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Lyddie: Voices from the Field - Chapter 08 Boardinghouse Keepers

“The Keeper of the House”

Local women were recruited for work as boardinghouse keepers in the houses constructed by the corporation for the workers. Often thought of as a kind, matronly figure, the keeper cared for her boardinghouse as she would her own home, thinking of the mill girls as daughters. But she was also a businesswoman, responsible for keeping accurate business records, along with the more traditional duties of cooking and cleaning.

The keeper was required to furnish the houses with all goods needed - tables, chairs, beds, linens, cookware, etc. Many companies in Lowell were available to supply the keeper with furnishings – for rent or for purchase. She may have already possessed some furnishings, but much more needed to be purchased to provide for a household of up to thirty people.

Cooking and cleaning were tasks that took up the bulk of her time. Three meals were served daily, family style. Preparation for one meal would have begun even as the current meal was being finished. Cleaning responsibilities of the keeper included not only the daily upkeep of the household – cleaning/sweeping, washing dishes, and filling lamps – but also included the laundry service she provided to her boarders. She was required to do the “usual washing,” which meant work clothes and bed linens. Washing of fancy items, mending, or pressing of pleats may have been done to earn extra money if the keeper could find the time.

The keeper’s responsibilities also included such things as assuring that the girls in her house were up and ready for work at the appointed times, attended Sunday services, maintained a good moral character, and obeyed the rules of the corporation. Any violation of the corporation’s regulations could mean dismissal of the keeper or the worker.

Probably her most important role was to keep accurate records of income and expenses. The keeper was paid by the corporation for each boarder in the house. The initial rate was $1.25 deducted from the salary of the mill worker, plus $.25 additional per boarder directly from the corporation. By the mid-1840s that rate was increased to $1.50 per boarder plus the additional $.25. From this money, the keeper then purchased all necessary items to conduct business at the boardinghouse, including food. Any leftover money was her profit. She constantly faced a battle to balance serving good wholesome meals to ensure a full house of boarders, with the need to spend less on goods than she took in from the corporation. The keeper’s records were inspected regularly to insure proper expenses and accounting for funds. A keeper who kept incomplete or incorrect records could be released.

In many ways the job of a keeper was not in step with the ideals of the time, which limited opportunities for women in business and certainly in management. Yet, author Catherine Beecher wrote in 1841 that the keeper should serve as a model for other women, in her use of professional methods of managing a household and keeping accurate records. Kindly surrogate mother and professional businesswoman – the keeper embodied the best of both.