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History - Servants
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In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, live-in domestic servants worked for wealthy and middle class families. To gain middle class status, the lady of the house needed to be free of heavy work, allowing her to pursue cultural activities and become involved in her community. Most families employed one servant, known as a "maid-of-all-work." In Cedar Rapids, a small number had two servants, and an exclusive group hired three or more servants. At Brucemore, the Douglases, a family of five, employed a butler, one or two maids, a cook, a nanny, a coachman/chauffeur, and a head gardener who supervised five to eight men on the grounds. Although the Brucemore staff was quite sophisticated for Cedar Rapids, it was small compared to those of their social peers in other areas of the nation.
The Douglases lived in a time when changes in society and culture made hiring and managing servants more difficult. Many factors contributed to a growing "servant problem:" the difficulty of finding and keeping a "good" servant. As many American-born women started taking jobs in department stores and factories, fewer of them were willing to work in domestic service. Even though domestic service often paid better than factory or department store work, the lack of personal freedom, unpredictable and long hours, and the social stigma discouraged women from taking these positions. Employers frequently turned to immigrants and African-Americans, whose employment opportunities were limited. Most of them were strangers to their employers: they came from unfamiliar families and brought different languages, customs, religions, and skin colors into these homes. However, by the 1920s, World War I and immigration restrictions and limited the servant labor pool. Middle class housewives gradually stopped hiring live-in servants in favor of new household appliances and day workers. Wealthy families continued to hire live-in servants to illustrate social status and maintain their larger homes and estates.
Iowa and other Midwestern states had lower servant populations than the Northeast and South. In Cedar Rapids and Linn County, many Bohemian and German immigrants, along with American-born girls, worked as servants. While this was the case at Brucemore, the Douglases also employed male servants and professional help from other countries. Having male servants signified high social position, and families paid them higher salaries. Men generally filled positions that required them to be visible to family and guests. Over the years, the Douglases hired a French butler and maid and several Englishmen, including chauffeur Charles Horn and brothers Alfred and Bert Batten, butler and chauffeur, respectively. At any given time, a mix of immigrants and American-born servants lived and worked on the servants' side of the mansion.
Most servants working at Brucemore lived either in the mansion or on the estate. Like other large homes built in the 1880s, the mansion had clearly defined areas for family and staff. Because the workspaces and servants' quarters could be completely closed off, servants were virtually invisible to the family and their guests. Designed to be simple and functional, the servants' side allowed for the most efficient use of an employee's time. Servants working inside the house (maids, butler, and cook) generally lived on the third floor. The head gardener and house staff with families lived on site in the servants' duplex. The duplex was part of a small "village" that consisted of support and recreation buildings: a greenhouse, barn, chicken coop, and squash court/bookbindery. After World War I, "living-in" became less common as servants wanted more freedom. In the mid- to late-1920s, some members of the Douglases' staff chose to live away from Brucemore, but the majority still lived on site.
One employee, Ella McDannel, had a more complex relationship with the Douglas family. As the children's nanny, she lived on the second floor with the family. Her bedroom was located next to the nursery and featured a marble edged fireplace and a pleasant view of the front lawn. Ella McDannel, fondly named "Danny the Nanny" by the Douglas girls, was the same age as Mrs. Douglas and had a nursing degree from St. Luke's. The Douglases hired her in January 1909, one month after Barbara's birth. Her primary duties involved caring for the three girls. In her diary, she documented their milestones, illnesses, birthday parties, sleepovers, and other events. On January 23, 1910, Danny wrote that Barbara had "a vocabulary of twenty words and stands alone," and on May 3, 1910, "Baby realized that she could walk today." Danny's diary suggests that the staff shared some duties even though most multi-servant households were very specialized. Her other tasks included cleaning, dusting, mending, sewing, and washing Mrs. Douglases' hair. Danny stayed with the Douglases long after they needed the services of the nanny. In the later years, she is listed in city directories as "maid" or "housekeeper." She left the family by 1930 but remained in contact with them.
Danny's length of employment was surpassed only by Bert Batten's. He was the first member of his family to work at Brucemore. The Battens came to the United States from England in 1912. Bert began working for the Douglases in 1915 and stayed until Irene's death in 1937. In addition to driving cars, the chauffeur had to have the ability to maintain them. Alf, Bert's older brother, and his wife Ivy spent eleven years as butler and maid for the Douglases.
In addition to the specialized house staff, the Douglases hired men to maintain their gardens and thirty-three acre property. The head gardener, usually the highest paid employee on site, was an important part of the staff. His job included selecting plants, operating the greenhouse, and planning the care of the grounds. In the spring and summer, he supervised five or more gardeners. In the winter, his responsibilities included snow removal and firing up the boilers in the mansion. Archie White, the Douglases' last head gardener, worked for the family for nearly sixteen years. Irene Douglas, herself a knowledgeable gardener, trusted Archie completely with the care of the gardens and grounds. While away from Brucemore, she wrote to him about maintenance issues and interesting plants that she had seen. Archie, who was born in Jamaica, British West Indies, married Jeanie Hepburn in Cedar Rapids. They raised their children Agnes and Edward in the Brucemore duplex.
The experiences of servants varied widely, but most had things in common. Although they worked in some of the most intimate spaces of the home, they did not share all of its benefits. At Brucemore, a larger staff allowed for greater specialization in jobs but also some sharing of tasks. These servants probably enjoyed greater flexibility and more personal time than the typical maid-of-all-work did.
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