1st class servants

[Roy Howes]

I was wondering where First Class travellers accommodated their servants? I can only assume that at some late hour all the servants were relieved of their daily duty but on the other hand I can't immagine them being any more than a shout away. Were they billeted in an adjoining room to the main cabin?

 

[João Carlos Pereira Martins]

Roy, many first class servants were on their employer's ticket but it all depended on the fortune of the employer. An extremely wealthy first class traveller could perfectly book a smaller room for his/her manservant or lady's maid, near to the main cabin.

If not, the servants could be accommodated on the employer's room, because the majority of the servants was trustful and well-known to the family.

Best regards,
João

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Roy, João,

Generally the servants were berthed in separate rooms. The Allison's maid & nurse seem to have been berthed with Trevor. - If you look at The Cave List, you will see the Mrs Spencer's maid was in one of the so-called Servant's Cabins on B-deck close to her employers. Mrs White's servants were some distance away in C-99/1 and C-120/1. - Mrs White was in C-32. - Mrs Hays' maid was in B-24. Mr & Mrs Hays in B-69. Lady Duff-Gordon's maid was on E-deck. The Spedden servants were in adjoining rooms. Mrs Peñasco y Castellana's maid was across the passageway. - In most cases no room numbers are given, but Mrs Douglas who was in C-86 noted that her maid shared a room with Mrs Carter's maid. The Carters were in B-96/98. From the testimony of steward Etches we know the Carter manservant was in B-86. Miss Allen said that her aunt, Mrs Robert's maid was on E-deck.

João,

With the exception of the Carter servants, all of the other servants [other than those traveling on 2nd Class tickets] were as far as I am aware on the same ticket as that of their employer. - You can check the ticket numbers for yourself by looking at the names.

I hope that gives an idea. Some servants were nearby, other were berthed decks below.

 

[Tarn Stephanos]

Wasn't Ismay's servant Mr. Fry on board? I somehow doubt Bruce had him camping out on the floor- however, having a servant a deck away seems awfully inconvenient....
How would someone contact their servant if they were decks below?


regards


tarn Stephanos

 

[Brian R Peterson]

Hi Tarn,

I believe the servants would remain with or fairly close by to their masters from dawn until they were dismissed for the evening, when they would return to their quarters.

Best Regards,

Brian

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hello Tarn,

B-102 was the Servant's room for Parlour Suite B-52/54/56, so Fry was most likely in B-102. - Ismay's secretary was in B-94 - We have that from Etches.

If you look on the Cave List the Wideners are listed as C-80/82 and D-44, which was seemingly for 1 of the servants. Mr & Mrs Straus also had C-97, again probably for 1 of the servants. Miss Endres was close to the Astors, but what of the maid & valet?

 

[Roy Howes]

João, Lester, Tarn, Brian,
Thanks all for the input - it seems there wasn't such an obvious answer after all, but I think Lester has the finger on the button with this one.

 

[Brian Ahern]

If I'm not mistaken, Mahala Douglas said in her account that her maid shared a stateroom with Lucile Carter's maid. It would make sense for WSL to have servants bunk together.

I'm glad this topic's come up again. I believe only one cabin's been recorded on the Cavendish's ticket, leading to the supposition that their maid shared a room with them. I cannot imagine, however, that this is true, and that Tyrell Cavendish would have been dressing/undressing/sleeping in the same room as his wife's maid.

One of those lingering questions...

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Brian

You’ll find that many of the servants' cabins are not listed on the Cave list, but this however doesn’t necessarily mean that the servant was in the same cabin as the employer/s. There is no cabin for the Countess of Rothes maid; while the Countess and Gladys Cherry were on C Deck, the maid was down on E Deck. Likewise, there is no cabin for the Robert maid, and she was also down on E Deck. etc etc

On the other hand, it's not unlikely (and indeed did happen) that the servant travelled with the employer in the same stateroom. Guggenheim and Giglio were definitely in the same cabin. Although there is no extra supporting evidence (as far as I know), Bucknell and her maid were likely in the same cabin as well. There are likely to be similar arrangements for other single travelling passengers with servants.

Daniel.