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Rose and Julienne's room
The slaves’ rooms were very plain compared to the lavishly decorated main house. The walls were whitewashed, the pine floors were bare and unfinished, and the windows were covered with simple muslin curtains. The furnishings were cast-off, broken, and old pieces of furniture that may have once been used in the more elegant parts of the house, but were no longer good enough for the family and guests.
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19th-century sources, including census reports and notarized bills of sale, suggest that the following slaves occupied the slave quarters in 1860: Laurette (female, 42 years old), Rose (female, 25 years old), Julienne (female, 18 years old), and François (male, 16 years old).
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Rose, purchased in 1854, and Julienne, purchased with her brother, Francois, in 1859, probably did most of the housework under Laurette’s supervision. One of them may have been trained as a lady’s maid to help Mrs. Gallier with her clothing and hair.
There was evidence in the chimney of a stovepipe coming into this room. This cast iron stove was designed to resemble the Gothic cottages being built at mid-century. Originally intended for parlor use, a broken stove such as this may well have been sent to the back of the house. The stove burned wood; the side door opens for feeding in the fuel.
Parlor Stove; circa 1854; cast iron; probably made by Vose & Co. |
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