Servant Girls in the Gilded Age

by Susan G Mathis

To work “in service” meant living within the employer’s home—often a large brownstone in Manhattan, a country estate along the Hudson, or, for the fortunate, a genteel household in the blossoming summer retreats of the Thousand Islands or Long Island.

Their duties could be endless. A kitchen maid might rise before dawn to light the fires. A chambermaid scrubbed floors and emptied chamber pots. A parlor maid dusted the fine furniture and answered bells. A nursemaid tended to children who might have more toys than she’d ever seen in her life.

For girls who had grown up with little, these homes were both awe-inspiring and alien. They witnessed luxury firsthand—velvet drapes, china tea sets, and glittering chandeliers—but they belonged to none of it. Still, many found pride in their work, friendship in the kitchen, and a sense of purpose in doing their duties well.

The orphanages that sent these girls into service often gave them more than just training—they gave them a sense of faith and family. For girls between 13 and 16, this transition was both terrifying and defining. Some were mistreated or dismissed without cause. Others, through diligence and kindness, became trusted members of the households they served. A few even used their wages to attend night school or to help bring siblings or cousins from Ireland.

Through it all, they leaned on one another. Many corresponded with “sisters” from the orphanage, exchanging letters of encouragement and prayer—a sisterhood forged in hardship and strengthened by hope.

These Irish servant girls lived in a world divided by class and expectation. They were both insiders and outsiders—present at family dinners but invisible; indispensable to daily life but rarely acknowledged. Yet their contribution was immense.

Their stories remind us that history’s heroines are not always queens or reformers. Sometimes they are thirteen-year-old girls with work-roughened hands and steadfast hearts—lighting fires before dawn, whispering prayers beneath their breath, and believing that even a servant’s life could shine with purpose.

In my newest novel, Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas, seven young women prepare their hearts for a deeper calling, and each young woman must face the truth of her past and the hope of her future.

ABOUT IRISH ROSE ORPHANS’ CHRISTMAS:

Seven young women experience their last Christmas together before stepping into lives of service. United by trials and an unbreakable bond, they’ve pledged to remain “forever sisters.” But as the season of parting approaches, buried wounds rise to the surface. When Sister Rose invites the girls to prepare their hearts during Advent for a deeper calling, each young woman must face the truth of her past and the hope of her future. This Christmas, seven orphans will discover that no matter where life leads them, love and faith will go with them.

ABOUT SUSAN:

Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than thirty times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has sixteen in her fiction line. Susan is also a published author of two premarital books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. Susan lives in Northern Virginia and enjoys traveling the world. Visit www.SusanGMathis.com/fiction for more.