The wails of childbirth could be heard echoing through the Homewood campus over 200 years ago as Harriet Chew Carroll gave birth to her seven children. Those births, while notable at the time, remain a dusty memory to the Baltimore community, and the history of the Homewood campus is completely unknown to most Hopkins students; however, the new exhibit at the Homewood House Museum is incentive enough to go and explore the mansion that served as the jewel of Baltimore and the beginnings of the Hopkins's physical property.
Welcome Little Stranger is a new exhibit that elucidates pregnancy, birth and childrearing in the early 19th century, with a strong focus on the Carroll family whose summer home and property was donated to become the current Homewood campus. The entire exhibit was researched and created by the Museum and Society Program's fall course, Introduction to Material Culture. Led by Homewood Museum curator Catherine Rogers Arthur, the class chose the subject matter and became curators of their own exhibit, some for the first time.
The class was held as a seminar with eight students, five women and three men. "The goal was to learn methods of primary research and object study and at the same time to further our knowledge about the family that lived at Homewood in the early 19th century as well as the context of Baltimore in the period," said Catherine Rogers Arthur, the curator of the Homewood museum and also the instructor of the course. The topic of childbirth was chosen by Ms. Rogers Arthur before the start of the semester due to its specific applicability to the large Carroll family as well as its universal, overarching theme. Coincidentally, the subject was chosen by Ms. Rogers Arthur prior to discovering her own pregnancy (she is due in two weeks). Already chosen for next fall, the course's end exhibit will be "Next to Godliness: Cleanliness in Early Maryland."
Research for the exhibit came out of extensive work in the library. Through initial general research, the students helped to develop the major themes of the exhibition. Students then chose a more specific topic and researched it independently, while updating the class every week on the findings. The use of copies of Carroll family correspondence in Homewood's archives, early American newspapers and published sources of the period proved to be the most valuable documents.
Senior Gillian Maguire found that the exploration of these historical documents enriched the experience. "One of the coolest parts of research was searching databases of early American newspapers in the Baltimore area, and finding ads for midwives, lectures in midwifery, wet nurses and even a doctor that the Carroll family mentions in their letters. It really made the period come that much more alive to me."
The historical objects such as silver bottle nipples, children's toys and cradle were a combination of artifacts that were already included in the Homewood collection and that were bought or leant from private collections. The students took the laboring oar in deciding which pieces would be absolutely necessary while Ms. Rogers Arthur and other Homewood staff members searched them out. Without these, of course, there would be no exhibit.
Not only serving as Ms. Rogers Arthur's eight research assistants, the students were also assistant curators, writing press releases, talking to graphic designers and writing text panels.
The exhibit itself is small, contained mostly in the back hall of the Homewood House. Perhaps due to the space constraints, perhaps due to poor planning, there is no order in which to look at the objects and read the descriptions. However, the exhibit does a nice job explaining the childbirth culture of the early 1800's. A time when an all-female birthing environment was beginning to incorporate male doctors, a political cartoon and ads for midwifivery aid do a nice job of illustrating this point.
The title of the exhibit comes from a quote by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, father of Charles Carroll Jr. and the grandfather of Carroll children. "Kiss the dear children for me, not excepting the little stranger," he writes. The term "little stranger" was not an uncommon endearment for newborn children.
The quotes from family letters that adorn the walls of the museum add not only to the childbearing issues but also serve as an insight into the family dynamic. One quote from Harriet Chew Carroll, who endured seven childbirths (and two infant deaths) hints at post-partum depression, something which is known to have plagued her own mother.
One of the biggest problems with the exhibit comes with the information about the sleeping arrangements of the Carroll children. On the wall of a back staircase, an explanation of the children's rooms is displayed. In order to read this, one must step onto the staircase. Furthermore, there is a quote from Charles Carroll of Carrollton on a number of the steps. These aspects seem to indicate that the exhibit continues up the stairs, despite a small, inconspicuous sign that says "staff only." This confusion prevents the exhibit from feeling complete.
Maguire said, "I could gush about the class for days. I think one of the best things about the experience was just how open Catherine was to our ideas, however silly or strange they would be. On the last day of class we were doing a walk-through of the space and still coming up with all sorts of new ways to present information or bring the exhibit to life. ... The class and project were extremely lively and open, and I felt like we really had the opportunity to give the exhibit real texture and life."
The immense effort behind the exhibit is apparent. "Welcome Little Stranger: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Family in Early Maryland" is a sweet insight into the culture of the early 19th century and the history of Homewood campus.
"Welcome Little Strnager: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Family in Early Maryland" will be on display at the Homewood House Museum through March 30.
