JUST CURIOUS.....

[Anne H]

From everything I've read on living conditions/social life in the Coatbridge area it would appear that money wasn't bountiful and life wasn't easy for most people yet there seems to be an awful lot of women who were employed as domestic servants in that area in the 1800's and early 1900's. There doesn't appear to be too many prominent families around, so who could possibly have afforded to have domestic help? Does anyone have any thoughts?

Regards,
Anne

[DavidWW]

From everything I've read on living conditions/social life in the Coatbridge area it would appear that money wasn't bountiful and life wasn't easy for most people yet there seems to be an awful lot of women who were employed as domestic servants in that area in the 1800's and early 1900's. There doesn't appear to be too many prominent families around, so who could possibly have afforded to have domestic help? Does anyone have any thoughts?

Regards,
Anne

Hi Anne

On the contrary, there were many families in the area who would have had many servants, - the aristocracy, and upper class, - i.e. professionals such as lawyers etc.

On top of that, any family belonging to what we might define today as the middle class would have had at least one live-in servant, plus one or more daily servants.......

Davie

[maceill]

my mother was employed as a domestic servant,somewere in glasgow,
still trying to find out where,she started work at fourteen, and at the age of twenty eight, she had a child, born out of wedlock,she named the child
catherina ROLINK GEURTS BOYLE,for many years we [ catherines daughter and myself] have tried to trace the father of catherine
anyone any ideas? catherines d o b 19 june 1933 at school house longrigg
longrigged.my mother would never say who the father was
thankyou
emacc

[StewL]

Hi Emacc

Considering what you have posted, unless the fathers name is on the birth certificate, I doubt very, very much whether you will ever find out his name. Unless your mother is still alive and changes her mind, I am afraid this seems to be one that will disappear into the void of life.

[Anne H]

Hi Davie...thanks for your reply.

Although I knew the upper class and professionals would have had servants it hadn't occured to me to include the middle class Everything I've been reading lately has been about how difficult life was for so many...I think its time to branch out a bit on my reading material.

Regards,
Anne

[DavidWW]

Hi Davie...thanks for your reply.

Although I knew the upper class and professionals would have had servants it hadn't occured to me to include the middle class Everything I've been reading lately has been about how difficult life was for so many...I think its time to branch out a bit on my reading material.

Regards,
Anne

The "middle class" parents of my first wife, he no more than a middle ranking company executive, and she a primary school teacher, had a live in servant in the 1950s/60s ..................

Davie

[Anne H]

Hi again Davie,

Well, I think that's pretty good having a live-in in the 1950/60's. Actually, my mother's aunt had a live in servant, at least on the 1891 census, I'd forgotten about that. You know...I wouldn't mind having a live in servant right now, she (or he) could help me get all these certificates in order!

I'm off to bed!

Regards,
Anne

[AnneM]

Hi

When I was growing up in Dunoon in the 1960s all the doctors etc had live in housekeepers. When my now ex-husband graduated in medicine in 1979 his friend, whose father was a GP, brought along the family housekeeper to the graduation.

My ex was and is a psychiatrist and has for some years been in a fairly senior position. Many years ago when I was young and (relatively) charming, my children were little and full time work was a thing of the past and future, I had spent all morning doing a Kim and Aggie (a very thorough clean) on the kitchen and was as a result in not the best of moods. I nipped along to the church lounge for a soup and sandwich lunch and there passed the time of day with the reverend incumbent of that parish who has a sharp wit and a bad sense of humour. Having complained about spending all morning in this way I moaned "50 years ago I'd have had a maid" The Rev gentleman replied without drawing breath, "50 years ago Anne you'd have been the maid." Obviously has no illusions about my origins.

Anne

[Cathy]

Hi Anne,
I think there was also a reason for even poor families to have maids.
Maybe not as paid employment as such. More of a way of having a roof over your head. Say you yourself was from a large poor family, and money was short. You get to age 12 or 13 and your parents send you off to "work" for another family, its one less mouth for them to feed,

Cathy

[STUARTDALGLEISH]

Hi Anne,

Just returned from Dunoon today after a wee game of golf and an overnight stay in the West End Hotel. The weather was fantastic although everybody we met in the "Toon" last night was born somewhere else.

Cheers

Stuart