Today I decided to check the Hartford Daily Courant for help wanted ads. Perhaps Mary answered one of these ads in
order to secure a position as a domestic servant in Philo’s household.
I searched the Harford
Courant Archives from 1860 to 1870 using street addresses found in Hartford
city directories [2]:
Directory [3]
|
House Address for Philo L. Ives
|
1860-61
|
Not
listed
|
1861-62
|
Not
listed
|
1862-63
|
Not
listed
|
1864-65
|
7 High
|
1865-66
|
7 High
|
1866-67
|
7 High
|
1867-68
|
7 High
|
1868-69
|
City
Hotel
|
1869-70
|
88
Church
|
1870-71
|
88
Church
|
Mary is listed on the 1870 census as a domestic servant – so
I searched for help wanted ads applying to 88 Church, but also 7 High Street in
case Mary worked for the family there, too.
The most recent classified ad I found in the Hartford Courant archives for “88 Church”
was indeed a help wanted ad – but printed in 1866 – before Philo had moved to Church Street. It was a simple ad:
“WANTED – A competent girl to cook, wash and iron; also a
girl to do second work. Inquire at 88 Church
St.” [4]
Since I didn’t find any ads past 1866 for “88 Church,” I
decided to search for ads related to “7 High” Street. I found three that may have applied to Philo,
dating from 1863 to 1867. The 1867 ad
was simple too, but an eye-opener:
“WANTED – An experienced Nurse wanted to take care of a
child four months old. Good references required. Apply to 7 High Street.” [5]
The ad was printed on 24 June 1867. This means that if the four-month-old child
belonged to Philo’s household at the time, that child may have been listed on the
1870 census around the age of three.
And, indeed, three-year-old Edith Ives appears in Philo’s household in
1870, just two lines above Mary Murphy’s name [6].
Was Mary Murphy a “Nurse?”
All that was required for this
particular position were good references and experience.
I will add more about nurses and domestic service in my next
post as I learn more about domestic servants.
Remember that in 1870, “domestic servant” was a catch-all term in the
census. The census instructions to Assistant
Marshalls specifically stated:
“The organization of
domestic service has not proceeded so far in this country as to render it worth
while to make distinction in the character of work. Report all as
'domestic servants.’ ” [7]
This would seem to include “nurses”
who took care of four-month-old children.
Notes:
[1] 1870 U. S. census,
Hartford County, Connecticut, population schedule, Hartford, p. 12, line 30,
dwelling 93, family 98, Philo L. Ives household; digital image, Ancestry.com
(http://www.ancestry.com
: accessed 18 October 2013), citing FHL film 545,599,
citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 100.
[2] The Hartford Courant Archives are located online
at http://www.courant.com.
[3] All data from Hartford
city directories were found in the “U. S. City Directories, 1821-1989” database
at Ancestry.com.
[4] Hartford Courant, archives, citing Hartford Daily Courant, 27 April 1866, p. 3; Hartford Courant (http://www.courant.com
: accessed 22 October 2013).
[5] Ibid., Hartford Daily Courant, 24 June 1867, p.
5, accessed 22 October 2013.
[6] 1870 U. S. census,
Hartford County, Connecticut, population schedule, Hartford, p. 12, line 30,
dwelling 93, family 98, Philo L. Ives household; digital image, Ancestry.com
(http://www.ancestry.com
: accessed 18 October 2013), citing FHL film 545,599,
citing National Archives microfilm publication M593, roll 100.
[7] “Ninth Census, United States, 1870, Instructions
to Assistant Marshalls,” United States Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov
: accessed 18 October 2013).
