The Enslaved Nanny's Room

The Enslaved Nanny's Room. . , Prior to the end of the Civil War, many enslaved people worked in the house cooking and serving meals, cleaning, attending family members and caring for the children. They lived in cabins behind the house except for the Prud'homme children's enslaved nanny or nurse who lived in a room directly under the house. The palings enclosing the ground-floor rooms likely would not have been here at the time, making an open porch/workspace around the central rooms similar to the gallery upstairs. , After the Civil War, the family hired nannies to look after the children. These nannies, including Marie Wilson and Carrie Helaire, did not live in the Nanny's Room. The trap door was covered over with new flooring in the 1950s. , In addition to a door that led outside, the Nanny's Room had a staircase (left) leading to a trap door which opened into the bedroom above. At any hour of day or night the enslaved nanny could be: summoned to care for the children. Celeste worked as enslaved nurse in 1845 (and possibly a midwife) and may have lived in the Nanny's Room., Photo Captions , Marie Wilson in 1935. She grannied" many of the children of Phanor and Marie Laure Prud'homme. , Nurse holding Mayo Prud'homme in 1932