What did house servants do in the southern colonies?

Enslaved house servants labored in both large rural plantation households and large urban houses, as well as in urban taverns and hotels. They performed all the jobs involved with keeping a private or public house running, which included the labor inside the house as well as the care of horses and carriages.

What is the difference between house slaves and field slaves?

Darker-skinned slaves worked in the fields, while lighter-skinned house servants had comparatively better clothing, food and housing. Referred to as “house negroes”, they had a higher status and standard of living than a field slave or “field negro” who worked outdoors.

What jobs did house slaves do?

House slaves served the plantation family. Among some of their duties, women cooked, cleaned, and sewed. Men worked as stable hands, footmen, and butlers. Their tasks seemed less physically demanding than those of field slaves who labored to plow, plant, and harvest the plantation crops.

When did households stop having servants?

It was the beginning of the end. Domestic service dropped by more than half between 1940 and 1950. After the war, wages remained high. In a bid to sidestep labor laws, employers paid nannies and cleaners under the table instead of hiring servants full-time.

What do personal servants do?

The term personal servant differed from one plantation to another, as some applied the phrase broadly—encompassing all servants who worked within a household (as opposed to outside it)—while others considered personal servants only as butlers, houseboys, or personal maids assigned to one master for life.

How were indentured servants treated?

Indentured servants were frequently overworked, especially on the Southern plantations during planting and harvesting season. Corporal punishment of indentured servants was expected for rule infractions but some servants were beaten so severely they later died. Many servants were disfigured or disabled.

Did house slaves sleep in the house?

House slaves often lived in the plantation house. They might have had a space to sleep near the kitchen, laundry, or stable. House slaves usually had better clothing than slaves in the field because they often received their slave owners’ old clothes. Some slaves received shoes; many did not receive any.

What was an advantage of being a house servant in the Old South?

House slaves usually lived better than field slaves. They usually had better food and were sometimes given the family’s cast-off clothing.

How many hours did slaves sleep?

Sixteen to eighteen hours of work was the norm on most West Indian plantations, and during the season of sugarcane harvest, most slaves only got four hours of sleep.

What did female servants do?

To launder, sew, empty chamber pots, dust, haul water for baths, light fires, and shop–all these duties fell within the realm of women’s work. Although household positions came with wages, the domestic burden lay upon the female.

Do ladies maids still exist?

Duties include: care of the wardrobe and a Lady’s private rooms, care, cleaning, pressing and mending of a Lady’s clothes, preparation of clothes for packing. Today this role is still sought after and Marshall Harber have placed many successful lady’s maids.

Where does a lady’s maid sleep?

So, the housekeeper usually slept near the maid-servants, and a female head cook slept near the Kitchen. The lady’s maid was placed as close as possible to her mistress so that she could provide immediate attendance. Sometimes her room was also large enough for her to accomplishing starching.

What is the main difference between slaves and indentured servants?

Indentured servitude differed from slavery in that it was a form of debt bondage, meaning it was an agreed upon term of unpaid labor that usually paid off the costs of the servant’s immigration to America. Indentured servants were not paid wages but they were generally housed, clothed, and fed.

What did slaves homes look like?

Slaves typically lived in small log houses coated with a plaster made of mud and other materials to keep out the wind, rain, and snow; a brick fireplace was centered in the largest part of the structure. Dirt floors were most common, and wooden chimneys that could be moved as needed were attached.

What did enslaved house servants do?

Enslaved house servants labored on large rural plantations and in urban homes, as well as in urban taverns and hotels, performing all the jobs involved with keeping a private or public house running.

What were the benefits of being a house servant?

House servants tended to receive slightly better cloth and clothing allowances than other enslaved laborers, although this likely varied depending on the size of the home and the likelihood of outside visitors.

Did slaveholders ever mention the names of their house servants?

Letters and other written records kept by slaveholders rarely mention the names of enslaved house servants. One notable exception can be found in the records of Monticello, the Albemarle County home of Thomas Jefferson.

Were house servants at Monticello mixed-race?

At Monticello, members of the mixed-race Hemings family, many of whom were related to Jefferson’s wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, largely labored in the mansion house. But contrary to popular tradition, house servants at elite plantations were not more likely to be mixed race.