Paint in the Schuyler Mansion: Restoration

By Jessie Serfilippi

The current paint color in the Formal Parlor.

The Schuyler Mansion’s interior paint underwent a few different restorations between the state’s purchase in 1911 and the latest restoration in the early 1990s. In 1911, at the beginning of State ownership, the original paint was blow-torched off the walls. It was replaced with an inaccurate cream color. Only a few areas, mainly behind the window shutters, remained where later restorers were able to find samples from which they could determine some original paint colors.

The first attempt at uncovering the true colors of the Schuyler Mansion’s walls was in the late 1940s. Starting in 1948, restorers chipped away at the small remaining samples of paint and discovered seventeen layers of paint on the walls of the main hallway. They repeated the process in each room. Underneath all of these samples they discovered a variety of colors, such as gray-blue in the Formal Parlor and pea-green in the Master Bedroom. While the amount of research that went into backing these findings is credible—18^th century paints commonly used in the latter quarter of the century were consulted—the chipping technique the restorers used is not reliable.

According the restoration efforts undertaken by Mount Vernon as documented in an article for House Beautiful in the 1980s, there are several factors that can alter the original paint color’s appearance. Fading of the original pigment— eighteenth century paints in particular are known to fade to colors that differ vastly from the original— dirt, and aging linseed oil, commonly used as a finish, can add to the discoloration of the paint, rendering the chipping technique mostly useless.

In the 1990s, another effort to uncover the real colors of the Schuyler Mansion’s walls was undertaken. This time, there was more technology to aid the restorers in their work, but the same issue earlier restorers faced persisted—there was little paint left to sample. For this study, hand-held magnifiers, raking lights, and a binocular microscope were used to take samples that could provide a stratigraphic look at the paint. A stratigraphic view of the sample allows researchers a comprehensive look at the layers that have been painted onto the walls and is helpful in determining the color of a specific layer of paint.

It is in crevices formed by shutters like these
from the Master Bed Chamber that original paint samples
  may still be found, due to the blow torch's inability to reach them.

These samples were then mounted onto slides and studied under high magnification. Some were exposed to ultraviolet light for a few days so researchers could obtain a better view of the original oil paint. Once a paint color was determined from each sample, they were matched to tones on the Munsell scale. Yet even with the new technology in use, the findings of this study were limited by the lack of sizeable original paint samples. In some instances, original colors could not be definitively determined because the samples taken were too small to be conclusive.

So, what did the walls of the Schuyler Mansion look like when Philip Schuyler called it home? Even though the results from the paint analysis aren’t conclusive for every room, we can still make an educated guess. We’re going to focus on the main hallway, since it runs throughout the home and was a space that was visible to all who entered the house.

From the paint analysis, we know the walls were primed with oil to prevent the pigmented oil paint from seeping into the them. The window seats of the hallways were grained in dark brown. The wooden sidings of the hallway were found to be painted a shade of grey or green. But what if the color the restorers saw on the walls was the faded version of the original? What if the walls were once Prussian blue, as were Mount Vernon’s?

A window seat in the Main Entrance

Prussian blue is known to be vibrant when first applied, and later fades to a green or grey color—exactly the shade restorers found on the walls. It was an expensive color, and one a man as concerned with showing off wealth as Schuyler was would use in a space that all visitors to the home saw.

Even if another analysis with newer technology was performed, the issue of few surviving places with original paint still remains. There are still two other routes to uncovering what these walls truly looked like: a receipt from Schuyler turning up or a newfound account from a guest who goes into greater detail about the space. Until one of these three things happens, the true color of the Schuyler Mansion walls remains a mystery.

The current paint color in the hallway.

Prussian blue at Washington's Mount Vernon.

“Can Do All Sorts of Housework”: The Labor of Enslaved Women

by Ian Mumpton

In the last installment of  “The Servants” we looked at the disparity of records for the lives of women held in bondage by the Schuyler family compared to those of enslaved men. Despite women making up roughly half of the enslaved workforce, they are mentioned by name far less frequently than are the men, and the details of their specific lives and labor often went unrecorded except in the most general terms. Too often these difficulties place a mantle of silence over the experiences of a group of people already marginalized in the documentary record by virtue of their bound status. However, breaking that silence is far from impossible. Where direct documentation is lacking, evidence of general experiences gleaned from a variety of sources, when looked at in the context of the Schuyler family and household, can help paint a surprisingly detailed picture, especially of the sorts of labor performed by these women.

While slave holders might be less likely to record the specific work that they tasked women with on their properties, the skillsets that they sought in their slaves is telling. Slave merchants advertised their “wares” through a variety of printed sources, including handbills, broadsides, and advertisements in newspapers and gazettes. Marketing is nothing new; the advertisers specifically highlighted the skills and backgrounds most likely to appeal to prospective buyers.

The Adverts 250 Project hosts an amazing collection of 18^th century advertisements for all manner of things, from property and tools, to services and wanted ads. They have also amassed an excellent collection of slave advertisements from all across the colonies (which they publish on their Twitter feed). The specific form taken by slavery varied considerably across the colonies however. The experiences of someone in South Carolina could differ markedly from that of someone in Rhode Island, and both of these could differ from the experiences of someone in Albany, New York. Most of the people that the Schuylers enslaved over the years were purchased in Albany or New York City, so we can restrict our search to advertisements published in New York itself. For the purposes of this article, we will be sampling from advertisements published between April 13^th and June 25^th, 1767, just two years after the construction of the Schuylers home in Albany. Let’s dig in!

The most common descriptors applied to the women in these advertisements refer to their ability to do housework. On April 13^th, 1767, a Mr. H. Gaine advertised a 28 year old woman, “who is a tolerable cook, and can do all sorts of housework, fit for town or country.” The same advertisement was run a week later, presumably for the same woman and with the same description.[1] On April 16^th, the New York Journal ran an advertisement for a young woman 17 or 18 years old, described as able to do, “all sorts of House-Work.” This specific phrase, or near identical variations, abound in the sources. On April 16^th of the same year, the New York Gazette ran an ad for, “A Smart likely active Negro Girl, about 14 Years of Age, has had Small-Pox; is very handy, and sold for no Fault but Want of Employ.” On the 20^th, the New York Mercury listed a 25 year old woman, described in the exact same language, with the addendum that she could also cook. H. Gaine used the same sort of terminology to advertise an 18 year old woman and her four month old infant on June 22^nd, saying, “she is a good cook and can do all manner of work, belonging to a house.” These examples indicate that the ability to cook and familiarity with housework were considered two separate areas of accomplishment.

Many of these advertisements are vague to modern eyes, unfamiliar with the types of labor that would have been obvious to a prospective 18^th century buyer. For example, it is clear that an ability to do housework was a desirable skill, but what exactly did that entail? Another posting from April 13^th offers a few specific examples of essential household tasks: “A likely handy Negro Girl, between 13 and 14 Years of Age, that can make Beds, sweep, and do many other Things about the House…” 
In this case, housework refers to general housekeeping ability. Another specific example comes from a June 25^th advertisement, which describes a young woman of sixteen years as being “forward with the Needle, and handy in a family”.

Other advertisements emphasized skills specifically related to country life. On June 22^nd, Robert Lettice Hooper advertised the sale of an entire estate near Trenton in the New York Mercury. In addition to 200 acres of land, a dwelling house, and sundry other property, Hooper advertised that, “The Gentleman that purchases the plantation, may be supplied with three negro men and a wench, that understands all manner of farming.” While the vast majority of Philip Schuyler’s farmland was tended to by tenant farmers, the people enslaved by the family were sometimes tasked with clearing new fields and assisting with agricultural labor. It was also not uncommon to rent the labor of enslaved men and women to assist with such tasks. For example on February 5^th, 1762, Col. John Bradstreet, Philip’s friend and mentor, paid 68 pounds, 9 shillings on Philip’s behalf for, “ye Labour of a Negro man and Wench from ye 9^th of April to ye 29^th of Septembr [sic].”

One area of women’s work that is less often mentioned in the advertisements is personal attendance. Enslaved servants to wait upon one’s person and to assist in daily tasks were considered a clear status symbol and part of the comfortably refined lifestyle of a gentleman or lady. Philip Schuyler was attended by a man named Prince, while several references indicate that the women of the family were attended by female servants. For instance, there are references to an enslaved woman named Caty Betty (or possibly “Caty’s Betty”) who accompanied Catharine Schuyler on travels. In 1781, Alexander Hamilton negotiated the purchase of a woman specifically for his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, likely as a personal attendant. Catharine and Elizabeth would have expected their attending women to aid them with their toilette, caring for children, and as travel companions and assistants.

From sources like these, a picture emerges in which women were assigned a wide variety of tasks associated with the smooth running of an 18^th century estate such as the Schuylers' Albany property. The beautiful furnishings of the house itself required constant upkeep. Seven of the eight chambers of the house featured flocked wallpaper, and the furniture throughout the home was upholstered in fine silks and wools. These ornate textiles are prone to collecting dust, and needed special attention. The carpets- five rooms of which were purchased for the equivalent price of 9,000 loaves of bread- needed to be carefully swept to avoid damage from dirt or gravel being ground into the pile. At times these same women would be expected to assist Catharine and her daughters as personal attendants.

The Schuyler’s home in Albany was more than just an elegant mansion however. The working courtyard attached to the West face of the house, hidden from the view of guests approaching from the river, was the scene for other labor associated with the house, labor which was often assigned to enslaved women. The working courtyard featured a brick kitchen structure where all of the meals would have been prepared. The women assigned to the kitchen would not only have been responsible for food preparation, but for the laborious work of cleaning dishes and laundry, which required hauling large amounts of water, and for the odiously odoriferous task of rendering animal fats to make tallow for soap and candles. While it is unclear to what degree Philip rented out the agricultural labor of enslaved women, livestock in the back courtyard were likely tended to by both men and women, but may have also been assigned to the children of the women working in the courtyard.

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of sources specifically referencing the experiences of the women held in slavery at the site, most of our understandings of their lives comes through extrapolation and generalization, however these generalizations hold true in the wider Albany community, and there is little evidence to suggest any meaningful divergence from the norm at the Schuylers’ home. Work is only one aspect of a person’s life however, and while it is often the first question that we ask in regards to an enslaved person, other important questions can help us uncover even more about the lives of these women. One of our next projects on “The Servants”, will be to try to piece together the familial relationships of the men, women, and children held in bondage by Philip Schuyler. Check back soon! In the meantime, check some of the other series on our blog with the links at the top of the page, and be sure to check us out on Twitter @SchuylerMansion. You can follow the Adverts250 projects on slavery @SlaveAdverts250

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[1] Gaine posted another ad the week after, with the same terminology, however in this third iteration he paid for an eye-catching floral border to the ad and larger, italicized, text. Interestingly, he lists the woman in question as being only twenty years old. This raises questions- Was this a different woman than was advertised previously, or was Gaine trying to make his “wares” more appealing by listing her as younger than she was?

Paint in the Schuyler Mansion: 18th Century Paint

By Jessie Serfilippi

A copy of Schuyler's paint receipt

Painting the interior of a house in the 18^th century greatly differed from modern paint methods. In the 18^th century, paint had to be mixed specifically for each job and used quickly so it wouldn’t develop a skim on top. Paint also came in powdered form, allowing it to be mixed at the convenience of the user. Surprisingly, what these powders were made of not only determined the cost of the paint, but also made certain paint colors into status symbols. Because of this, the wealthy social elite of the colonial era used paint to further display their wealth. As a man of great wealth, Philip Schuyler may have sought to show off his status through paint colors, too.

One of the few paint-related receipts from the early days of the Schuyler Mansion details the colors, form, quantity, and prices for a variety of paints Schuyler purchased. According to this receipt, he bought four bags of white paint “Ground in Oil,” two bags of “Brown paint Ground in oil,” 20 bags of “Umber” paint, two bags of lamp black paint, and three ounces of Prussian Blue. Schuyler also purchased 20 gallons of oil with his paint, indicating that his paint was made from an oil base. Oil paint was made from three main ingredients—linseed oil, the ground-up pigment, and turpentine. 

Out of the four paints purchased, the easiest pigment to make was brown. This was made using whichever minerals were available locally. Most commonly, dirt was used to achieve what was sometimes referred to as Spanish Brown. This paint was commonly used as a primer, so its exact color—which varied widely, from red, to orange, to brown—didn’t matter.

White paint, according to Colonial Williamsburg’s Making History, was not exactly white. It was rather a creamy off-white that sometimes faded to khaki over time. This is because white paint is made from either chalk or lime, which would be available to colonials in nearby quarries. Because the pigment is created through these minerals, a pure white color could only be achieved through white washing. Whether or not Schuyler white-washed after painting anything white is currently unknown.

Lamp black paint, which Schuyler purchased two bags of, was created with either soot from oil lamps or burnt vegetable oil mixed with the base, which was oil in this case. These common resources would make is fairly cheap to produce, much like the brown paint.

Schuyler also purchased umber paint. This is a shade of brown named for the clay material from which it’s derived. The clay is typically mined in Italy or Cyprus, meaning the import value alone likely caused it to be more expensive than the other shade of brown.

The most expensive paint color of all was Prussian blue, of which Schuyler purchased only three ounces. Those three ounces cost 1 pound, 1 shilling, while two bags of brown paint cost him one pound, twelve pence. Prussian blue paint was the first artificially manufactured paint. It was discovered through experimentation with the oxidation of iron by a German man named Diesbach. Not only did it become popular in the centuries following its discovery, but it was also expensive, making it a status symbol. George Washington put it in his home. Did Philip Schuyler, as well? Discover the answer in the next blog post in this series, which will focus on restoring the paint in the Schuyler Mansion!

Prussian Blue at George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Note: A previous version of this article included information on milk paint which has since been removed after further research revealed only questionable historical evidence for the existence of milk paint.

The Many Graves of Philip Schuyler

by Jessie Serfilippi

Philip Schuyler's grave
 in Albany Rural Cemetery.

There are many questions and myths surrounding the journey Philip Schuyler’s body took after his death in 1804. Some people believe there was a burial vault on Schuyler property that both he and Catharine were interred in. Others believe he was placed in the Van Rensselaer vault upon his death.

In reality, there was no Schuyler vault, and the Van Rensselaer vault was not Schuyler’s first resting place. This begs the question: where did he go?

When Philip Schuyler died at the Schuyler Mansion on November 18, 1804, he was eulogized throughout Albany and beyond. One newspaper laments: “At Albany, on Sunday evening, at 6 o’clock, P.M. after a lingering illness, Gen. PHILIP SCHUYLER, in the 73^rd year of age,­­-- As an officer of Superior merit, a most valuable citizen, and enlightened and able statesman, his loss is deeply regretted.” The Boston Gazette reports his death “At Albany, on 18^th inft. Gen. PHILIP SCHUYLER, aged 73.” While both of these newspapers cite him as being 73 at the time of his death, he was actually days shy of his 71^st birthday. An Albany newspaper still incorrectly cites him as being 71, but spends half a column extolling him:

Albany, November 22, 1804.

IT is with deep regret that we announce the death of the Hon. MAJOR GENERAL PHILIP SCHUYLER, on Sunday evening last, in the 71^st year of his age… A man eminent for his useful labours, in the military and civil affairs of our country. Distinguished by strength and intellect, extensive knowledge, soundness and purity of moral and political principles. He was an active, not a visionary patriot. He was wise in divising [sic], enterprising and persevering in execution of plans of great and public utility. Too intelligent to found his notions of political or civil government, upon the perfectibility of man, or upon any other views of the human character, than those derived from the experience of ages: And too honest to tell the people, that their liberties could be preserved in any other way, than by the wholesome restraints of a constitution and laws, energetic, yet free.

In private life, he was dignified but courteous; in his manners, hospitable; a pleasing and instructive companion; ardent and sincere in his friendships; affectionate in his domestic relations, and just in his dealings.

                                     The death of such a man is truly a subject of private and public sorrow.

On Wednesday his remains were entered, with military honors, in the family vault of the Hon. ABRAHAM TEN BROECK.

It is from this obituary that we learn two important facts about Schuyler’s death: he received military honors at his funeral and he was buried in the Ten Broeck family vault.

The military honors Philip Schuyler received upon his death were not unlike what deceased veterans receive today. Schuyler’s casket was draped with the American flag, then decorated with fifteen stars instead of today’s fifty. He also would have been honored with three volleys over his gravesite. This tradition originates from a signal used during ceasefire in battle to let the opposing army know all the dead have been removed from the field and the fighting may continue. It likely serves as a sign of respect for deceased veterans both now and during Schuyler’s time.

After the funeral, Schuyler’s body was placed in Abraham Ten Broeck’s vault, which sat some distance behind the Ten Broeck mansion on the north side of Albany. Schuyler was the first to be interred there. He was followed by Abraham himself in 1810, the Ten Broeck’s daughter, Margaret, in 1812, and Abraham’s wife, Elizabeth, in 1813.

While Schuyler’s body rested there peacefully for some years, that changed in the late 1830s. According to Theodore H. Fossieck, who writes twice about the vault and journey the bodies inside of it took for the Albany County Historical Association’s newsletters in August and September of 1989, the Ten Broeck’s vault fell into disrepair and collapsed in 1836.

Preceding the collapse of the vault was its journey through numerous different owners. The plot the vault sat on was sold three times between Elizabeth Ten Broeck’s death in 1813 and 1831. In addition to this, in the 1830s the City of Albany proposed the creation of three new streets in the area surrounding Ten Broeck’s former grounds, including the vault. The construction of these streets is what caused the grounds around the vault to erode, leading to its collapse in 1836.         

It is between 1839 and the late 1860s that the location of Schuyler’s body becomes somewhat of a mystery. The bodies in the Ten Broeck vault were moved by 1839, but the grounds of Albany Rural Cemetery, Schuyler’s current resting place, were not purchased until 1844. What lends further credence to the theory that Schuyler was not buried in Albany Rural until at least the late 1860s is that no General Schuyler grave site is mentioned in the first walking tour of the cemetery, which was published in 1858. It is not until 1871, in another walking tour of the cemetery, that Schuyler’s grave site is mentioned. So where was his body for about fifteen to twenty years?

A letter from a Schuyler descendant to the Albany Rural Cemetery board of trustees provides a clue. In yet another walking tour of the cemetery published in 1893, the letter, written in 1869, from this descendant, Mrs. W. Starr Miller, is included. In it she refers to “the funeral of the late Patron Van Rensselaer.” The funeral she writes about is likely that of Stephen Van Rensselaer IV, sometimes known as the “young Patroon” or “last Patroon,” who died in 1868, one year before the letter is written.

Letter from Mrs. W. Starr Miller as published
 in 1893 walking tour of the cemetery.

The Van Rensselaer Manor Home.

 

In the letter she laments finding “the old family vault broken up,” and relays surprise when she discovered that its “contents had all been removed.” Among those remains said to be moved were “Gen. Schuyler, his wife and son, John Bradstreet Schuyler [who] had been placed, and interred in the Van Rensselaer lot […] without note or mark as to the spot, save the diagram of the lot [in Albany Rural]!”

The old family vault she refers to is likely the Van Rensselaer family vault, which sat on the Van Rensselaer Manor property in Albany. When the property was later surrounded by railroads the family abandoned it, and it was eventually dismantled in the early 1890s. But even as early as 1868—at the time of Stephen Van Rensselaer IV’s funeral—the vault which held the remains of the family had crumbled beyond repair.

It is with the help of this letter that the journey Schuyler’s body took after his death becomes slightly clearer. It seems as if, after his removal from the Ten Broeck vault in the late 1830s, he was placed in the Van Rensselaer family vault. He remained there until it was pillaged, and was then removed to Albany Rural Cemetery at some point before 1868, when Mrs. Starr Miller was present for Stephen Van Rensselaer IV’s funeral, and was placed in the Van Rensselaer plot at the cemetery with no headstone to mark his resting place. While so far the exact year when this transfer took place cannot be determined, it was at some point between 1858—when the walking tour that does not include him is published— and 1868.

Monument to Philip Schuyler as pictured
in 1893 walking tour of cemetery.

In 1870 Mrs. Starr Miller was granted permission by the Albany Rural Cemetery board of trustees to move Schuyler’s body to its current resting place within those grounds. She then commissioned the monument which still marks his grave site.

Where Catharine Van Rensselaer Schuyler’s body is remains somewhat of a mystery. If she actually was in the Van Rensselaer vault with her husband at the time of his removal then it is likely that she—and her son, Johnny Bradstreet, who was said to be buried there, as well—is still in the Van Rensselaer plot in Albany Rural, where her daughter, Margaret “Peggy” Schuyler Van Rensselaer, her husband, and his second wife, are buried. Also buried there is Abraham Ten Broeck, whose grave is marked not by a headstone, but by a flag holder that declares him a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Philip Schuyler’s body went on quite the journey after his death in 1804, leading him from the Ten Broeck vault, then to the Van Rensselaer vault, and finally to Albany Rural Cemetery. Hopefully this is his final destination!

Back Hall

In the back hall you will find the rear entrance of the home which would have led into the working courtyard of the estate. From maps and descriptions, we know that this courtyard included two twenty foot by twenty foot wing buildings - a public office and a nursery; likely for plants rather than children - the kitchens, and the "necessary" (outhouse). Other buildings were interconnected with these by a covered walkway or "shed" which extended from this back entrance, but 19th-century changes to the property left modern historians with little evidence of where precisely these buildings may have been during the Schuyler's residence. They included a "lumber loft", "fowl yard" (chicken houses), a "small room to warm in", a gardening shed for tools and seeds, an ice house, and a coach house. Reference to a room with an "ash hole" beneath may imply that a furnace for smithing was also available, or that this building was intended for soaking wood ashes to make lye, needed in the making of soaps.

A scaled portion of a 1790s map of Albany
shows less than half of Philip's estate,
including a 2 acre enclosed yard where
the labor for the house was done by
enslaved servants and laborers.

This courtyard would have been the work space for many of the people enslaved by the Schuylers. This grueling labor involved long days working as carters, cart-wrights, laundresses, cooks, servants, smiths, and carpenters. Census records show between 8 and 13 enslaved laborers in residence at the property at any given time, and references in family letters imply that they did the majority of the skilled and semi-skilled labor that kept this household running. This back hall space was their entrance to the home.Shipping barrels are on display to demonstrate the types of goods the family was importing from Europe and the other colonies. [Read about the movement of goods by enslaved laborers Lisbon, Dick, and Bob]

The most famous feature of the back hall is the noticeable gouge in the railing of the staircase, purportedly the result of a historically documented attack on the house - when a force of Loyalist militia and British soldiers attempted to kidnap Philip Schuyler from his home in August 1781. While Philip and the family were unharmed, several defenders were wounded during the fighting and two of Philip's "life guards" (body guards) were taken prisoner. The gouge in the Bannister became infamous through a later family legend attached to this Loyalist attack which attributes the mark to a tomahawk. The story claims that the Schuyler's infant daughter Caty was left downstairs during the attack, and a throwing ax was thrown at 3rd daughter Margaret "Peggy" Schuyler when she went to retrieve her baby sister. Primary sources from both Philip Schuyler and the Loyalist band led by Captain Jans Waltermeyer however, make this story unlikely, and the true origins of the mark remain a mystery.

A legend, first told in a memoir of youngest daughter Catharine Schuyler Cochran Malcolm (Caty) in the 1830s, spread like wildfire during the 19th-Century as an explanation for a cut discovered in the banister of the Schuyler's former home. There are no contemporary mentions of the mark in the railing, or the story that spawned from it, during the Schuyler's residence (c.1765-1804). The earliest versions of the story relate it to the Loyalist kidnapping attempt in 1781 (see the British uniforms in the background of far left) whereas later versions turn the story into an Indian raid, which never occurred on the property.

With the Front Entrance at Your Back:

Going backwards will bring you to the Central Hall

Left will bring you to the Library

Right will bring you to the Dining Chamber

The staircase will bring you upstairs into the Salon

Other Rooms:

Formal Parlor

Family Parlor

Blue Chamber (Upstairs)

Yellow Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Chamber (Upstairs)

Green Bed Chamber

Schuyler describes parterre gardens in the French style to the
south of the house (image from OldHouseOnline). These gardens
would have provided a view to the guests of the Formal Parlor
and Green Bedchamber, as well as a recreational area where
guests could take strolls and have lively conversations in the
beauty of nature. Burgoyne described such walks during his stay.

This room was considered the best bedchamber of the house due to the elegant woodwork and furnishings, the sunlight it receives throughout the day, and the views - the rolling pastures which led to the Hudson River to the east, and the 200ft by 200ft formal parterre gardens which would have lain to the south. This room was used by Philip and Catharine but could also be given over to their most esteemed guests, inlcuding Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, the Marquis de Chastellux, and British General John Burgoyne.

British General John Burgoyne
by Joshua Reynolds. Virtually
unknown for his military career
in England, John Burgoyne
was a famous poet and playwright
  before and after fighting
in the American Revolution.

Burgoyne's stay is particularly intriguing and well documented, as he was taken as "Prisoner Guest" after his surrender to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga. Much of the battle of Saratoga took place on Schuyler's industrial estate in Bemis Heights (Schuylerville) by his design, and since many of his buildings were burned as part of Burgoyne's attack, Schuyler remained at that property while Burgoyne, along with an entourage of other prisoners, French and Continental officers, aides-de-camp, and other personnel, were escorted to the Albany home and placed under Catharine's care. Despite their status as prisoners, Catharine treated Burgoyne and the other captured officers as esteemed guests, surrendered the nicest rooms in the house to them, fed them multiple course meals, and treated them with respect and dignity. This "gentlemanly" treatment was an expectation of warfare of the period, and benefited Schuyler and wealthy officers like him, who hoped to be treated the same should they be captured by the British. It also served to remind people of Philip's insturmental role in the 1777 campaign, in which he led the Northern Army prior to Gates being given command by teh Continental Congress in August.The chaos described on Catharine's behalf - as Continental (American) troops stationed in the farmland uprooted crops, stole fruits and vegetables, ate the laying hens, and milked the dairy cows, making it difficult for her to supply the visitor's inside - did not seem to phase Burgoyne, who later described the stay as pleasant and purportedly sent a pair of shoe-buckles back to 3rd daughter Peggy, as thanks for the friendship extended to him during his stay (the buckles in question are on display in the Visitor's Center).

Philip Schuyler's house in Bemis Heights (Schuylerville), as rebuilt by Schuyler after the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. The house still stands and is open to the public seasonally as part of the Saratoga National Battlefield Park operated by the National Park Service. Philip spent the fall of 1777 rebuilding while Burgoyne and co. were sent to Schuyler's Albany home.

Philip and Catharine would also invite guests to share more intimate meals with them in this room.

Philip’s personal attendant, an enslaved man named Prince, would have assisted Philip with his morning and evening toilette, pouring hot water into the wash basin, combing and powdering Philip’s hair (a lengthy process in itself), and assisting him with his garments. Catharine would have had a similar attendant, perhaps a woman referred to as "CatyBetty" (Caty's Betty) in letters and receipts.

The medicine chest on the floor is representative of Schuyler’s poor health, for which he was regularly treated by Dr. Samuel Stringer. Stringer’s treatments included bleeding and purging, the use of “Peruvian Bark”, an early form of quinine for fevers, opium as a pain killer, and an early oxygen machine for Philip’s use. [Read about Dr. Stringer in the Revolution.]

As You Exit:

You will pass through the Salon

Straight ahead you will find the Yellow Chamber

Diagonal from this room is the Blue Chamber

Left will bring you downstairs to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber (Downstairs)

Central Hall (Downstairs)

Formal Parlor (Downstairs)

Family Parlor (Downstairs)

Yellow Bed Chamber

Portraits of 4 of the Schuyler daughters & 1 of
the sons are shown throughout the house. Here
is the 3rd daughter, Peggy. The existence of
portraits of all of the daughters likely speaks
to the relative success of the women, and the
middle son of the family, compared to their
two other brothers.

The Schuyler’s five daughters, Angelica, Elizabeth, Peggy, Cornelia, and Caty may have used this room as a bedchamber from the 1760’s onward. If, that is, guests did not require the space, which resides on the brightest side of the house, and therefore would have been the second most desirable chamber (see the Green Chamber across the hall for more on this).

The girls were quite spread-out in age with the oldest and youngest daughters sharing a birthday 25 years apart. The same year that mother Catharine birthed her youngest daughter at 47 years old (1781), Angelica was home pregnant with her third child, and Elizabeth home pregnant with her first. The older girls would often return to visit, perhaps sharing their old room with their younger sisters. The cradle on display is believed to be original to the family.

Examples of the girls’ academic and artistic pursuits are visible in the room. Margaret (better known as Peggy) and Elizabeth were talented painters, while needlework was an important and refined skill for all young ladies of the family. On the chest of drawers against the east wall is Elizabeth’s day-box, used to carry sewing materials and other important items. Among English colonists, in particular, women's education could seem proscribed and ornamental. [Read colonial doctor and educational philosopher Benjamin Rush's Thoughts upon Female Education]. However, Philip, following in the traditions of his Dutch heritage, encouraged his daughters to read a broad variety of subjects, including history, geography, arithmetic, philosophy, and French. Later letters from the girls indicate that their education did not end with these subjects. Instead, the girls explored subjects such as German, Latin, finance, astronomy, and many more.

Read about the enslaved women who would have attended on Catharine and her daughters.

As You Exit:

You will pass through the Salon

The door to your right along this wall is the Blue Chamber

Straight ahead you will find the Green Chamber

Right will bring you downstairs to the Back Hall

Other Rooms:

Library (Downstairs)

Dining Chamber (Downstairs)

Central Hall (Downstairs)

Formal Parlor (Downstairs)

Family Parlor (Downstairs)