladies maids were  hard to come by so their financial value was high   her day started around 7 30 a.m a bit later than  other enslaved servants her schedule was not set   and dictated by the schedule of her enslavers  simply put she rose when her enslavers did   the dress and hygiene of enslaved servants in  the house were strictly regulated by then slavers   unlike their brethren in the fields who tended  to have more control over dress and hairdressing   enslaved servants hair clothing and apartment  were closely monitored hair skin and nails were   expected to be visibly free of dirt even though  soap was not always allotted to enslaved servants   they were expected to independently find ways of  keeping themselves clean to the eyes and pleasing   to the nerves the clothing of the enslaved was  different on every plantation what an enslaved   servant in the household war was dependent on the  enslaver's wealth station and style a lady's maid   could be given hand-me-downs from her enslaver  sent to a dressmaker to have clothes made for her   or be ordered to make them herself we do not  know what an enslaved servant at stratford hall   plantation would have worn but looking at images  of European ladies maids and runaway ads we have   an idea Sarah described as a negro woman enslaved  as a house servant and seamstress in prince george   county she carried with her several changes of  apparel among which are remembered a red and   white calico jacket and petticoat a white holland  and blue plains ditto a red flannel petticoat   a purple cloth cloak a black furred hat with the  gold band button and loop a black silk hat several   white linen ships and aprons a spotted yarn rug  and dutch blanket a pair of english made leather   shoes and several pairs of thread cotton and  worsted stockings with a small red leather trunk at Stratford Hall enslaved servants  lived either in the quarters   in the great house or in slave quarters  a ways away from the great house in 1759 at about the age of 16  Elizabeth Steptoe married 32 year old   Philip Ludwell Lee becoming  the mistress of stratford hall   this would have been an advantageous match for her  family as Philip Ludwell-Lee was a well-connected   member of the Virginia gentry elected to  many governmental positions over his life   Elizabeth most likely would have been  trained all her life to take on this position the operation of a manor home fell to the mistress  her main job was as overseer of the house in   charge of directing supervising and disciplining  all enslaved workers within the domestic sphere   she was also in charge of deciding  what meals were served every day   oh what do we do about eggs today though you  don't mind man i suggest that we go down to see uh   Benjamin and his wife down in Chantilly  they raise and sell chicken eggs themselves   well that's a fine plan you may do that oh and  while i'm thinking about it the Randolphs are   coming to the midday meal she was also organizing  social gatherings entertaining guests keeping up   with household expenses and when her husband  was away a business partner though her job was   challenging she most likely rarely or if ever got  her hands physically dirty doing domestic chores   all that fell to an army of enslaved workers she  most likely didn't even put on her own clothes   as that job usually fell to enslaved ladies  made in wealthy households such as this   maybe mr carter if he's home not in his townhouse keeping up with the latest hair styling and  fashion was imperative to pleasing a young   mistress it was the summer before his daughter  came down to the table and she put her hand in   front of her button in front of her face and when  her father inquired what had happened of course   made her remove the hand he discovered  that she shaved off her eyebrows can you believe it and she tried to blame  it on her brother but you know he's quite   the troublemaker but he clearly did not do  this it turns out an enslaved ladies maid   had to walk a tight rope she had to always be  aware that the familiarity she enjoyed with   her mistress was a one-sided friendship her  mistress could share all her worries with her   but she could not share all her worries with her  enslaver a form of code switching was employed an enslaved ladies maid had  to be intelligent and creative   enough to be useful yet docile and  meek as not to intimidate and offend a people person that can read moods in  order to anticipate her mistress needs   she was also a pipeline of information from the  enslavers home to the enslaved community it was   important for her to understand that the flow of  information could go both ways if she was careless   a member of the enslaved community she knew many  of its secrets at times members of the enslaved   community may implore her to speak with their  enslaver about things that concern them such as   clothing allotments travel passes medical care and  family member whereabouts as well as slave sales it was usually those that interacted with  enslavers the most that heard about upcoming   slave sales first and could if they chose provide  an early warning system to the enslaved community   an enslaved ladies maid usually  traveled with her in slavery vic could be summoned again for wardrobe  changes and touch-ups throughout the day it was fixed job to be a confidant a caregiver  and anything else Elizabeth wanted her to be   she was the first face she saw in the morning  and the last before her head at the pillow   she was always ready to be called on  throughout the day or night while her   mistress is going about her day a ladies maid  has a variety of duties to occupy her day everything was expected to be  pristine and of the utmost quality Fick sewed clothes that she could never wear  and made makeup that she could never use   in addition to their main duties ladies  maids also did general housekeeping work Fick would have been expected to stay awake and  close by until her mistress was ready for bed   she could be expected to stay up until the  rising sun depending on which guests are there   of course not they're gonna  be up there until 2 a.m eat you out of house and home but i'm about done with this  here how about going up um we don't know the end of Fick's story but from  records we know that in 1801 she was taken to   the Westmoreland courthouse to be put up as  collateral for henry lee's non-payment of debts   apparently the leaves were able to satisfy  the debt or get her back in some other way   because carter lee talks about seeing mammy thick  and other enslaved servants standing in the door   as his family sees him off to boarding school in  1807 and that's all we know about her later years

Channel: NotYourMommasHistory

Views: 5,981,852

Keywords: Black History, Juneteenth, Slavery, Virginia history, Bridgerton, 18th century hair, 18th century make up, 18th century fashion, lady's maids, house slave, servants, American slaves, Black History month, Virginia slavery, Learn about slavery, Slavery in Virginia

Id: Zg94KjclLJo

Length: 14min 31sec (871 seconds)

Published: Tue May 25 2021