The Daly & Coldwell Servants
“Perhaps, there is not a more useful, -a more numerous, -nor a more indispensably
necessary description of person in society, than those who are denominated Servants…”
– The Complete Servant, 1825
Discovering the stories about servants in historic homes is often quite difficult as many of these individuals left no personal records about their experiences. In order to learn the stories of the Daly House’s servants we combed through City of Brandon Henderson Directories, online sources such as Ancestry.ca, local newspapers and census records. The census data we discovered only revealed details about the servants living at 122-18th Street on the date of the census. It doesn’t reveal the stories of any temporary day staff or outside laundry services that were probably used by the Daly and the Coldwell families while they employed their live-in staff.
However, the census data and museum artifacts have helped us to piece together some information our historic home’s servants and their lives after they left their jobs as domestic servants. The following are the stories of seven known individuals who worked as servants at 122-18th Street between 1882 to 1906.
Isabella Scott
The earliest record of a servant at Daly House can be found in the museum’s own collections. Margaret Fraser, the daughter of Isabella Scott – the Daly’s nanny or governess – donated a letter from the Daly’s to her mother dated January 1, 1886.
The letter contains well wishes for the New Year and a lock of the Daly’s two-year-old son Kenneth’s hair reads….
To dear “Museir Tott” with much love from her dear little boy Henry,
wishing her a very happy New Year and many of (word illegible)
The fact that the Daly’s sent Isabella such a personal letter indicates their relationship was quite amicable.
Isabella was born in South Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland on 14 April 1865 to George Scott and Isabella (McArthur) Scott. She arrived in Brandon in 1882 with her parents and siblings at the age of 17. She may have started working for the Daly’s as their nanny or governess shortly after arriving in the newly established City. It is unclear, however, how long Isabella remained in the Daly’s employ. Our research found that she married William Montgomerie Ferguson (W.M.F) Kay, a farmer, on 24 April 1889 in Brandon. The couple took up residence on a homestead located near Maryfield, Saskatchewan. Isabella and W.M.F Kay had three boys and one girl and celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 1939. Isabella passed away at Maryfield, Saskatchewan at the age of 77 in 1942.
Annie Miller
The 1891 census lists Annie Miller, aged 27 as the domestic servant of the Daly family. She listed her religion as Roman Catholic.
Annie Panes
The 1891 census lists Annie Panes, age 23 as a domestic servant living with the Daly family. Further research revealed that Annie married Henry Hill, a hotel porter on 25 May 1891. Annie and Henry had two sons and a daughter. The family resided in Brandon and surrounding area.
Mary Laird
The 1901 census lists Mary Laird, aged 20 as the Coldwell’s general servant. She had been employed with the Coldwell’s for 12 months and had received an annual wage of $275.00 (approximately $9,000 today). The census indicates that Mary had been born in Ireland and she listed her religion as Church of England. She could read and write and could speak French as well as English.
The July 19, 1901 Winnipeg Tribune announced the marriage of a Miss Mary Laird of Brandon to Andrew Jack at the home of Henry Harris in Brandon on the 17 July 1901. No further information about Mary (Laird) Jack could be located.
Minnie Wills
The 1901 census lists Canadian born Minnie Wills, age 17 as a general servant living in the Coldwell home. She could read and write and listed her religion as the Church of England. At the time of the census she had been with the Coldwell’s for 12 months and received an annual wage of $275.00 (approximately $9,000 today).
George Burnell
George Burnell, a widower aged 64 was listed in the 1901 Census as the Coldwell’s gardener. He could read and write and listed his religion as Church of England. He had been employed by the Coldwell’s for 12 months and had received an annual wage of $370.00 (approximately $12,000 today).
Margaretha (Margaret or Maggie) Haberstock
The 1906 census lists Maggie (Margaretha or Margaret) Haberstock, age 14 as the Coldwell’s servant. Maggie was born on 20 August 1892 in Dobolowka, Poland to Johann Haberstock and Maria Anna Simm. Census records indicate that she immigrated to Canada in 1900. Maggie married Hans Walter, an insurance agent on 15, Nov 1914 in Brandon, Manitoba. After marriage the couple lived in Brandon and had three girls. The family moved to the United States in either the mid-1920s or early 1930s and settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
According to the 1930 United States Census, Hans was now going by the name John and was employed as a barber. Maggie became a US citizen in 1941 signing her naturalization papers and accompanying photograph (pictured above) with an “X”. Ten years later the 1950 US Federal Census lists Margaret as being divorced and living with her daughter Margaret and Margaret’s two young children. Her occupation is listed as keeping house. Maggie passed away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1971 at the age of 78.
Note: As Maggie and Hans were of German descent they would probably faced discrimination during World War I and the threat of possible interment as enemies of the Canadian government. While our research has not determined if any of the family were interned during the war years we did discover that Hans Walter was charged with traveling without permission during this time period. The Brandon Daily Sun on May 27, 1918 reported the following:
“For traveling without a permit, a German named Hans Walter, was ordered to pay $5.00 and costs or go to jail for twenty-one days. He paid.”
Sources
Sources:
Letter to Isabella Scott, January 1, 1886, Margaret Fraser Collection, Daly House Museum 1982.222.3
“Isabella ‘Bella’ Scott, Johnson/Scott/Edmonds Family Tree, Accessed January 18, 2023 https://www.ancestry.ca/family-tree/person/tree/18300026/person/643944432/facts?_phsrc=vgl1&_phstart=successSource
Census of Canada 1891, Province of Manitoba, District 9 Selkirk, S. District West Half of Brandon City, 29 April 1891, page 44. Accessed January 19, 2023 https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1891&op=pdf&id=30953_148097-00036
Census of Canada 1901, Province of Manitoba, District No. 6, Brandon, Polling Sub-Division No. 10 in Brandon City, West of 14th Street page no. 10 Accessed January 19, 2023 https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1901&op=pdf&id=z000014183
Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta 1906, Province of Manitoba, District of Brandon, Sub-District Ward 4, page 31, July 4, 1906 Accessed January 19, 2023 https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1906&op=pdf&id=e001201837
1930 United States Federal Census, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Milwaukee (Districts 1-250) District 0107, April 15, 1930, Sheet No. 17. Accessed February 7, 2023 https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/58886729:6224
1940 United States Federal Census, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Milwaukee 72-39, April 16, 1940 Sheet No 11 B, Accessed February 7, 2023 https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/81614999:2442
1950 United States Federal Census, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Milwaukee 72-437, April 12, 1950, Sheet No. 16, Accessed February 7, 2023 https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/119523981:62308
Wisconsin, U.S. Federal Naturalization Records, 1848-1992 for Margaret Haberstock Walter, District Court, Eastern District, Milwaukee Division 18, March 1941 Accessed February 7, 2023 https://www.ancestry.ca/discoveryui-content/view/163260:61213
Police Court News, Brandon Daily Sun, May 27, 1918, page 16
Western Farmer’s Fair, Winnipeg Free Press, July 19, 1901, page 6
Margaretha Haberstock, Manitoba, Marriage Index, 1881-1937, Accessed January 17, 2023 http://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php