Anne Langton on Chores and Servants

[Yellowed sketch of a small 19^th century room with books and chairs]

Even when she feels overwhelmed by all the chores, and things, the packing and unpacking barrels of pork all the time; and having to bake bread over and over because whatever hop rising or salt/vinegar inversions, she’s making if one of them doesn’t work.  At one point she says, “I often thought, and I might as well say it now, that this is grumbling day.  Woman is a bit of a slave in this country.” [laughter]

[Photo of woman in 19^th century dress sitting on a well]

One of the other “hardships” that Anne talks about in her journals is the difficulty in securing servants.  Never mind servants who are well trained and can know how to look after things, but just getting anyone who would come and help and stay for more than a few months, because people were not used to that kind of social strata in this country.  She is talking a lot about people who are young, maybe fourteen, fifteen years old, and who would come for maybe a few, a month at a time and then just decide “Oh well, no I am needed at home, so I have to go, and you are on your own.”  She also talks about the Dunsfords for a long time not using any servants at all.  But then there were five daughters in the family, so they probably took up the slack.

She talks about the chores that she and her mother must carry out, like the slaughtering of a pig, or the upholstering of the furniture.  And then try to get someone to come and help in a “grand scrubbing day.”  Going down to help John keep his place in order, because he of course still had his little shanty, which was separate from the main house.

All of these chores being so despairing of the servants who decide to milk the cow at the front door – at the step of the front door.  This is the idea, the Canadian idea of tidiness, milking your cow at the front door.  Needless to say they didn’t have very far to carry the milk.   And then, you know, her mother being so distraught because one of the servants has scattered the line of water, of the soapy water, all over the flowerbeds; which didn’t do that much good.

But then she is also very generous about those that do help.  Mary Scarry, which is the strangest name I ever heard, was one of their neighbours who used to come and help them out all the time.  And she constantly thanks her; give thanks for Mary Scarry, in their time of need throughout the journal.  So presumably she became a life long friend.

She takes an interest in the others as well.  There was one called Sally Jordan.  There is a mention in the journal that she is a little worried about Sally Jordan because she says, “She has given all her old lovers the slip… and she is to be married to someone who has only just come out.”   And then she says, that she thinks,  “It has been arranged by her father and not Sally herself.”  And you can tell that Anne doesn’t approve of that – that in a way, she is a bit of a new woman on that score.  She doesn’t think that… she believes that Sally should have made her own choice and not has to take someone who the father thinks is a good idea.  And yet, she helps out with the wedding preparations and talks about that in the journal too.  And how everyone went to the church, and the church was packed and so on.

But back to the servants, she is constantly in despair.  One of the lines is “ Oh the new girl will not do.  She is utterly impossible and is unacceptable in every way.”  But then, “We are fond of her, so we’ll keep her.”

[Photograph of three small 19^th century leather bound books]