Letter from Hattie Reed to Catherine “Kittie” Bogart Putman Rankin, February 1, 1891

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Date

February 1, 1891

Description

"A letter from Hattie Reed to Catherine Rankin. This letter was sent to Catherine when she was visiting her cousin in Philadelphia. Hattie wrote to update Catherine on the family and other domestic workers at Cherry Hill, including Clara Patterson. During the Victorian Era, people communicated by writing letters to one another. People thought that a person who wrote well probably had good manners. For example, a person might feel disrespected if someone wrote a letter to them using slang instead of formal English. They might feel disrespected if someone replied late, or not at all. Catherine Bogart Putman Rankin was the great granddaughter of Philip and Maria Van Rensselaer of Cherry Hill. Catherine was the great- granddaughter of Philip and Maria Van Rensselaer of Cherry Hill. Catherine lived at Cherry Hill longer than anyone else. She lived at Cherry Hill from 1860 to 1948. She married Edward Rankin in 1884. Today, Cherry Hill looks the way it did when Catherine and her family lived there in the 1940s. Hattie Reed was a servant at Cherry Hill. Hattie’s mother, Janet Reed, worked at Cherry Hill through the 1880s. As her mother grew older, Hattie began to take over responsibilities at Cherry Hill around 1891. Hattie was responsible for cooking and housekeeping. Clara was a ward and domestic worker at Cherry Hill from 1884 until 1894. Clara was brought to Cherry Hill when she was 6 years old, after her mother died from tuberculosis. Clara took care of the Rankin children, and did chores like sweeping the porch. When she was 12, Clara asked to learn how to live on her own, without being a lifelong worker in someone else’s house. She was sent to work for a friend of the family, Mrs. Ward, in 1894. Shortly after, Clara left to make her own life, and found a new home with a different family. This item was added as part of the Diversity and Collaborative Knowledge Program funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Type

Written Document

Region

Capital District

Era

Industrialization

Topic

Communication

Repository

Historic Cherry Hill

Identifier

8_3_February_1_1891_HR_to_CBPR

Source

Historic Cherry Hill

Rights

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