Behind the Research: Craftspeople Research

Each part of Mathilde and Christian Heurich’s dream home, and the Museum today, exists because of the work of countless designers, artisans, builders, and craftspeople. Who were they? What were their lives - and own homes - like? 

I’m excited to explore these questions in the newest stage of my research, which is part of the Museum’s larger interpretive plan to share a more equitable view of the past. This work challenges previous narratives of Christian as “self made,” acknowledging the many people who not only helped him, but also had their own unique experiences. Instead, we situate Christian’s life as a German immigrant businessman within a vast network of people connected with the Heurich home at the center. 

In our last project (2020-2023) on household staff, we learned that 77 women, 12 African Americans, and 25 immigrants worked as staff for the family between 1894 and1956. We tried to rebuild biographical details of their lives, adding layers to the story. We’ve also expanded the stories of Amelia Schnell, Mathilde Daetz, and Amelia Keyser, who were previously described with less depth as “Christian’s wives.” Sidelining all of these stories would not be an accurate reflection of life and work in DC from the late-19th through the mid-20th century. (To learn more, visit our exhibit “Working Title” during a public tour or open house.)

This project also revolves around memory: Why don’t we have detailed records for the Heurich’s New Hampshire Ave home? Even if we do locate businesses or contractors, what information was saved about their individual employees and what is no longer accessible? Are there certain types of work that we know more about than others (for example, someone who was recorded as a cabinetmaker versus a person listed more generally as a laborer)?

This research project has required some reverse engineering. To start, I looked through the Museum’s archival materials, including architect John Granville Meyers’ 1891 building specifications and the 1893 interior design order from decorating firm Chas. H. Huber & Bro. I broke the plans into smaller projects, identifying the different types of work and materials needed for each step.

Cover page of architect J.G. Meyers’ specifications for the Heurich house, September 8, 1891.

Next, I wanted to learn which jobs were responsible for completing this work and how the occupations were recorded in the Census. I sat down with the Museum’s Preservation Director Dan Rudie and we identified 46 different job titles that would have directly worked on the house and 90 occupations that may have played a role behind the scenes. 

Some of the clearer roles include: architects, brick makers, cabinet makers, iron and steel works operatives, and stone masons. Behind the scenes, there likely would have been warehouse employees, shippers and freighters, miners, tool makers, apprentices to trades, etc.

The house today - which we often call our biggest collections object - has been central in this project. Dan and I compared the original plans with the physical spaces, figuring out what work was completed and what was altered. An example is the Main Hallway, where the original plan included oak stairs and five oak columns. Instead, the stairs were built using marble with onyx risers and the five oak columns were not included. Changes like this would have altered the configurations of staffing: less work for carpenters, more work for stone masons.

A section of J.G. Meyers’ specifications for the Heurich house, September 8, 1891.

Photo of the main stairway from the first floor of the Heurich house, 2021

I’ve also been looking through the Museum’s Reference Collection, historic newspapers, and city directories in hopes of finding connections between the Heurich family and local building trade companies. 

Before Mathilde and Christian moved into their New Hampshire Ave mansion, they lived on 19th St NW and hired Meyers for a series of renovation projects. The Reference Collection has a few documents related to this work, including an 1889 letter from builders Horatio Dawson and James Haislip. Meyers hired them to do excavation, brickwork, tinning, and carpentry work (and furnish the lumber) in addition to building a heating box for the Heurichs’ first home.
Copy of letter from Horatio Dawson & James Haislip to J.G. Meyers, March 2, 1889

 

Dawson and Haislip’s business address was written as 210 2nd St NW in the Judiciary Square area, which was part of the 19th-century working-class neighborhood Swampoodle. The area was home to many immigrants and building tradespeople. Its close proximity to the railroad (later replaced by Union Station) made it a key location for warehouses, construction businesses, and supply yards. 

Dawson was a Canadian immigrant who was listed as a builder in the 1890 DC directory. Haislip was born in Virginia and was listed as a bricklayer in the 1900 Census. Both men lived in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood around 1890: Dawson at 68 K St NW and Haislip at 505 M St NW. The area was segregated with white craftspeople, tradesmen, and skilled laborers - like Haislip and Dawson - living on the main streets and typically Black and immigrant workers in alley dwellings.

We don’t know whether the Heurich family hired Dawson and Haislip again for their New Hampshire Ave mansion, but searching for their stories helps us sketch out the complex network of relationships.

Around the turn of the century, tradespeople faced many challenges like dangerous working conditions, which unions sought to improve. In his will, Haislip mentioned the Bricklayer’s Union No. 1 DC - the local chapter of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers founded in 1865. Bricklayers unions helped lower workdays from ten hours to eight and established standard wages. 

Although many Black artisans had expertise in skilled trades, they were often hired as general laborers (Emma Amuti, 1997). African American craftspeople often faced racist exclusionary practices in trade unions and created their own unions to organize. This would have directly affected their pay since there were major gaps between different jobs in the building industry. In large U.S. cities in 1890, bricklayers and masons made about 2.5 times more than people working as laborers (Clarence D. Long, 1960, 96). 

This brings up questions of access: who was able to complete training and apprenticeships? How did lack of access affect their quality of life and everyday experiences?

In recent years, the building industry has been experiencing labor shortages as skilled workers with extensive experience are retiring and not enough people are filling their places. This is in part due to the push for academic degrees for younger generations, the physical nature of work, and safety issues. Learning these stories help us understand and address issues facing the labor industry today (Robert Forrant and Mary Anne Trasciatt, 2022, 3). 

Today, the Heurich house - the building, its interiors, and the objects within - symbolize the lives of people: those who built it, lived there, or worked there. Each part of our own homes, workplaces, and places we visit can also serve as reminders of all of the people who make our everyday experiences possible.

Interested in learning more? Check out these sources:

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Heurich Happenings