The Servant Question

During the 125 years that Eldon House was the residence of the Harris family, domestic servants lived and worked in the house – because of this the museum interprets the “two” families who dwelled  within the sites walls.  This exhibition aims to explore domestic life of upper-middle class households in the late Victorian era and early 20th century, using Eldon House as a case study. With primary material of both servant and served as well as the ephemera that influenced the structure of their relationships, a glimpse into the domestic life in London Ontario will be revealed.

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron. We honour and respect the history, languages and culture of the diverse Indigenous people who call this territory home.

We acknowledge all the treaties that are specific to this area: the Two Row Wampum Belt Treaty of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy/Silver Covenant Chain; the Beaver Hunting Grounds of the Haudenosaunee NANFAN Treaty of 1701; the McKee Treaty of 1790, the London Township Treaty of 1796, the Huron Tract Treaty of 1827, with the Anishinaabeg, and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum of the Anishnaabek and Haudenosaunee.

The three Indigenous Nations that are neighbours to London are the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation; Oneida Nation of the Thames; and the Munsee-Delaware Nation who all continue to live as sovereign Nations with individual and unique languages, cultures, and customs.