Yellow Parlor

After the formal entertainment of the Best Parlor, friends and family would gather in the more intimate Yellow Parlor for conversation and relaxation. They may have played cards, viewed detailed prints through the perspective glass on the desk, read, served afternoon tea, and even dined in this chamber.

It was a space used daily during the winter months, when the Schuylers would condense their activities to only a few rooms, avoiding the cold in the rest of the unheated home. Every morning before sunrise at this time of year, enslaved servants would close doors, shutter the windows inside and outside, and stoke a fire to prepare the room for the family's use. With its colorful flocked wallpaper, Brussels carpet, and painted woodwork, this room was bright and cheerful in the summer, and comfortably warm in the winter. [Read about: the wallpaper  -  the carpeting  - and the comparative cost of such items. You can also see the receipts for these furnishings, purchased by Philip Schuyler, on the table in the Center Hall]. The textiles and furniture that make this room so welcoming would have required frequent attention to remain at their most vibrant; work performed by enslaved women.

A portrait of youngest daughter Caty, an adult with one of her own children, adorns the far wall [see Best Parlor for a portrait of young Caty]. 

A page from the back of the Schuyler family bible shows birth
and death records recorded in Philip Schuyler's hand.

To the left of the fireplace is displayed the Schuyler family's 1719 Dutch-print bible, passed down from Philip Schuyler's father and grandfather. In addition to illuminated scripture, it also contains Philip’s handwritten record of his marriage to Catharine in 1755, the births of the fifteen children born to Catharine over the years, and the unfortunate, but all too common, deaths of 7 of those children, including a set of twins and a set of triplets, in infancy [read about mortality and life span in the 18th century]. These family records are also written in Dutch, both Philip's and Catharine's first language.

As You Exit :

You will pass through the Central Hall

Straight ahead, you will find the Best Parlor

Right will bring you to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library

Dining Room

Salon (Upstairs Hall)

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)