Category: Uncategorized
-
Mrs Livingston, I Presume: Louise D\'Avezac Livingston, Part 1
So many women of Western history are lost under the title of Mrs. So-and-So. Or you know, she was the mother of So-and-So. It is enough to drive young women out of the study of history and into–say–computer science. Well Louise DAvezac Moreau Livingston is a woman with a history of her own! She was…
-
Welcome to the Second Floor: A Photo Tour Continued
For those of you who\’ve been waiting on pins and needles for the second installment of my photographic tour of the mansion, I am finally making good on my promise. In the Part One we toured the first floor of Clermont. To be honest, these are the most glamorous spaces; upstairs we are more homey. …
-
History Mythical Enemy No. 1: Times Were Simpler Back Then
Lot\’s of people say it. Lot\’s of people think it: \”I wish I lived back then, when times were simpler.\” I remember the first time the absolute balderdash of this saying really hit me. I was watching a television show (which shall go unnamed), where the host was staying with an Indonesian tribe, who happened…
-
The Chancellor\'s Sheep & Wool Showcase 2012!!!
Sat., April 21st (raindate April 22nd) 11am-4pm $8 per vehicle Hmmm….Maybe those exclamation points were a little bit of overkill, but I get a little revved up for the Showcase. Maybe it\’s all the caffeine, or maybe it\’s the weeks of contact with vendors, performers, and demonstrators, but for me it is a high-energy kick-off…
-
Quick Curiosity about Nancy and Otto
In paging around through the internets for information on my last Nancy Shippen blog (part 11 of the ongoing tragedy!), I happened across a reference to The Sylph on \”The Dutchess of Devonshire\’s Gossip Guide to the 18th Century.\” It\’s one of my guilty history pleasures (okay not so guilty because it is well-researched, just…
-
Love and Divorce: The Sorrowful Tale of nancy Shippen, Part 11
Louis Otto had been Nancy Shippen Livingston\’s dearest love since she was a bouncy teenager ballancing the attentions of several suitors. It seemed that their lives had parted irreparably when, in 1781, Nancy followed her parents\’ advice and married the wealth Henry Beekman Livingston and Louis Otto contented himself with a bride of his own…
-
Isn\'t it Suite? Livingston Furniture Returned to Clermont
It was with great excitement last December that welcomed the donation of three pieces of Livingston furniture back to Clermont. After some time in our cramped temporary storage area, these pieces were gently transported to our Peebles Island Resource Center for conservation and photography. Above at right you can see the sofa, a transitional piece…
-
Always Learning: A New Silhouette of Alice
Quite some time ago, I was all excited to have discovered a little sihouette of Janet Livingston, made during the family\’s trip to England in 1921 (at right, Honoria and Janet on Woolacombe beach in North Devon). Because it was the only one in the file box, I had assumed this little card to be…
-
"Gown" With the Wind: Is This Alice\'s Wedding Dress?
On Saturday, March 10th (2012) I am giving a lecture about gilded-age costumes. I\’ve got to be honest here: we were all more than a little inspired by the PBS series \”Downton Abbey.\” Quite simply, it\’s gosh-darn beautiful. So anyway, in preparation for the talk, I went prodding around in Clermont\’s own costume collections. The…
-
Appleton Manor
Quite a while ago, I wrote a blog about John Henry Livingston\’s first daughter, Katherine. Thirty six years older than daughters Honoria and Janet, Katherine had married and moved to England by the time Alice was moving into Clermont and beginning to redecorate (and revitalize the gardens that Katherine had once cared for). In her…
Clermont State Historic Site 