Detail showing "Fidelia Leybold" in the Melville household Massachusetts Census, 1855 via Ancestry.com |
"With fairest flowers,At Ancestry back in 2014, North Adams genealogist rbass101 posted images 12-13 from the Massachusetts Archives of the state census for 1855 in Berkshire County. Here's image 12 which is accessible by subscription at Ancestry.com. The census of the Melville household (Dwelling #193; Family #201) begins at the bottom of the page:
Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele—" --epigraph from Cymbeline 4.2 for "The Piazza," the first story in Melville's The Piazza Tales (1856).
Massachusetts Census, 1855 / Berkshire County / Pittsfield via Ancestry.com |
The last person named in the Melville household:
Fidelia Leybold, 34, of Germany.Employed in the Melville family around the time of The Piazza Tales, Fidelia Leybold apparently was gone by 1860. As indicated in the 1860 United States Federal Census, the Melvilles by then have a new German housekeeper or "Domestic," Frederika Schmidt of Württemberg. Ms. Schmidt in 1860 is 36 years old with a "Personal Estate" valued at $100. Herman Melville's "Personal Estate" in 1860 is valued at $3000; Real Estate $3500. His stated occupation is "Author."
Fidelia would be a good name for a tranny!
ReplyDeleteI kid you not. I wish someone would do an historical survey of Fidelio and Fidelia. Remember the masquerade of The Confidence-Man and the boat's name.
ReplyDelete