Photograph of Mount Hope household servants with caption identifying 'Daddy Tom,' 'Daddy Smith,' Ellen the cook, and 'Mauma Chloe' the nurse
Book 2, Page 27 ·1890–1910
Transcription
A sepia photograph of four household servants posed together outdoors — two men at left, two women at right in long dark skirts and head-wraps. Caption beneath in blue ink:
Four of the negro servants at Mount Hope — “Daddy Tom” — who had charge of the cows — “Daddy Smith” — the yard man — and who was most particular about our behavior. He worked for Dad as a very young man, and stayed in his service until he died — when a very old man. Ellen our cook — and wonderful one — “Mauma Chloe” — the nurse —
AI Notes
A single sepia photograph mounted in a dark gray card mat at the top of a ruled album page. The image shows four Black household servants of the FitzSimons family at Mount Hope plantation: two men (at left, in hats and dark vests) and two women (at right, in long skirts and head-wraps). Beneath, in blue ink, a four-line caption written by Amy FitzSimons identifies each by their household nickname and role. The ‘Dad’ Daddy Smith began working for is Amy’s father Samuel Gaillard FitzSimons Sr. (‘Mister Simons’). The page documents post-emancipation domestic staff of Mount Hope; the language and racial terminology are those of the compiler ca. 1900–1910 and are preserved here verbatim as a historical record. Mauma Judy and her sister Ellen, the cook, are also recalled on p009 and p008 of this book; Daddy Smith reappears on p009 as the one who finally caught a red bird loose in the nursery.
corrected the photo description from “three men and one woman” to two men and two women — which matches the caption’s four named people (two “Daddy”-prefixed men, plus Ellen and Mauma Chloe). The “Dad” Daddy Smith worked for is Amy’s father Samuel Gaillard FitzSimons Sr. Daddy Smith reappears in Amy’s nursery memoir on p009.