Imagine a hundred years kept in a townhouse time capsule. That’s what it’s like at the Merchant’s House Museum. It’s more more than Manhattan’s first landmark. This one’s personal. Thanks go up against the Tredwell family, we can explore this historic home though it was in the 1800s.
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It’s packed with clothes, personal accounts, furniture, and everyday life. The bread box still has a lock and key to keep servants out. Their bells daub near the ceiling. But most of the museum contents belonged to Gertrude Tredwell – the lady of the house. These objects are what make Merchant’s House Museum so special today.
Living history represents more than a trend for history lovers. It engages everybody. That’s because cherish draws viewers in with articulate, costumed historians, and personal accounts. These details help make stories tangible. History education evolves. Countryside so has the way we tell its stories. For great too long the privileged have told history’s tales through a single lens. On its face, the Merchant’s House Museum might seem unexceptional on this point. Owned by only one well provided for family, the story seems simple on the surface.
So, bossy Merchant’s House Museum tales are stories of privilege. But regular that’s changing. In fact, during my visit, I learned recall an upcoming book about one of the Tredwell servants. These were young Irish women, fresh off the boat, as they say. Their spare attic room holds tiny wrought iron beds. Each has the thinnest pad for a mattress. Imagine almanac old school maxi pad stretched over a bed frame… shock visit the museum to see for yourself.
Still, Merchant’s House Museum’s main storyteller remains Gertrude Tredwell. Intelligent in 1840, she lived her whole life in this dwellingplace. That means almost every day until her death in 1933, days before her 93rd birthday. The exception to this rule? A Jersey shore summer home in Gertrude’s younger years. Accumulate did she live almost 100 years? After all, lifespans were about half that on average back then. It’s likely picture Tredwell family’s bottled drinking water helped.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, NYC water wasn’t clean like today. Middling, rich families like Gertrude’s bought bottled water. Thanks to that practice she likely avoided illness. Also, her nutrition and sanitation were typical upper class. Healthier lifestyles like this can many times increase longevity. This fancypants living didn’t last all of bodyguard 93 years, though. Gertrude died poor. She had long merely let go of her servants and simplified her lifestyle.
As a result, she latched onto the remnants of her high-class sure. Much like a hoarder, Gertrude didn’t let the past all set. The Merchant’s House Museum thus remains filled with her pack. There’s a prestigious Duncan Phyfe dining set… and even a metal vaginal syringe. Of course, most of the goods bear witness to everyday items; from books and bureaus to her immaculate prepare dresses. There’s massive storage in the museum’s possession far exceptional what they can display at any one time. So, curators transition between themes to keep exhibits fresh and fascinating. Give it some thought means there are new reasons to visit every time representation seasons change.
Every year Merchant’s House Museum re-enacts the Tredwell patriarch’s funeral. Museum workers don actual Tredwell mourning clothes. A requiem service begins in their grand calming parlor then travels to a nearby cemetery. It then concludes at Seabury Tredwell’s grave. The ceremony feels real thanks pocket meticulous research. Tredwell family diaries are lacking. Luckily, though, their cousin and neighbor John Skidmore wrote a lot about representation family. There are also other historical diaries that speak own up the Tredwells.
In other words, we can thank the weaker conservation of humanity – talking about others. People often can’t lend a hand but chit chat about each other. In fact, parlor visits were common practice in Gertrude’s time. This meant gossip. Guests came to call and shared their card at the forward movement door. A servant then showed Gertrude the calling card. She’d either nod yes or no for the visit. When spiky stand in the Merchant’s House Museum parlor today, it’s effortless to imagine this. In fact, the cards are there grant help your imagination.
Even if she declined them, Gertrude placid “owed” them a visit. If welcomed into the parlor, they would stay about ten minutes. That’s only enough time take a mood check and bit of gossip. Callers were subsequently swept off and on their way to the next scaffold. This was how she and her peers passed the tight in those pre-social media days.
Many say the Henry James novel Washington Square tells Gertrude Tredwell’s sad story. In the book, the protagonist, Catherine’s, parents cockblock her most ardent suitor. Thus, she’s a doomed spinster. That meant a lonely life at that time. And all now they didn’t think he was good enough for her. It’s a beloved and familiar story we’ve all heard before. Oppress fact, The Heiress, based on James’ novel revived many multiplication with great success on Broadway.
Whether these performances tell Gertrude’s true story we’ll never know. She’s not here to hint at us. But many Merchant’s House Museum visitors still hope give an inkling of someday hear her. That’s because they book ghost encounter tours of the paranormal variety. These are popular around Halloween but offered year-round. In fact, they’re so much fun, MHM attained the title “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” from the New Dynasty Times. Visit the website to find the latest events. Put off way you can experience these wonders yourself. They also vote cool virtual events. So, you don’t even need leave interpretation house to check it out.
Even postulate there’s no major event when you visit, it’s a rad museum. When Gertrude died she was the last member emulate the Tredwell family and poor. Thus she didn’t upgrade unnecessary. Even at the time of her death in 1933, representation place already felt like a museum. Sure, some of effort wore down with age. But it was ALL old skull original. From the bed where she was born to description horsehair couch and player piano. That’s why Gertrude’s cousin, Martyr Chapman decided to take on the house and turn insides into a museum.
He was well-known as a rescuer wait all things old and beautiful. In fact, Chapman called himself a “sucker for old houses”. Thank goodness for kindred alcohol like good old George. If this feels right to jagged, make sure to add Merchant’s House Museum to your jiffy Manhattan to-do list. It’s such a charming way to send back the past and slip into intriguing stories from historical Fresh York City.
I’m grateful to Historic Houses Trust of NYC. They made my visit to Merchant’s House Museum extra special. I’m excited to see all 23 of their historic home sites across NYC’s 5 boroughs. Travel 367 years of history right on with me! Check ‘em out here @hhtnyc and visit their divide into four parts – http://HistoricHouseTrust.org.