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.

Irish Orphan Girls

By Susan G Mathis


In the 1870s, hundreds of Irish orphan girls, many between the ages of 13 and 16, left the only homes they’d ever known—city orphanages and asylums—and stepped into a world that demanded both obedience and resilience. Their destination—the grand houses and estates of America’s growing middle and upper classes. Their occupation—domestic servants.

Behind the lace curtains and polished silver of the Gilded Age, their hands made life run smoothly—and their quiet strength helped shape the households of a new nation.

The story of these girls began decades earlier, across the Atlantic. The Irish Potato Famine and its aftermath had devastated families and communities. Waves of Irish immigrants—many widowed mothers or orphaned children—flooded into American port cities like New York and Boston, hoping for work and food.

But life in these cities was harsh. The Irish were often despised, forced into overcrowded tenements, and paid meager wages. For the countless children left parentless by disease, accident, or poverty, the only refuge was the orphanage.

By the 1870s, these institutions were full of Irish children. Among them, teenage girls stood at a crossroads—too old to adopt easily, too young to live on their own. The answer, for many, was service.

At orphanages like The Irish Rose Asylum, daily life was built around routine and discipline. The girls learned not only reading and religion but also jobs that would secure their future employment like laundry, mending, and ironing, sewing and embroidery, cooking and serving meals, polishing brass and silverware, childcare and nursing.

By the time they turned thirteen or fourteen, many were deemed ready to go out into service. It was the most respectable—and often the only—path available to poor Irish girls in the Gilded Age.

In my newest novel, Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas, seven young women are about to experience a Christmas that will change everything. As they experience Advent and prepare their hearts for a deeper calling, each young woman must face the truth of her past and the hope of her future.

Did you grow up around orphans? Next month, I’ll continue sharing about these children. Leave your answer or comments on the post below and join me on the 19th for my next post.

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.

The History of the Advent

By Susan G Mathis


As the days grow shorter and winter’s chill settles in, a small circle of evergreens glows in churches and homes around the world. Its candles—some purple, one pink, and sometimes a single white—are lit week by week, marking a sacred countdown to Christmas. This is the Advent wreath, a beloved symbol of anticipation, reflection, and hope. But behind its quiet beauty lies a rich history that spans centuries and cultures, reminding us that even in the darkest seasons, light always returns.

Historically, Advent was more than a festive countdown; it was a season of repentance, reflection, and renewal. Much like Lent, early Christians used Advent as a time to fast, pray, and prepare their hearts. By the Middle Ages, the Church had formalized the four weeks of Advent, each emphasizing a different theme of preparation: hope, peace, joy, and love.

The Advent wreath as we know it today began in 19th-century Germany, credited to a Lutheran pastor named Johann Hinrich Wichern. He worked with poor children in Hamburg and wanted to teach them about the meaning of Christmas. To help them visualize the waiting period, he created a large wooden wheel adorned with candles—four for the Sundays of Advent and smaller ones for each weekday.

Over time, the idea spread through Protestant and Catholic traditions alike, evolving into the familiar wreath of evergreen branches and four candles—symbols rich with meaning.

The circle of the wreath represents God’s eternal nature—without beginning or end.

In my newest novel, Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas, seven young women are about to experience a Christmas that will change everything. As they experience Advent and prepare their hearts for a deeper calling, each young woman must face the truth of her past and the hope of her future.

Do you use an Advent Wreath in your home or church? Leave your answer or comments on the post below and join me on the 19th for my next post.


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.

A Book Giveaway and the History of the Florence Crittenton Missions

Charles Nelson Crittenton liked best to be referred to as “The Brother of Girls,” a title given to him by Frances Willard, renowned women’s suffragist, educator and temperance reformer of 19^th century America.

Crittenton was born in 1833 on a farm in Henderson, New York, to a large and happy family. However, he desired to go into retail and worked his way up to partner in a drug company in New York City. Eventually, he began his own wholesale druggist company and became quite wealthy.

Charles Nelson Crittenton {PD}

He was especially fond of the youngest of his three children, Florence, who died from scarlet fever when she was only four years old. Devastated by this loss, Charles turned to the Lord for comfort and had a deeply felt conversion experience. His work with street evangelist, Smith Allen, led to the opening of the Bleeker Street Night Mission in 1883. 

After the loss of his daughter, the stress of his wife's death, increasing business and mission responsibilities, Crittenton became ill. He rested and traveled at the instructions of his doctor, returning to concentrate on a preaching and teaching ministry. Out of this time of ministry and pondering, the National Florence Crittenton Mission came to be.  

In 1893, he met Dr. Kate Waller Barrett, a woman truly ahead of her time. Crittenton shared his vision of homes throughout the country taking in "lost and fallen" women, shelters for girls who were bearing children out of wedlock and for prostitutes. Here they would find hope and grace, be retrained in a skill and learn how to become good mothers. 

Dr. Kate Waller Barrett {PD}

Waller-Barrett willingly served as General superintendent of the National Mission while Crittenton traveled and evangelized. As he went from town-to-town, he offered to donate $500 to any community which would be willing to start a Florence Crittenton Home in their area. He continued his work until 1909 when he died from pneumonia, leaving a legacy in his daughter's name.

Kate Waller Barrett had been a champion of marginalized women for many years and continued the work, taking over as president of the National Florence Crittenton Mission and continuing with Crittenton's vision for the homes for several years. 

Later, the profession of social work grew and influenced the mission's work. Unfortunately, there are reports of coercing teenage girls to release their children to adoption during the 1950s and 60s. However, during the 1970s a movement emerged to make changes, and included rescuing girls from risky behaviors, such as drug use. Now called the National Crittenton Foundation, 27 loosely affiliated organizations around the country seek to support young women and their families to break destructive cycles of behavior, empowering at-risk girls and young mothers to make healthy changes in their lives. Most of the unwed mothers choose to keep their children today.

The hero of my novel, Rumors and Promises, Pastor Ian McCormick, visits a home for unwed mothers in Detroit, planning on beginning a similar ministry in Stone Creek, Michigan. I was elated to find in my research there was an actual mission, the Florence Crittenton Mission, which had opened in 1900, the year of my story that he could have visited. 

While the house on Brush Street and their previous accommodations, are long gone, I enjoyed learning about the Christ-centered roots of this home. It fit with Ian's heart for the girls on the margins of society. He had been deeply touched by a situation that took place earlier in his life, where he felt he'd failed. He feels compelled to reach unmarried mothers with the Gospel, a place of hope, sustenance, and shelter. 

From the roots of the real Florence Crittenton Mission in Detroit a medical center and hospital eventually emerged. Crittenton Hospital, a large and modern medical facility presently stands in Rochester Hills, Michigan. I wonder if Charles Nelson Crittenton ever imagined such a thing?

Please leave a comment for the chance to win a paper back or Kindle ebook version of my recently-released novel, Rumors and Promises, from Heritage Beacon Fiction, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Winner's choice! 

Kathleen Rouser was so enthralled with books, she wanted to write stories before she could read them. A past homeschooling mom and mild-mannered dental assistant, Kathleen writes from her home in Michigan, where she lives with her husband of 34 years, who not only listens to her stories, but also cooks for her. And let’s not forget her resident muse is a sassy tail-less cat named Lilybits.

Her debut novel, Rumors and Promises, from Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, has just been released. It's the story of an unwed mother, who is an heiress on the run with a child in tow, trying to start over in a town that doesn't like secrets! Connect with Kathleen at her website, Facebook author page, Twitter  and Pinterest.

NYC Tenements of the 1800s

The main character in my latest novel, Stealing Jake, Livy O’Brien, is a former pickpocket and street kid from Chicago. In addition, there’s a whole passel of street kids who’ve ended up on the streets of Chestnut, either run out of Chicago or transported as child labor to the small coal-mining town.

As an avid reader, a fan of Oliver Twist, and the orphan trains of the 1800s, the idea of street kids and sweatshops isn’t foreign to me. But I’ve spoken to some readers who seemed shocked that children lived such lives here in the United States then and now.

How do they don’t know this?

How do they not know that there are people—men, women and children—all over the world still living in abject poverty. No food, no shelter, and no way of finding either?

With this question burning in my mind, I started a quest to figure out how this happens in certain parts of the world, specifically in cities like New York and Chicago in the 1800s.

I discovered a book titled How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis. Mr. Riis was a journalist and photographer who set out to document the lives of the tenements in New York City in the late 1800s.

During the industrial revolution, scads of poor flooded the cities looking for work in factories. The work was touted as being easier than the back-breaking labor of share-cropping. As the poor flooded the cities, the rich retreated to their country homes, but many still owned homes, buildings, stables, warehouses, businesses in the cities. Some of those turned those buildings into tenements. Sometimes they sold their properties to unscrupulous landlords, and eventually every conceivable space was converted to housing for the newcomers.

Buildings were extended to take in gardens, streets, and alleyways. When greed overtook common sense, landlords looked up. They added two, three, four, (and on and on) stories without regard to foundations that couldn’t sustain such added weight.

And, then because demand for living space was at such a premium, they charged astronomical prices for tiny attic rooms for whole families. It wasn’t uncommon for fifteen to twenty families to be crammed together in a 50’x60’ stable converted into small living space: 6’x7’ bedrooms. Completely unventilated, without windows.

From such unsanitary, close quarters came cholera, small-pox, drunkenness, drug abuse, and debauchery, depression, and for some, the will to live.

Eventually, New York City form a Board of Health and started making laws to improve these inhumane conditions. But a generation of living in such squalor had taken its toll. Many tenement dwellers had no place to go and couldn’t afford better accommodations.

“Not until five years after did the department succeed at last in ousting the "cave-dwellers" and closing some five hundred and fifty cellars south of Houston Street, many of them below tide-water, that had been used as living apartments. In many instances the police had to drag the tenants out by force.”

Is it any wonder that groups of children found themselves orphaned, abandoned, and homeless as these tenements burst at the seams? Is it any wonder they were referred to as street rats, urchins, gamines, and “street Arabs”? Tragedy, fires that swept entire wards left children without parents, and no way to find their next of kin. Charities and churches were overburdened and couldn’t afford to take them all in. And, sadly, some felt like these children deserved the hand they’d been dealt.

This is the kind of life Livy O’Brien came from. Below is the life she made for herself.

STEALING JAKE by Pam Hillman. When Livy O’Brien spies a young boy jostling a man walking along the boardwalk, she recognizes the act for what it is. After all, she used to be known as Light-Fingered Livy. But that was before she put her past behind her and moved to the growing town of Chestnut, Illinois, where she’s helping to run an orphanage. Now she’ll do almost anything to protect the street kids like herself.

Sheriff’s deputy Jake Russell had no idea what he was in for when he ran into Livy―literally while chasing down a pickpocket. With a rash of robberies and a growing number of street kids in town―as well as a loan on the family farm that needs to be paid off―Jake doesn’t have time to pursue a girl. Still, he can’t seem to get Livy out of his mind. He wants to get to know her better . . . but Livy isn’t willing to trust any man, especially not a lawman.

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

ORPHAN TRAINS plus giveaway!

Hi. Marilyn Turk here. I'm so excited to have award-winning author Kim Vogel Sawyer as my guest blogger today! Kim's book, My Heart Remembers, was about the orphan trains that existed in the United States in the early 20th century. I loved the book, which won four first place book awards - the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, the Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and the Colorado Christian Writers Book of the Year Award. Leave a comment at the end of her post for a chance to win a copy.

Here's Kim's post:

When I wrote My Heart Remembers, which featured three children sent from New York to Missouri on an orphan train, I was surprised by the number of readers who had never heard of “orphan trains.” I find the orphan train movement a very unique part of our nation’s history.

Between 150,000 and 200,000 children--some orphaned, some abandoned, some surrendered by parents unable to care for them--were sent via the railroad from New York to western states. The practice was started by a preacher named Charles Loring Brace, who founded The Children’s Aid Society to provide education and shelter to “street urchins.” Realizing that children needed a family as well as an education, he began arranging transport to states where farm families would reside, reasoning they would be most likely to welcome additional children into their families. The first group of orphans left New York in 1854.

Brace’s goal was for the children to be adopted and treated like biological children. In some cases, the goal was met; in others, the goal dismally failed. But when one considers the many difficulties unsupervised youngsters could encounter living on the streets--starvation, forced prostitution, disease--having shelter, clothes, and food was an improvement.

Although the intentions were good in sending the children west, not all of the process was positive. When the trains arrived, the children would be “paraded” past potential parents, almost like cattle up for auction. Sibling groups were frequently separated, the children never seeing each other again. Some children were taken in and treated like family members; others became little more than servants. Agents were supposed to check on the wellbeing of placed children, but the follow-through wasn’t consistent, and some children suffered physical abuse in their new homes.

Despite the potentially negative end results, the Children’s Aid Society continued to send children until 1930 when the Depression made it difficult for families to feed yet another mouth. Additionally, new laws and programs were being instituted to help children, opening the foster care system with which we are familiar today and closing the many institutions and orphanages.

It’s estimated that around 2 million people are descendants of an orphan train rider. I’m one--my stepgrandmother rode a train at the age of seven and came to Kansas. Is there an orphan train rider in your family tree?

In 1966, Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher that someday people would check out her book in libraries. That little-girl dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer's Return. Since then, Kim has watched God expand her dream beyond her childhood imaginings. With over 30 titles on library shelves and more than a million copies of her books in print, she enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Empty-nesters, Kim and her retired military husband, Don, operate a bed-and-breakfast inn in small-town Kansas with the help of their four feline companions. When she isn't writing, Kim stays active serving in her church's women's and music ministries, traveling with "The Hubs," and spoiling her quiverful of granddarlings. You can learn more about Kim's writing at www.KimVogelSawyer.com.

God bless~

Kim Vogel Sawyer

Newest Releases: THROUGH THE DEEP WATERS, 4.5 Stars Romantic Times; 

ECHOES OF MERCY, 4.5 Stars TOP PICK Romantic Times

Coming Soon: WHEN MERCY RAINS

www.kimvogelsawyer.com

www.writespassage.blogspot.com 

www.TheKingsInnBnB.com

Don't forget to leave a comment!

An Extraordinary Woman

Narcissa Prentice Whitman

By Nancy J. Farrier

One of the things I enjoy about researching for historical fiction is the interesting people I read about. Sometimes I can use them in my books; other times I can’t. This year in my blog, I thought I would share some fascinating stories of real people. The first is a woman who has the distinction of being one of the first two women to go west on the Oregon Trail. She is also the first white woman to give birth in Oregon Country.

Narcissa Prentice was born March 14, 1808 in Prattsburg, New York, the third of nine children. At the age of 11, Narcissa gave her life to Christ and became a devoted Christian. At 16, she heard about the missionary life of Harriet Boardman in India and knew God was calling her to the mission field too.

A few years later, Narcissa wrote to the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (ABCFM), to inquire about being a missionary with them. With her education, which included “normal” school, or teaching school, Narcissa wanted to teach on the mission field. Narcissa didn’t get accepted at this time, but later, with the help of a Pastor, she reapplied after hearing of the need for missionaries out west.

She wasn’t sure if the ABCFM would accept a single woman as a missionary, but in 1835, Marcus Whitman, a missionary with ABCFM, proposed to her. In February 1836, Marcus and Narcissa were married. They began their journey west the following day. For most of the trip, they traveled with another couple, Henry Harmon Spalding and his wife. (Henry had proposed to Narcissa before she met Marcus, but she turned him down.) The two couples split up once they reached the Northwest. The Spaldings went to Idaho to start a mission and the Whitmans began their mission in Waiilatpu in the Oregon Country.

In March of 1837, Narcissa gave birth to their only natural child, a daughter named, Alica Clarissa. Narcissa loved and doted on her daughter, but Alice died young. At the age of two, she drowned in the Walla Walla River. Narcissa was heartbroken and often became depressed. She would write long letters to her family back home, but didn’t want to interact with anyone.

The next few years were hard for Narcissa. She became discouraged over the lack of response the Cayuse Indians showed for the Gospel. She missed her family and Marcus often traveled, leaving her at home. She had no friends. Then, in 1844, Narcissa and Marcus took in seven children who were orphaned on the Oregon Trail. The Sager children ranged from John, a teenager, to Henrietta, an infant. Narcissa loved children and even adopted some of the native children who were orphaned.

Whitman Mission

In November of 1847, men came to the Whitman mission on the pretense of seeking medical aid. Instead, more than sixty men took hostages and killed both Marcus and Narcissa, along with eleven other emigrants who were with them at the time.

Whitman Memorial

Narcissa’s letters have been put together in a book. Her words encouraged many young girls to go to the mission field, much as Harriet Boardman’s story influenced Narcissa. In her letters she shares the joys, sorrows, and dreams of her years out west. She is remembered as an woman who faced extraordinary circumstances. The fact that she opened her heart to so many children after losing her own child is a testament to her heart for God. Today, you can visit her home, which is preserved as a museum near Walla Walla, Washington.

Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest and interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.