The Merchant’s House New York
On a particularly sweltering day in New York last September I found my way to 29 East Fourth Street to the Merchant’s House Museum. I had heard that a visit to this town house would offer a of what it was like to live in New York in the mid to late nineteenth century. Coming from the West of Ireland which was completely ravaged by the famine in brought to mind the Irish families crossing the Atlantic for a new life in America.
But Merchant’s House is a completely intact home, so much so it feels like they have just stepped outside to do a spot of shopping. It tells us the story of a wealthy merchant family but also of its Irish servants.
Here is a virtual tour in pictures
Enter a world stopped in time
Gertrude Tredwell
The Tredwell’s Wardrobe
The Irish Servants
Ann Clark, Bridget Murphy, Mary James, and Mary Smith. Mary Smith was only 14 when she emigrated to New York in 1851; Bridget Murphy, just 16 when she arrived in 1852.
These “Irish girls,” as they were typically called, no matter what their age, worked very long hours with little pay. Usually households like the Tredwells’ had a cook, who was also responsible for the laundry, and her helper, who also waited on the tables; as well as a parlor maid and a “second girl,” who tended to the upkeep of the parlor floor and the bedrooms. Time Out New York have said it is “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City.
When Gertrude Tredwell died in the upstairs front bedroom at the age of 93, the house had been occupied by the Tredwell family for almost 100 years. By then, Gertrude was impoverished, yet she left one of the most valuable legacies imaginable: the only family home in New York City to survive intact from the 19th century with original furniture, decorative arts, and personal possessions. Some say she never left.
Guided Tours are approximately 50-60 minutes; visitors are welcome to stay longer following the tour see details on the Merchant’s House website.
If the house couldn’t get any more atmospheric their ghost and candlelit tours sound amazing, see the details here.
