HOUSEHOLD STAFF
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In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was common for a prosperous middle class family to have a number of paid servants, or staff, most of whom both lived and worked in the home. The Haas and Lilienthal families had close to 6-7 people in their employment at any given time. Their staff was comprised of a chauffeur, an upstairs maid, a downstairs maid, a nursemaid (nanny), a laundryman, a cook and a waitress. Census records show that the household staff was comprised of immigrants from Nova Scotia, China, Japan, Ireland, Germany, and France.
TILLIE RICHTER - COOK
Tillie Richter (1890-1971) immigrated from Germany in 1907 with a neighborhood friend, Frieda Weidmann (1889-1983). (Frieda was Madeleine and Billy Haas's nursemaid). Through Frieda, Tillie began working for the Haas-Lilienthal family in 1920 as a cook and maid, residing in the servant's quarters in the attic. She was fluent in both her native German and English.
MORTON VRANG - CHAUFFEUR
Morton Vrang (1884-1974) was a German immigrant.
His connection to the Haas-Lilienthal House was initially with the children of Charles and Fanny, Madeline and Billy Haas (William). After both parents passed away in the span of seven years, the children and their maid moved into the suite built for them by Alice and Sam. He built a doll house for the girls and designed the train layout for Billy (both of which are still in the house today).