A Ruth Berlin work history

Cousin Ruth could almost have a blog of her own.
Rather than make an entry every time I find another postcard,I've pulled together what I have into an almost chronological list. It is a rather dry account, but at least the outline is all in one place.  Supporting snapshots are not particularly informative, but will be scanned into the Ruth Berlin online album at some point.  "Good help" seems to have been passed around among the richest families in New York.  Ruth certainly worked for a number of them.

Ruth Berlin was born in 1892 in Sweden, and came to the U.S. in 1912.
The 1920 census shows her in Manhattan, in the household of J. Clifton Edgar, a professor of Obstetrics st Cornell.

The first of her jobs for which we have documentation was with H.C. Frick.  She worked for that family from the fall of 1920 to May, 1923,  at both Eagle Rock

http://stuffstories.blogspot.com/2012/01/ruth-worked-for-hcfrick-at-eagle-rock.html
and at 1 East 70th in New York, currently The Frick Collection.
(find a picture)

Ruth's cousin Victor sent her a letter to the Frick mansion in New York City.

In the summer of 1923, Ruth went to Sweden.
She returned in October 1923 on this ship, the S.S. Frederik VIII

From April 1924 to October 1926, Ruth worked for John D. Rockefeller.
Here is the reference she got when she left.

Two Residences, it says.  If there was one in New York City, she worked there.  Otherwise, one must have been Kykuit in Tarrytown, in the Hudson Valley (photo from Kykuit website)

The second was The Casements, Rockefeller's winter home in Ormond Beach, Florida

Ruth talked about the staff all getting dimes from John D.   He was famous for doing that.

There is a gap of over a year before the next long-term employment.
I think that means that the undated 4 months at Black Point was during the summer of 1927.


Then from the summer of 1928 to June 1932, Ruth was working on Park Avenue for G.B.Salisbury.

 Who was G.B.Salisbury?
The 1919-20 Annual Bulletin for the Harvard College Class of 1889 reports that he "is doing business as Salisbury, Worth & Sloan, brokers,at 74 Broadway NYC" .   That's all I have found.

Edit 1/28/2013:
The 1930 census has a Ruth Berlin listed as a servant in the house of Charles Pierre on Park Avenue. This must be 'our' Ruth because the nationality, birth date, and immigration year are right.  Don't know how to square this data with the "four years" in Mrs. Salisbury's 1932 note except to notice that the Salisburys and Pierres lived in the same apartment building at the time of the census.
It would be amazing to be able to say that she had worked for Pierre, because he is the Pierre of the Pierre Hotel on Central Park, which opened in 1930



From Park Avenue, Ruth went to Tuxedo Park, to Ledgelands, home of David and Isabelle Wagstaff for several years. All I know about the Wagstaffs is that they were listed in The Social Register.
Ruth left them when they closed the house, it says.

1937 through 1941, we only know what Ruth was doing during the summers.

1937.  The Breakers. A Vanderbilt estate.   One of the largest in Newport.
Ruth was First Housekeeper for the summer.
The Countess Szechenyi, nee Gladys Vanderbilt, inherited the house from Cornelius II.

Summers 1938, 1939, 1940, and 1941 were spent with the W.K.Vanderbilt household.
We know this from the letter here

The summers must have been at Eagles Nest on Long Island.

When she was taken  on permanently, her duties would have taken her, in season, to the Vanderbilt residence on 5th Avenue.  Perfect.

From the Vanderbilts, Ruth went back to Tuxedo Park, to an estate called Kincraig, owned by George G Mason. I have found nothing to enlarge on this data.
Ruth was there for almost four years.

There was a short term of employment with Walter Chrysler in 1949.
I'll bet that she didn't like being away from New York City.

Then in 1950, Ruth started work for Mrs. G. F. Tyler in Bucks County, PA.  This was her last job.
The Indian Council Rock estate was full of art and there were extensive gardens with sculptures.
The estate was left to Temple University, but is now Bucks County Community College.
There are a lot of pictures from this property in Ruth's albums.

Ruth became a U.S. Citizen during her time with Tylers, in 1956.

Ruth worked at this job until the house was closed after Mrs. Tyler died.

Ruth was in Bucks County until 1964, when she was 72.
She moved back to New York City in her retirement.

Another Ruth employer

This is the west entrance to Black Point, another of the mansions on the Gold Coast in the Hamptons, featured in various books on the fabulous architecture of the Gilded Age in the area's history.

Cousin Ruth's photo albums don't have pictures specifically labelled for this location, but I suppose that some of her photographs of groups of servants were taken here.

We do know that she worked here, because there is this letter - unfortunately undated - presumably from the head housekeeper for Mrs. H.H. Rogers.

"She is leaving of her own accord rather than spend the winter in Southampton."
Love it.
Also interesting that "she is specially talented at arranging flowers."

(I am tagging this 1920s because this mansion was torn down in the mid 30s.)

Ruth worked for H.C.Frick at Eagle Rock

Cousin Ruth worked as a maid in several large houses in New York City in the early part of the century.  When the households moved to their summer places, she sometimes went with them.
That was the case with the Henry C Frick's. 
Ruth liked gardens, and she liked to take pictures.  Judging from the number of photographs taken in the gardens at Eagle Rock, the Frick mansion at Prides Crossing, she really enjoyed her summers there.

Here is a commercial postcard of the place.

And one of the gardens.

Ruth took pictures of the gardens, too.

And pictures of her friends on the staff...

And pictures of herself on the grounds...  there are a lot of these, most of very poor quality, so here are just two.

And one more commercial postcard

When she left the Frick house, Ruth got this form letter of reference.

When she got back from Sweden, she worked for John D. Rockefeller, H.H. Rogers, again for Frick, and several times for W.K.Vanderbilt, being laid off and re-hired as houses were closed and opened as seasons changed. These other families provided very positive references, which I may post in another entry someday.