Category: Uncategorized
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"A Harty Wench": One Woman\'s Struggle with Slavery and Motherhood
Slavery is one of the ugly facts of Colonial life. For most people, the word slavery conjurs images of sprawling southern plantations under the hot, hot sun. But the northern colonies had no qualms with human bondage and considered it part and parcel to building wealth. Philip Livingston (brother of the Robert Livingston who built…
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Remembering Mothers of Clermont
In just over two hundred years Clermont was home to nine mothers and 29 children. With Mother\’s Day just around the corner, it seems like the right time to honor some of Clermont\’s moms with their own bios. Each had their own set of expectations and challenges and advantages, but each one devoted their blood,…
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The Veranda: Clermont\'s Spectacular Porch (that\'s now gone)
Is there anything that epitomizes summer relaxation more than having the whole family gathered out on the porch? The front porch, the back porch–whatever. Preferably you should have a cool drink in your hand and a cool breeze drifting by. Although large porches and verandas may seem to be inseparable from our idea of historic…
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Clermont\'s Silver Star
In a wealthy 18th century household, the dishes on your dinner table could make or break your dinner party: \”After having seized on the entirety of a Table decoration, the eyes occupy themselves with the details, and taking them piece by piece, in examining their execution. Each Guest praises or critiques its work, and more…
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Vindicating a Forgotten Founding Father: A Recent Historical Discovery Reveals More of Chancellor Livingston\'s Accomplishements
Historian Geoff Benton was among many Chancellor Livingston scholars to be excited by the recent discovery of the only-known draft of the \”Olive Branch Petition.\” For the first time, the author of the document could be identified as our own Robert R. Livingston, taking him from a political \”Forrest Gump\” who lucked into being in…
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What\'s With all the Hoop-lah?: Fashionable Livingston Ladies of the Mid 19th Century
One of the most ridiculed fashions of the Victorian era was the cage crinoline. Developed in the 1850s, the hoop, as it is often referred to now, was by no means the only way to enlarge the volume of a lady\’s skirts. At various times, women of fashion had experimented with horsehair padding, (the origin…
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This IS Soda: A Long-Overdue Update
All the way back in 2011, I made this post based on a guess that this little dog might be Soda, a well-loved Jack Russell terrier from the Livingston household. The problem came from the fact that all I had was an unmarked slide, found in my old curator\’s closet–not a very positive marker. The…
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A Peek Inside Arryl House
I\’ve already spent some time gushing about Arryl House on this blog. The Chancellor\’s 1793 mansion was an architectural masterpiece that competed with the homes of his contemporaries like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington for originality and grandeur. The house was an H-shaped \”villa,\” with its grandest rooms located in the front arms. Huge tripple-sashed…
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Picturing Clermont in the Early Victorian Period
At almost 275 years old, Clermont has been a lot of things to a lot of people. Here at the museum on on the blog, we talk a lot about the estate during the tumultuous years of the American Revolution or the last generation and the quiet family life of the early 20th century. But…
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Growing up Livingston: Part 2, Getting to know John Henry Livingston
I started this series of entries after a day of discovery in Clermont\’s historic photo files. It turns out looking into the faces of the Livingstons, whose letters and intimate lives I am always reading, adds a whole new dimension to \”getting to know\” them. In fact, after looking at enough photos, it\’s almost like…
Clermont State Historic Site 