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FROM THE BRYANT ROOM ARCHIVES
By Myrna Sloam ©November/December 2007
A View of the Mackay Estate by Stewart Donaldson,
Part 13: The Mansion Staff (Housekeeper, Butler, Chef, Valet and Nurse)
Note: This is the 13th in an ongoing series of articles taken from the memoirs of Stewart W. Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson (1907-1994) was the son of a coachman/chauffeur on the former Clarence H. Mackay estate in what is now East Hills. Written in the 1950s and 1960s, Donaldson recalls the estate as it was in its most active time, the 1910s and 1920s. Earlier articles described the mansion and grounds, this section will focus on the employees and their duties.
As I remember, there were about 40 persons employed in the main house, or mansion, itself. There were others who worked on the estate, as well as in the house, such as the carpenters, etc. The housekeeper was Katherine Thompson, a Canadian. She was in charge of 5 housemaids. These girls made the beds and cleaned the house. There were 2 laundresses who did the washing and ironing. Miss Thompson had charge of ordering the household supplies, such as lines, towels, sheets, and any other item that was necessary for keeping house. She lived in the mansion, as did the maids.
The butler was Mr. George Mercer, an Englishman. He was in charge of the pantry and had 4 footmen and 2 handymen under him. He was responsible for the wine cellar, liquor supply, buying of fruit and specialty items, candy and canned items. He also had to see to the chinaware and the famous Mackay silver, which was kept in a special vault. He had to see that the [food] dishes were prepared and garnished properly after they left the kitchen. The butler made up the menu for each member of the family on a special china standing plate. He wrote on this with a black chalk pencil. This was submitted to each member of the family for their approval. When it was returned to him, he sent it to the chef who prepared the meals, as requested. The footmen not only waited on the main table, but had to answer the main door when anyone arrived. The handymen cleaned the dishes, and cleaned in general, after the meals. They also cleaned the silver and even helped the valet in cleaning the suits, clothes and shoes, etc.
In the pantry was a huge vault where the Mackay silver was kept. This set consisted of 1350 pieces and was made by Tiffany & Co. for the Mackays. Also in the pantry were large electric heating ovens to keep the food warm until it was served, as well as a large walk in icebox. The butler never waited on the table, but was always around to see that the food was properly prepared and served, and that the table settings were just right.
The chef was Mr. Adam, a Frenchman, and he had worked all over Europe and the British Isles. In America, he had been in the kitchen of one of the big hotels. He had a sous-chef, or second chef, who was always on duty and took over when the chef was away. The chef always supervised the preparing and cooking of all meals when the family was at the house. He had his own small office with a small icebox in it for his needs, as well as a couple of bottles of the best cognac—for himself, of course. He also kept milk, butter, and other items, on a small scale that he would need in cooking. The larger amounts of milk, butter, etc. were kept in the big walk-in iceboxes in the basement.
Mr. Adam had an icebox man, Mike Smith. He was in charge of cutting the meat, sending necessary supplies the chef needed and ordering the ice. Originally ice was made at the plants on Power House Road, but in later years Mr. C. C. Woodin of the Roslyn Ice Co., supplied the estate. They would deliver the ice in large open-back trucks with solid rubber tires. I can still see these trucks come lumbering up the hill. They would deliver 100 pound cakes of ice which were put in the top part of the iceboxes. He also supplied ice for the upstairs boxes, as well as the tennis courts and the dairy. In addition to Mike Smith, there was a clean-up man who helped Mike and [who] also washed the tile floors in the kitchen, halls, pantry and elsewhere. The chef and butler were both married and lived in small cottages on the estate next to the kennels.
The valet was Mr. William Mundy, an Englishman. He was C. H. Mackay’s right hand. He put out his clothes and helped him dress. Mr. Mackay, believe it or not, could not dress himself—he always had to have help. Mundy saw that Mackay’s suits were cleaned and pressed, bought all of Mackay’s clothes, saw that his shoes were shined, and traveled all over with him. In fact, he was Mackay’s constant companion. He never had a vacation that I knew of.
The family nurse was Miss Mary Finnerty, an Irish woman. She was, of course, an R.N. and an important member of the household. Always ready to give an aspirin when needed. She looked after Clary (as Clarence Mackay was known) and Louise, the mother of Clarence Mackay and wife of John W. Mackay, one of the 4 Silver Kings of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. Louise lived in the house [after the death of John W.] and died in her 80s. Mary cared for [Clarence’s children] Katherine, Ellin and young John. Mr. Mackay’s personal doctor and surgeon was Dr. J. Russel of the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Mary Finnerty lived in the mansion and also lived in the New York City house when the Mackays were there. In the early years, Katherine, Ellin and [son] John W. each had a governess. Later Kay [Katherine] and Ellin had personal maids and Willie [John W.] had a companion tutor….
As to [the] dress for the servants-- the chef always wore the white pants, white coat and the big floppy white hat [toque] that chefs wear. The kitchen cooks and help wore white dresses and shoes. Mike Smith (the icebox man) wore blue and white stripped pants and a blue coat. The footmen were in a uniform of brown with white wing-collars and white ties. The butler always wore the full dress morning swallow-tail suit, the pants were a striped black and steel color. In the evening his suit was all black with a wing-collar and dark tie. The maids wore the little caps, dark skirts, stockings and shoes. The nurse was as usual dressed in white. The housekeeper was usually dressed in a gray or light color dress. All of these uniforms were laundered by the laundresses and paid for by Mr. Mackay….
to be continued in future issues….
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