Noiseless, Automatic Service: the History of Domestic Servant Call Bell Systems in Charleston, South Carolina, 1740-1900

Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 5-2013 Noiseless, Automatic Service: The iH story of Domestic Servant Call Bell Systems in Charleston, South Carolina, 1740-1900 Wendy Danielle Madill Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Recommended Citation Madill, Wendy Danielle, "Noiseless, Automatic Service: The iH story of Domestic Servant Call Bell Systems in Charleston, South Carolina, 1740-1900" (2013). All Theses. 1660. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1660 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NOISELESS, AUTOMATIC SERVICE: THE HISTORY OF DOMESTIC SERVANT BELL SYSTEMS IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, 1740-1900 A Thesis Presented to The Graduate School of Clemson University and College of Charleston In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Historic Preservation by Wendy Danielle Madill May 2013 Accepted by: Dr. Carter L. Hudgins, Committee Chair Elizabeth Garrett Ryan Richard Marks, III ABSTRACT Shortly before Europe’s industrial revolution, tradesmen discovered an ingenious way to rig bells in houses to mechanize communication between homeowners and their servants. Mechanical bell systems, now known as house bells or servant call bells, were prevalent in Britain and America from the late 1700s to the early twentieth century. These technological ancestors of today’s telephone were operated by the simple pull of a knob or a tug of a tassel mounted on an interior wall. Bell-pulls increased privacy for both servants and their employers by separating both parties by the length of a bell wire, but they also increased masters’ powers of nonverbal control. Mechanical bell systems undoubtedly played a large role in the operation, maintenance, and communication practices of historic houses. But, like a lost language, surviving bits and pieces of hardware and wire are a puzzle to many modern viewers who are more familiar with technology that usurped the bell-pull—electric doorbells, intercom systems, and telephones. Unfortunately, many mechanical bell systems have been removed from historic houses. Although domestic servant call bells were ubiquitous across America, and were even installed in the White House, very little has been written about them. This thesis addresses the lack of literature by creating a technical and cultural history of bell systems in the Charleston, South Carolina area. Many historic dwellings in Charleston have retained a remarkable quantity of house bell hardware consisting of copper or iron wire strung through walls and attached to cranks, pulleys, and knobs—all connected to exterior bells. Many private residences and several historic house museums including the Aiken-Rhett House, Heyward Washington House, and the Joseph Manigault House still retain fragments of their original bell systems. These systems undoubtedly shaped the way slave owners communicated with their slaves. Even after the Civil War, Charlestonians continued to use servant bells to communicate with their newly emancipated household servants. By studying local tradesmen, installation practices, and technological development this report will fit Charleston bell hanging practices into a larger scheme nationally and globally. To accomplish this aim, full-scale mapping of the bell system at Charleston’s Aiken-Rhett House museum was undertaken. As ii one of the more complete bell systems in a historic house museum, the Aiken-Rhett House offers an extraordinary opportunity to interpret the daily life of slaves and servants in the Charleston area. This project aims to make the case for preservation of these peculiar old hardware fragments by shedding light on what these systems were, how they worked, and how they can be preserved. iii DEDICATION In honor of Albert Wood Olson, in memory of Anne Weaver Olson. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to the legion of friends, classmates, and colleagues who helped me refine this work. First and foremost, I extend my warmest gratitude to my advisor Carter Hudgins for encouragement and support throughout my two years in the Clemson Preservation Program. Thank you for leading us all by example. Your kindness, humility, and knowledge are an inspiration to your students. I also appreciate the love and support of my most loyal supporters, proofreaders, and editors, Bryan Kennicott and Shery Marden. Thank you to the phenomenal instructors and friends of historic preservation whose guidance inspired my work: Dr. Carter L. Hudgins, Elizabeth Ryan, Richard Marks, Katherine Pemberton, Amalia Leifeste, Kristopher King, Ralph Muldrow, Phil Mark, and David Hoffman. My work rests on the shoulders of Hillary Murtha, Mark Wenger, and the few others who have endeavored to study servant bells in America. Thanks for opening up the dialogue. Thank you to Historic Charleston Foundation and Charleston Museum for giving preservation students open reign to explore the spectacular historic buildings in your care. Valerie Perry and the friendly staff at the Aiken-Rhett House were incredibly helpful and kind to let me explore and photograph the house for my thesis. Katherine Saunders Pemberton, Karen Emmons, and Bridget O’Brian also earned my appreciation for sharing their knowledge of Aiken household history. Special thanks also to Grahame Long, Melanie Wilson and the staff at the Heyward Washington and Joseph Manigault Houses. I also appreciate the access to Hampton Plantation afforded to me by the wonderful staff of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism. Many thanks to Dan Bell, Amelia Millar, Al Hester, and Mary Mikulla for their research and stewardship of Hampton Plantation in McClellanville, South Carolina. Very special thanks to my new friends Tom and Kotti Brewin, all the way across the pond at The Period Ironmonger shop in Shropshire, UK, for their generous donation of a Victorian door bell-pull for this project. The kindness of strangers is remarkable. v And finally, thank you to Carl Lounsbury and Willie Graham, the proverbial preservation rock stars of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, for the helpful hints and tips about searching for bell system evidence. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………. .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION……. ..................................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................. vii TABLE OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 A NEARLY SILENT SUBJECT: SERVANT BELLS IN MODERN SCHOLARLY RESEARCH ..................................... 1 TELLING AN UNTOLD STORY ....................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 THE ENGLISH ORIGINS OF AMERICAN HOUSE BELLS ............................................................ 12 ARISTOCRATS AND THEIR BELLS—EARLY USE .......................................................................................... 15 POPULARITY OF BELL SYSTEMS ................................................................................................................ 17 TECHNOLOGICAL HISTORY AND FUNCTION ............................................................................................. 20 MANUFACTURE AND INSTALLATION TYPES ............................................................................................. 21 INSTALLATION .......................................................................................................................................... 24 THE DECLINE OF MECHANICAL BELL SYSTEMS ......................................................................................... 27 BELLS IN ENGLAND TODAY ....................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 3 THE RISE AND FALL OF HOUSE BELLS IN AMERICA ............................................................... 30 FROM BELLS TO TELEPHONES: THE BELL SYSTEM AT THE WHITE HOUSE ................................................ 31 NORTH AND SOUTH—INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR INSTALLATIONS ............................................................ 34 AMERICAN INVENTIVENESS ...................................................................................................................... 36 vii NEW TECHNOLOGY AND THE DECLINE OF MECHANICAL BELLS .............................................................. 41 THE TELEPHONE: “A BETTER BELL-PULL” ................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 4 SLAVE CALL BELLS IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA .......................................................

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