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The women of Sylvester Manor: Stories of visible and not-so-visible female residents

 

Cornelia Horsford and an unidentified sister rowing on Gardiner’s Creek ca. 1900. (COURTESY OF SYLVESTER MANOR)
Cornelia Horsford and an unidentified sister rowing on Gardiner’s Creek ca. 1900. Courtesy: Sylvester Manor.

The voices of women are generally those most easily lost to history. Deeds, lawsuits and business interests are the documents of men and these are what often can be found in archives when one is doing historical research.

But this weekend, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm opens an intriguing exhibition that focuses on the particularly strong matriarchal lineage that dominated the property for centuries. 

The Horsford Girls ca. 1872. Clockwise from top left: Mary, Kate, Gertrude, Cornelia, Lilian Horsford, taken in Cambridge Mass.
The Horsford Girls ca. 1872. Clockwise from top left: Mary, Kate, Gertrude, Cornelia, Lilian Horsford, taken in Cambridge Mass. Courtesy: New York University Files Library.

“Women of the Manor: Portraits from Three Centuries,” is Sylvester Manor’s first in-house exhibition and it has been assembled by curator and archivist Donnamarie Barnes who found a treasure trove of documentation and imagery in the Manor house related to the women who lived there over the course of 300 years. The exhibition shares images and stories of several female Sylvester descendants, and also pays homage to the enslaved women who lived and worked in the house and on the grounds.

During a tour of the manor earlier this week, Ms. Barnes noted that the timing of the exhibition coincides the 100th anniversary of state voting rights for women. Based on the amount of documentation she has found in a relatively short time, she feels there are plenty of stories yet to be told about the women of the manor.

“Last summer I was doing an inventory project here. The material has never been categorized,” Ms. Barnes said. “There were papers and letters everywhere — and when I say everywhere, I’m not exaggerating.

“There were documents dating back to the 1700s in trunks and drawers,” she said. “There’s a vault here filled with treasures. I started going from attic to basement and found things at risk in terms of conservation that needed to not be where they were.

“I began putting material in archival boxes to go through and organize it,” she said. “Even before cataloging it, I made a preliminary list of what I was finding.”

Daguerreotype of Mary Gardiner Horsford ca. 1841 Albany taken by her future husband Eben Horsford. Courtesy: Sylvester Manor.
Daguerreotype of Mary Gardiner Horsford ca. 1841 Albany taken by her future husband Eben Horsford. Courtesy: Sylvester Manor.

What she was finding were documents, letters and photographs that began to tell in-depth stories of many women of the manor over its long history. This exhibition includes portraits of manor women painted by renowned artists in the 18th and early 19th century, as well as photographic images from the mid-1800s on that illustrate the history of the medium itself. Also on view is clothing, accessories such as Victorian-era hats and umbrellas, and grooming tools that the women of the Manor once used.

What is conspicuously absent from the exhibition, however, is imagery related to another group of women who lived at Sylvester Manor for years — the slaves who maintained the house and property prior to the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827.

To pay homage to the unseen enslaved women whose stories were not preserved through photos or letters, Ms. Barnes has created a clever display on the back stairwell of the Manor house. This steep, narrow and curving set of stairs was used solely by the slaves to traverse the various floors of the home unseen. Against the risers of each of the stairs, Ms. Barnes has positioned a placard with the first name of a Sylvester Manor female slave written in beautiful calligraphy.

ANNETTE HINKLE PHOTO | The slaves' staircase with the names of former female residents of Sylvester Manor.
ANNETTE HINKLE PHOTO | The slaves’ staircase with the names of former female residents of Sylvester Manor.

“It’s a way to honor them. They are also the women of the Manor,” Ms. Barnes said. “These unknown women of color, whether they were Native American or African, were responsible for helping to raise the children and be part of the household.

“Though we don’t have their images we have their presence.”

It’s a stark, yet beautiful tribute to a silent history and it’s not difficult to picture the women endlessly negotiating the hidden staircase through the course of their lives.

Ms. Barnes’ background is as a photo editor and telling stories through photos combined with documents is something she greatly enjoys.

“The exhibition is twofold. First, it’s about the use of photography from the beginning with the daguerreotype to the Polaroid,” Ms. Barnes said. “Within that, it’s the documentation of female descendants through the 19th century.

“It’s also about documentary evidence. These were well documented women,” she said. “I’ve skimmed the surface of the papers and the letters. These women wrote to each other every day and kept the letters.”

Cornelia Horsford in profile ca. 1880s. Courtesy: Sylvester Manor.
Cornelia Horsford in profile ca. 1880s. Courtesy: Sylvester Manor.

Ms. Barnes explained that in 1855, after she died, Mary Gardiner Horsford’s father gathered her letters, rolled them in tight tubes and sealed them with wax. He put them in a trunk with the last clothes she wore.

Just last summer, Ms. Barnes opened the trunk. It had not been touched since 1855.

“I’ve yet to read them,” said Ms. Barnes who admits she’s just scratching the surface with this exhibition and is looking forward with great anticipation to what has yet to be discovered in the collection.

“To say I’m blown away by these discoveries is an understatement,” she said. “It’s like un-boundless joy.”

The opening reception for “Women of the Manor: Portraits from Three Centuries” is Friday, June 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $65 online ($75 at the door). On Saturday, June 10 from noon to 3 p.m., Sylvester Manor offers guided tours of the exhibition. Tickets are $25. Online reservations recommended. For information, call (631) 749-0626 or visit sylvestermanor.org.