Looking for Lincoln
Maid of All Work: The Women Who Worked for the Lincolns
Watch the free online program this evening at 7 p.m.

 

[April 04, 2023] 

Like most middle-class women of her time, Mary Lincoln relied on hired help to manage her household. These women worked and sometimes lived in her house, cleaning, cooking, and caring for the children alongside her.

Who were these women? What were their duties? What was their experience like within the household? What were the Lincolns experiences living and working intimately with a cross-section of society that they might never have encountered otherwise?

Anne E. Moseley, the University of Illinois at Springfield's Sangamon Experience Director and Curator, will examine the nature of domestic service in the Lincoln household in Springfield, Illinois, to attempt to answer these questions by drawing on letters, reminiscences, and county records. In doing so, this program aspires not only to establish a social and cultural context for the Lincolns’ experience but to flesh out the experiences of working-class women who are often on the margins or outright invisible to history.

Viewers can watch and participate in this free, live, online program on this topic entitled ‘Maid of All Work’ on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at 7 pm on the Looking for Lincoln YouTube and Facebook video channels. Questions can be submitted by viewers during the event. Reservations are not required, and there is no cost to view the program.

"Mr. Lincoln gave [me] an extra dollar each week on condition that she would brave whatever storms might arise, and suffer whatever might arise, and suffer whatever might befall her, without complaint.” -Miss. Mary Johnson

Anne E. Moseley is the first Director of Engagement and Curator of the Sangamon Experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) and a Master’s degree in Public History from the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS). Before she began her position at UIS, she was the director and curator of the Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College. Anne was awarded the Illinois State Historical Society’s Malkovich Award for Young Museum Professional in 2015 for her outstanding contribution to Collections Management and Exhibit development at the Lincoln Heritage Museum. Her research focuses on Lincoln's life in Illinois and the social history of antebellum Illinois. Recently she has been writing a book called A Maid of All Work: the women who worked for the Lincolns.

She has published an article for the Sangamon Link, The Lochridge brothers, Pawnee merchants. Moseley currently serves as an advisory board member for the Lincoln Forum, National Association for Interpretation Region 5 member, and a steering council member for the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.

“We are proud to host this series of Looking for Lincoln conversations,” says Sarah Watson, Executive Director of Looking for Lincoln. “These live, digital programs cover a range of topics that depict the life and times of Abraham Lincoln in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. Few individuals have so profoundly influenced American history as did Abraham Lincoln. Millions around the world are inspired by the story of Lincoln's rise from humble beginnings to President of the United States, his qualities of integrity and courage and his decisive leadership traits that carried a fragile nation through one of its most trying periods.”

These programs are free and broadcast live on Looking for Lincoln’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, and will end with a question and answer session with the virtual audience. The program is recorded for viewing after the live premier, and is available on the Looking for Lincoln Facebook and YouTube video libraries.

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The Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition is the coordinating entity for the 43-county Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. It is a partnership of organizations and individuals dedicated to enhancing the communities and landscapes of central Illinois through recognition and support of their significant natural, cultural and historical legacies. Few individuals have so profoundly influenced American history as did Abraham Lincoln. Millions around the world are inspired by the story of Lincoln’s rise from humble beginnings to President of the United States, his qualities of integrity and courage and his decisive leadership – traits that carried a fragile nation through one of its most trying periods.

For more information about the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, go to www.lookingforlincoln.org.

[Sarah Watson]