Washington Winter Show 2014

46 This page is sponsored by Elizabeth and Robert Huffman and Mr. and Mrs. James Jay Lee set about making Stratford a home for their growing blended family. Extensive renovations to the main house at this period included an enlarged parlor and dining room for entertaining, as well as changes to the family bedchambers [Figure 3]. Charles Carter Lee, eldest son of Henry and Ann, recalls returning to Stratford from school at the Christmas holiday and seeing “the joyful crowd at the door, of all colours & from age to infancy!” 4 FOOD Dinner was the main meal in 18th- and 19th-century households, and for the wealthy this included numerous courses of soups, meats, vegetables, starches, fruit, nuts, cheeses, and confections. This meal was meant to impress, and in addition to the imported porcelains and glimmering silver on the table, tiered salvers and other tabletop theatrics would have added to the drama of dinner. The location of Stratford along the Potomac River meant ready access to fish, crabs, and other foodstuffs that could be procured from the waters. Charles Carter Lee recalled of his childhood at Stratford: “Abundant oyster banks were in front of the house… After the fishing season arrived, the seine was hauled every day, & I well remember the pile of fish & crabs which was towards dinner time dropt from a tumbrel cart under the shade of a large pear tree between the house & kitchen; & how the young hounds mistaking…the hard for the soft ones would get bit…& run off howling, sometimes with a crab swinging to his tail.” 5 Thomas Lee Shippen, son of Alice Lee of Stratford, visited the Northern Neck of Virginia and his Lee family relations in 1790. In a letter to his father, written from Francis Lightfoot Lee’s home Menokin, Shippen recalled his dining experiences, including rockfish, crabs, and wild duck, remarking “the soft crabs are to sure most delicious. But I must reserve a more particular description of them until we meet.” 6 Meats such as beef, pork, and mutton were preserved following the fall slaughter for use on Stratford’s tables throughout the year. Fresh meats could be salted, smoked, pickled, or potted (with clarified butter) for long-term storage. These meats would then be roasted, fried, boiled, or used in Figure 3: A Chamber at Stratford depicting early-19th century children’s furniture and teawares, as well as two conversation pieces titled “Scenes in a Nursery” by William Redmore Bigg, England, 1780–1800. Figure 4: Carving Knife and Fork, marked with the Lee squirrel crest. Possibly Robert Trickett, Sheffield, England. Silver and steel, 1773-1774. Courtesy of The Society of the Lees of Virginia. [IL1996.8] Figure 5: Tureen and Ladle. Staffordshire, England. Earthenware, 19th century. Gift of Ann Bellah Copeland in Memory of her Grandmother Ruth Yeaton Stuart. [2009.003]