Mattie Williamson, the Glessners' beloved cook

Mattie Williamson in the 1890s

During the second week of March, just before our world changed and Glessner House found itself closing for an extended period, we had the opportunity to celebrate Women’s History Month with a focus on the Glessners’ much-beloved cook, Mattie Williamson. We are fortunate to have rich archival resources about the live-in staff at Glessner House, allowing for an authentic and detailed interpretation of the real Mattie, her years in service, and exactly what it was like to be a cook in a large Chicago household during the Gilded Age.  In this first of two articles about Mattie, we will look at her life and service with the Glessners. In next week’s article, we’ll recap the events that took place during her “return” in March 2020.

Martha L. Williamson, known as Mattie throughout her life, was born on October 23, 1859 in Inverness, a municipality in the Centre-du-Quebec region of the province of Quebec, Canada.  Her parents, John and Mary (Duff) Williamson had both emigrated from Ireland to Canada prior to their marriage in 1842 and chose this area of Quebec where many other English, Irish, and Scots were settling. Mattie was the seventh child in the family; she was baptized in the Inverness Wesleyan Methodist Church on December 19, 1859.

Baptismal record provided courtesy of Dale Wright

Just six years later, her mother died in childbirth and was interred at the Christ Church Cemetery in Saint-Jean-de-Brebeuf, a town originally named Lower Ireland (Maple Grove having been known as Upper Ireland). Soon after, her father married Julia Ansly, 27 years his junior, and together they had four children, whom Mattie helped her stepmother to raise.

Julia and John Williamson in the 1880s

By the time Mattie was a young woman, her parents and siblings had relocated south into the United States, settling in the northern portion of Vermont and New Hampshire. Her brother Alex had settled in Littleton, New Hampshire, and in 1883 was hired, along with his wife Sarah, to manage the farm operations of the Glessners’ new summer estate, known as The Rocks. It was in this way that Mattie became acquainted with the Glessners, as she often stayed with her brother, and during the summer would sometimes help with tasks at The Rocks.

The Williamson's home at The Rocks;
Mattie is probably the young woman to the right of the tree

In August of 1891, the entire house staff of five abruptly quit after dinner. Frances Glessner noted in her journal:

“After dinner Fredrick appeared with a document signed by all five saying they would all leave as soon as they could be paid. John made out their accounts - the two men, Frederick and James, walked to town, bought out a dump cart and old white horse - they took their trunks and all five left the house at six o’clock - they got no travelling expenses - only their wages. We sent down for Mattie Williamson who came up to help us put of our trouble - bringing her little brother with her. We all helped get supper and wash the dishes. This morning we made beds, helped with the breakfast, dinner etc.”

 The next month, Mattie visited her parents in Vermont for a week, after which time she returned to The Rocks to accompany the Glessners back to Chicago. 

Originally hired as a maid, her opportunity to become cook came in early February 1892, after Frances Glessner was forced to dismiss her seventh cook in as many weeks, due to their inability to work with the new gas stove she had had installed:

“I dismissed my seventh cook last week . . . Mattie Williamson is going to try my cooking. I shall have her taught.”

Mattie's room as it appears today with photos of various family members

Mattie was given the room farthest to the east in the female servants’ wing. That room, restored in early 2009, was recently updated to incorporate several Williamson family photos and a photo of Mattie with the house servants, taken by George Glessner.

Mattie is seated at far left in this photo of the servants heading out for their annual picnic to the Flume, located near The Rocks, probably 1893

The Glessners developed a warm relationship with the entire family, and over the years, no less than eight Williamson family members worked for them, including three of Mattie’s siblings, her sister-in-law, a niece, and two nephews. In October 1893, the Glessners invited Alex and Sarah Williamson to visit Chicago for a week to see the World’s Columbian Exposition. They stayed in the corner guest room and were sent to the Auditorium to see a performance, and even visited John Glessner in his office. Mattie left service for a year starting in May 1897, although she appears to have stayed in Chicago as she helped out with a special dinner dance the Glessners hosted just before Christmas 1897, and also baked the wedding cake for Frances and Blewett Lee when they were married at the house on February 9, 1898. By May 1898 she had returned and accompanied the family up to The Rocks.

Frances Glessners’ menu books demonstrate what a highly skilled cook Mattie became. Elaborate eight-course dinners were common, requiring not only skills in cooking, but in time management as well, especially considering she was cooking and feeding the live-in staff of eight simultaneously.  She became well-known for her bread and rolls, winning awards at a competition held by the Women’s Club in 1900. The large collection of cookbooks in the Glessner library contains volumes with handwritten recipes in Mattie’s handwriting tucked inside, and Frances Glessner’s manuscript cookbook lists several recipes attributed to Mattie, including one for pastry.

Mattie's recipe for pastry, written out by Frances Glessner

In May 1909, Mattie, assisted by Fanny Tynan (who was employed by the Glessners on and off for over 20 years in various capacities), prepared a huge dinner:

“In the evening John gave a dinner to the Commercial Club here at our house. I have been arranging for this for weeks. We had sixty-three gentlemen here. We received them in the upstairs hall. When they came down to dinner I staid up . . . We had a fine dinner every bit of which was prepared in the house and cooked by Mattie and Fanny.”

(Mattie cooked an equally large meal when the Commercial Club visited The Rocks).

Mattie was a highly trusted servant, being sent to The Rocks each year about a week in advance of the Glessners, to help get the house ready and stocked, so that all was in order when they arrived. This journal entry from May 1903 is typical:

“Mattie had a nice supper for us. Mattie had been here a week and had everything pretty well in order for us.”

Rachel Williamson Cole, 1883

After getting the Glessners settled at The Rocks in May 1912, Mattie took off the summer to visit her sister, Rachel Cole, in Los Angeles. While there, she met a widower named William S. Prescott. When she returned to The Rocks in early August, she announced her intention to be married.  The Glessners gave her a gift of $250.00 (nearly $7,000 in today’s dollars) and The Rocks staff gave Mattie a great send-off:

“That evening the people on the place gave a great party for Mattie Williamson, our excellent & reliable cook for the last 20 years, who is soon to be married & go to California to live. They made up a purse of $44 & bought her a rocking chair, silver tea set, a tablecloth & dozen napkins. The party was held in the Electric Light Plant room; there were 57 grown persons & 2 children, & it was in every way successful & everybody was happy.”

Mattie Williamson and William Prescott were married in Los Angeles on December 26, 1912 and they moved into his bungalow at 417 W. Ortega Street in Santa Barbara. It does not appear the marriage was a happy one. In April 1913, Frances Glessner Lee was in California and wrote to her mother:

“I have an appointment with Mattie for tomorrow morning and will not leave her house until I have a full understanding of her affairs.”

417 W. Ortega Street, Santa Barbara, CA, as it appears today

In June of 1913, Mattie wrote to Frances Glessner from her sister’s home in Los Angeles, the letter opening as follows:

“Your nice letter received some time ago and was more than pleased to hear from you. Should have answered before but was undecided in my plans. You asked me to be open and tell you all, and I am going to do as you ask.”

She then goes on to note that she is not “contented” in Santa Barbara and would prefer to live near her sister in Los Angeles. Having found a nice lot in South Hollywood, her husband agreed to build a house, if Mattie would buy the lot:

“My money is all in Stocks and Bonds, the three bonds that Mr. George (Glessner) got for me some few years ago and the Stocks that Mr. Glessner got me last Spring. I could use the Bonds but would rather not .  .  . Now I should consider it a great favor if I could hire one-thousand dollars, of you and Mr. Glessner and if you wish, I could give you the Bonds as security until I could pay back the money.”

It is most interesting to note that both John and George Glessner helped Mattie invest her money, George in bonds, and John Glessner by purchasing $1,600 in Public Service stock the previous year.

She closed the letter noting:

“Have often thought of the beautiful place at The Rocks and the many pleasant times I have had. Would have been pleased to go back and work for you many years longer, but on account of my age, thought it would not be advisable to work over the hot stove.”

(Mattie was 53 at the time of her marriage.)

Mattie's signature on the letter sent to Frances Glessner

The house in South Hollywood was never built, possibly due to Mattie’s declining health. In February 1917, George B. Glessner and Jessie Chandler, two of John Glessner’s siblings, visited Mattie while driving through Santa Barbara:

“George and Jessie write from Santa Barbara that Mattie Williamson Prescott is threatened with serious heart disease and fears she may have to give up their housekeeping.”

5802 Lexington Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, as it appears today

Mattie died on March 27, 1919 at the home of her sister Rachel Cole, located at 5802 Lexington Avenue in Los Angeles. She was buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and was later joined in the same plot by her sister and niece.

Mattie’s will, filed just five weeks before her death, made the following provisions for her husband and sister:

“Third. My said husband, William S. Prescott being adequately supplied with money and property in his own right, to keep him in comfort during the balance of his life, should he outlive me, I make only a nominal provision of the sum of Five Dollars, to be paid him out of my estate.

“Fourth. To my sister, Mrs. Rachel W. Cole, who has cared for and assisted me in every manner possible, ministered to my wants during my present illness, I give and bequeath all of my silverware, one leather covered rocking chair, two fern dishes, two large vases, four pieces of Haviland china, three quilts, six sheets and six pillow cases and towels, pieces of embroidery, one chafing dish, one black leather grip and the ivory set that goes with it, two hand paintings and all my family pictures and all my clothing and personal belongings not otherwise disposed of, also I give to my said sister the sum of $1,000.00 or the equivalent thereto in property of my estate.”

She also left $1,000 each to her sister’s three children including her twin sons, Raymond and Reynold, who were appointed executors of the estate.

Concluding portion of Mattie's will, dated February 17, 1919

Many years later, Frances Glessner Lee, in writing to her son, noted that Mattie had been a real part of the family and was “one of the finest people that ever lived.”

Next week: Mattie Williamson returns to Glessner House

A Home for the Servants

The Glessner house was not only home to four members of the Glessner family, but also their live-in servants.  Situated on a large corner lot, the design of the house provided for separate entrances for family and servants, and furthermore, separate entrances for the female and male servants.  The servants even had their own separate address.

The photograph shown above, taken about 1890 by the Glessners’ son George, depicts the female servants’ entrance facing 18^th Street.  The entrance, set within a dramatic arch and concealing the doorway at far left, is one of the most distinctive and most photographed features of the exterior of the house.  Visitors to this day, especially those approaching from the west, often stop at the entrance, assuming it must be the main entrance to the house.

The image is interesting for two reasons.  For one, George carefully posed the photograph to capture the silhouette of the cook in the kitchen window set within the arch.  The shade is pulled down and the cook is illuminated from behind, giving a clear silhouette of her head.  Additionally, a bronze plaque mounted on to the granite clearly indicates the address used by the servants – 35 Eighteenth Street.

Early addresses for east-west streets in the city did not use State Street as a dividing line, and as such addresses did not include “East” or “West.”  The system was to start the numbering at the lake and then proceed west.  The shoreline of Lake Michigan was much closer to Glessner house than it is today, as indicated by the low number of the address.  When these streets were renumbered in 1909, State Street became the zero mark, and the address of the servants’ entrance became 227 E. 18^th Street.

The original “35” address plaque, with its distinctive font, was replaced, and the new “227” plaque remained in place for the remainder of the Glessners’ lives.  At some point after the house passed to the Armour Institute, the plaque was removed, and the fact that the servants had their own address was all but forgotten.  During the 125^th anniversary of the house in 2012, docents Jackie Walker Dunscomb and Joan Stinton generously funded the creation of a new “35” address plaque, as a way to help interpret the lives of the many servants who called the house home through the decades.  The plaque was installed during the last week of August 2014.

In consultation with master metal smith John LaMonica, Alice Melita Steffen was engaged to design and craft the new plaque.  Steffen, shown above with the new plaque, is a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, where she received a First Class Honors Degree in Sculpture and Environmental Art.  She also studied at the London City and Guilds Art School and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which is what brought her to the United States from Great Britain.  She was delighted to have the opportunity to work on Glessner House, given her long interest in the Arts and Crafts Movement, which she considers to be a major influence in her work.

The plaque was cast in bronze using the “lost wax process.”  The process begins by making a replica of the plaque in wood, from which a plaster mold was produced.  The historic photograph of the plaque was used to determine the overall size, and the design of the numbers.  Hot wax was then poured into the plaster mold and then “chased” to remove imperfections in the wax replica.  The replica was then “sprued,” which involves the addition of a tree-like structure that allows the molten bronze to flow into the mold and the air to escape.

The sprued wax plaque was then dipped into a slurry of silica repeatedly to create a ceramic shell around the mold.  The shell was then placed into a kiln allowing the wax to melt (flow out) leaving a hollow mold, hence the name “lost wax process.”  Bronze was melted in a furnace and then carefully poured into the mold.  The shell mold was then allowed to cool before sand blasting to reveal the rough bronze cast.  The sprues were cut off and the plaque was finished by hand to remove any imperfections and polished. 

Liver of sulfur was rubbed into the numbers to give them a dark cast, and then a patina was applied to the bronze to provide a protective coating and to inhibit corrosion and weathering.  Finally, the plaque was installed using epoxies to attach it permanently to the granite, in exactly the same place as the original.

Today, the plaque is a visible reminder of the many men and women who called the house at the southwest corner of Prairie Avenue and 18^th Street home from 1887 until 1936. 

A Servant's Christmas at Glessner House 1894

Servants are included in the holiday interpretation at Glessner House Museum.  Frances Glessner recorded a good deal of information on the various servants in the household, both in her weekly journal and in a separate journal specifically reserved for information on the hiring (and dismissal) of all household staff. 

To recall the servants and their important role in the operation of the household, each year a series of envelopes is placed in the butler’s pantry, addressed to those staff members who received Christmas gifts in 1894.  This display is based on an entry in Frances Glessner’s servants’ journal, which states:

“The servants who are with us now Nov. 1, 1893 are all to be paid an extra months pay Christmas 1894:

Frederick Reynolds

John Flear

Mattie Williamson

Alice Hassett

Julia Johnson

Antonie Gerstling

Annie Johnston

Charlie Nelson

Martin _________"

Six of those listed were still in service with the Glessners at Christmas 1894 and received their extra months pay.

·        Frederick Reynolds, the butler, had been hired in 1891 and was initially paid $50.00 per month.  By 1894, his pay had been increased to $60.00 per month.  He remained as the Glessners’ butler until May 1, 1900.

·        John Flear, the footman, began work with the Glessners in 1892 and remained until November 1896.  He was paid $45.00 per month.  An interesting fact is that Flear returned for eight months in 1923 to serve as butler.

·        Mattie Williamson was the Glessners’ beloved and long-serving cook.  She was hired in 1891 and remained until May 1, 1897 when she left for one year.  Returning on May 1, 1898 she continued as the cook until October 1, 1912 when she left to be married in Santa Barbara, California.  When originally hired, she was paid $5.00 per week, a typical amount for most of the female staff.

·        Alice Hassett had been in the employ of the Glessner family since 1874.  Although her position and pay are not recorded, Frances Glessner notes in her servants’ journal that Alice died on March 9, 1895 after 21 years of service.

·        Antonie Gerstling was hired as the ladies maid in January 1893 and was paid $5.00 per week.  It is not recorded when she left.

·        Charles Nelson served for many years as the Glessners’ coachman.  Although Frances Glessner did not record specific information on Nelson in her servant’s journal, the 1880 census shows that he was in service with the family at that time, and occupied an apartment over the coach house with his wife Martha and two-year-old son Norman. 

The remaining three servants listed left the employ of the Glessners before Christmas 1894.

·        Julia Johnson, the housemaid, started in November 1892 and left in June 1894.  She was paid $5.00 per week.  She was followed by Sarah McCarrick.

·        Annie Johnston was the laundress and worked for the Glessners for exactly one year – from October 1893 to October 1894.  She was paid $6.00 per week.  Belle Doormar was hired as the laundress in October 1894 and “left without notice” on April 26, 1895.  Frances Glessner recorded that she “told falsehoods” and later learned that her real name was Bridget Doonan.

·        Nothing is known about Martin, whose last name is not recorded, except that he left the Glessners’ employ in November or December 1893.

This valuable record which Frances Glessner left behind helps to give a face to those in service who have often been forgotten over the passage of time.

The Glessners and their servants

Over the weekend of October 13-14, 2012, Glessner House Museum participated in Open House Chicago, a city-wide event sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Foundation during which more than 150 sites around Chicago opened their doors for free to visitors.  The museum had nearly 1,700 visitors who were treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of the servants’ wing of the house. 

When H. H. Richardson designed the house in 1885-1886, he was designing for a family of four and a live-in staff of eight.  He carefully segregated the servants’ areas and those used by the family and their guests.  Rooms for male servants were placed above the coach house; those for female servants were located above the kitchen wing.  The butler’s apartment was separated from the rest and was located at the northeast corner of the third floor.  The male and female servants had separate entrances facing 18^th Street and there was no connection whatsoever between the male and female servants’ wings inside the house.  The servants had a separate address from the family which was 35 Eighteenth Street. 

Long corridors along the north side of the house provided passages for the servants so they could travel through much of the house without disrupting the family.  The small windows along the 18^th Street side of the house illuminate these hallways, a most unusual but effective floor plan for the time.

The Open House Chicago tour included the following stops within the house:

-COACH HOUSE

The coach house originally consisted of two rooms – the stable and the carriage house.  The stable had six stalls for horses, and the carriage house could accommodate an equal number of carriages, used by both family and guests.  Both sections of the coach house had built in systems allowing for the efficient washing of horses and carriages.  The spaces were quite modern, with poured concrete floors and glazed brick on the walls.  In 1906, the Glessners converted to automobiles and the wall between the stables and carriage house was removed, providing the configuration found today.  The room is now used for programs and events and as a rental venue.

-MALE SERVANTS’ STAIRCASE

This staircase features a door facing 18^th Street with six distinctive panes of blown glass that retain the stub that forms when the glass is made.  At the first floor landing, a modern door marks the location of the original half-door through which the iceman could place blocks of ice into the cold closet, a.k.a. the icebox.

-HAYLOFT

The hayloft is accessed from the male servants’ stairway and has two second-storey hayloft doors facing 18^th Street and the alley through which hay and feed could be brought into the space.  Large bins (no longer extant) held feed, and two doors in the floor could be opened to drop feed and hay down to the horses below.  These doors are still visible in the ceiling of the coach house. 

-DOVECOTES

Two dovecotes located at the north end of the hayloft could accommodate nearly 60 doves, and the eggs would be harvested and used by the family.  The smaller dovecote, built into the gable facing 18^th Street, has a staircase for access and individual sliding doors for each nesting niche.

-MALE SERVANTS’ ROOMS

There are three male servant rooms and a shared bathroom to the east of the hayloft, originally separated by a long hallway.  Each room had a window facing east into the courtyard for light and fresh air.  An additional room, known as the “living room” was a gathering space for the male staff, and included a large closet where all three male staff would keep their uniforms and other clothes. 

-FEMALE SERVANTS’ ROOMS

Four individual bedrooms for female servants are located along a long hallway running east-west above the kitchen wing.  The female servants shared a bathroom and a small porch facing onto 18^th Street.  Female staff would include the cook, waitress, parlor maid (for cleaning), and the ladies maid (who took care of the clothes of the female members of the family).  Additional staff, such as the laundress and seamstress would come and go on a daily basis and not live on-site.  The easternmost bedroom has been fully restored and contains furniture typical of what would have been found in the rooms.  It is interesting to note that the rooms are trimmed in quarter sawn oak, the same wood used in the formal rooms of the house.

-FEMALE SERVANTS’ STAIRCASES

A staircase leads from the second floor bedrooms to the hallway off of the kitchen.  In that same hallway, a door leads to the outside – this would have been the female servants’ entrance.  It is set within the imposing granite arch on 18^th Street – quite a beautiful entrance for the staff!

-KITCHEN

The kitchen wing consists of five rooms – the main kitchen work area, the butler’s pantry, the servants’ dining room, the dry pantry, and the cold closet (or icebox) referenced earlier.  The kitchen was a modern space in that it featured encaustic tiles floors and glazed brick walls, all easy to keep clean. 

The butler’s pantry was used for the storage of china and crystal and is immediately adjacent to the dining room.  A swinging door separates this pantry from the dining room and would have always been kept closed except when setting the table or cleaning up after a meal.  The butler’s pantry features a copper sink – the soft metal was appropriate in that it helped to prevent breakage or damage to the china and crystal if it was dropped during washing.  The main work area of the kitchen features a sink made of Vermont soapstone, much more durable for the heavy washing that would occur here.  To the right of the sink is a doorway leading to the courtyard, allowing for the delivery of food directly into the kitchen space. 

The servants’ dining room would have contained a large table where the staff would gather for daily meals.  Staff would typically have their dinner around 3:00pm each day, so that all efforts could be focused on the final preparations of the dinner for the family and their guests.  The dry pantry would be used for food storage, including huge quantities of foods grown and preserved at the Glessners’ summer estate The Rocks in New Hampshire.  Frances Glessner’s famous honey would be kept here as well.  The cold closet featured marble shelves, which would retain the cold, and a narrow window which could be opened during the winter to keep foods and ice cold. 

An annunciator in the kitchen allowed for staff to be called from anywhere in the house by family or guests.  When a button in one of the main rooms was pressed, the annunciator box would ring, and an arrow would point to the location where the call came from.  A servant would be dispatched and the box would be reset. 

The operation of such a large household would have been impossible without a large live-in staff.  Interpreting these spaces for visitors provides a greater understanding of the family, the house, and the time period in which they lived.  Fortunately for the museum, Frances Glessner meticulously maintained a journal in which she recorded the name of each servant as they were hired, along with their pay and position, and the reason why they left service or were dismissed.  This is a rare and valuable record of the “forgotten” residents of Prairie Avenue.