The Spencers of Amberson Avenue: A Turn-of-the-Century Memoir

by Ethel Spencer, Charles Hart Spencer (Photographer)

This appealing memoir introduces the family of Charles Hart Spencer and his wife Mary seven children born between 1884 and 1895. It also introduces a large Victorian house in Shadyside (a Pittsburgh neighborhood) and a middle-class way of life at the turn of the century. Mr. Spencer, who worked—not very happily—for Henry Clay Frick, was one of the growing number of middle-management employees in American industrial cities in the 1880s and 1890s. His income, which supported his family of nine, a cook, two regular nurses, and at times a wet nurse and her baby, guaranteed a comfortable life but not a luxurious one. In the words of the editors, the Spencers represent a class that "too often stands silent or stereotyped as we rush forward toward the greater glamour of the robber barons or their immigrant workers." Through the eyes of Ethel Spencer, the third daughter, we are led with warmth and humor through the routine of everyday life in this school, play, church on Sundays, illness, family celebrations, and vacations. Ethel was an observant child, with little sentimentality, and she wrote her memoir in later life as a professor of English with a gift for clear prose and the instincts of an anthropologist. As the editors observe, her memoir is "a fascinating insight into one kind of urban life of three generations ago."

Genres: History, Biography Memoir, Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1983

Reviews

[Elizabeth Higginbotham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Spencers of Amberson Avenue by Ethel Spencer is a turn of the century memoir of a middle-class family in Pittsburgh. During this era, Shadyside was an early suburb linked to downtown Pittsburgh by inter-urban railroad and later by trolleys. Now it is the first neighborhood beyond Oakland that had many large homes still mixed with apartment buildings and smaller homes. Written in 1959, the book covers the years 1890 to 1910, so we see the nature of early suburban life, as well as the daily struggles of raising a large family. Ethel is the third of seven children, so she had many details about their home activities, school, music lessons and education in public and private institutions.

Her father, Charles born in 1852, worked as an agent for Henry Frick, but his earnings were not great. He died in 1912. Her mother, Mary Acheson Spencer, much younger was born in 1863, had graduated college. Mary’s father, a judge was one of the first to leave the inner-city for Shadyside and had his adult children’s families in the neighborhood. Yet, Mary was active in the community, but given the limited resources of the family, most of her time was devoted to children, house and husband. She lived to see grandchildren and passed in 1950.

The family perhaps had the lowest earnings in the neighborhood, but a far better lifestyle than the working class in the city at that time. Yet, we see the Spencers as a middle-class family, in an era with few labor-saving devices, limited transportation, and food was a significant expense. Thrift was essential for the family survival, and Mary made many decisions. As parents, they valued their children’s education over other matters. Christmas presents from parents were modest, but gifts came from members of the extended family. Yet, given the seven children, they needed servants to run the household.

The focus is on the family, particularly the mother and children, since the father went to work—a job he did not particularly like, and the children had to be quiet when he came home. An amateur photographer, he took many pictures of the neighborhood and the children throughout his life that provide a context in the book. Working-class communities are developing at the same time, but the Spencers are removed from them. Ethel, initially unsure about college, graduates from Radcliffe and teaches at Carnegie Mellon, so the choice to write about this particular era of the family and the community is interesting.

The Spencers of Amberson Avenue provides many insights into the nature of family life during this time. Of German Presbyterian background, her mother took the teaching of her children seriously and even as they lived away from home for schooling in her letters offered advice about meeting life’s challenges. She also made sure that her children went to church and once you started something, you did not stop.

In writing about my own mother, born in Pittsburgh in 1925, I learned much about the nature of households during this earlier era, but many issues follow in the 1920s and 1930s. The essential role of women sewing caught my attention, since Mary made most of the clothing for herself and the children, especially five daughters. She had to keep stock of the clothing to make sure there was time to get ready for the next season—and of course coats and dresses were modified to pass on to the next child and hopefully to the youngest. Seamstresses were hired to help the family make clothing and the girls also had sewing chores.

As a widow, Mary had to continue to tackle challenges in educating her children and helping family members, but the author is vague on the nature of assistance. Yet, Ethel Spencer does capture the times and the confidence of middle-class people. They had vacations in the summers, either mountains or beaches. Her mother was fair and the children understood the logic of her decisions, so there was acceptance of her moral authority and the children were friendly with each other. The record of routines and special occasions demonstrate the work behind the smooth operation of a family and Ethel was cognizant, at least, in the writing on the toll it took on her mother. Yet, Mary was committed to doing the work and was a role model for her children.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I thought that it was well-written, especially for a memoir. The book was organized logically and the many photos were helpful. Although I have no relationship to the family or the direct area they resided in, I found the account of the family and time interesting. I could imagine that my maternal grandmother could have worked in such a household when she came to the U.S. in 1923.

[Carol B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in this neighborhood as a very small child. I am enjoying reading the history and description of the neighborhood of the home of my mother and her parents. It is giving me insights into my parents and grandparents.

[Marcia Chocinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very interested in reading this memoir of the late 1800’s early 1900’s in the Shadyside “suburb” of Pittsburgh. I grew up in Glenshaw PA knowing that my great grandfather was a builder who lost everything in the Great Depression and for awhile built homes and lived in Point Breeze near the Frick Mansion. I am also very familiar with Shadyside. I was curious to learn more about the lives of people from that era/area and was startled to learn that the Ambersons were middle class. In the book she even points out that they were not upper middle class although I would have thought so prior to reading this. Back then, I guess the upper class was filthy rich and the lower class was very poor, which would make them middle class. This family valued education and the children were educated at schools like Bryan Mawr, Radcliffe and Smith. Amazing! And this was in a time where an 8th grade education was common.
Some of the interesting things discussed were:
- a child’s education was not defined in discrete years. Children that were gaining knowledge more quickly were passed to the next level in a different room. My grandmother graduated from HS at age 16 and went on to Carlow College for women.
- you could buy men’s jackets and suits in stores but not women’s dresses. It sounds like sleepwear and underwear were sold in stores. People did not have many clothes back then. And women had to make their own dresses or hire a seamstress. My other grandmother married later in life (around 34) and had her own business. She knew everything about sewing, crochet, quilting, embroidery, etc and provided services to others via women who worked for her out of their homes. This makes more sense to me now.
- at Christmas German custom is to decorate the tree, etc while the children are asleep etc. I too am of German heritage and the tree and train platform were finished while we slept so we woke up to a magical world the next morning.
This book was an enjoyable read about a time and place relevant to my own heritage. I’m not sure where my great grandparents living in Point Breeze fit into this society back then. Their house appears to have been of a similar size, but they had more conveniences than most. She drove and had her own car which I’m told was unusual at the time. They had a countertop dishwashing machine but perhaps that isn’t a surprise since he built homes. I found this book very interesting on so many levels, but mostly because of my familiarity with the area and it’s people.

[Sue Roselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memoir of Spencer family written by one of their seven children. The Spencer parents built the first house in an area which eventually became part of the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Lovely story of a middle-class family who focused on their children. Mother was driving force by sewing all the children's clothing so they could focus on private education and simply being involved in their lives. This included attendance at the best colleges. Mother served on the board of the Pittsburgh College for Women, now Chatham University, for 50 years, among other important civic organizations. Excellent!

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging memoir written by a woman who grew up, about a hundred years before I did, quite close to where I live now. The writing is excellent. It’s fun to recognize aspects of turn-of-the-century life that sound thoroughly modern (playing in the sprinkler in bathing suits, for instance) but also to see ways in which it was extraordinarily different from today. The story is constructed topically rather than as a narrative, so it’s nothing like reading a novel. I read it on Kindle and didn't get to truly enjoy the photos--I may hunt up a paper copy in order to remedy that.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent account of a middle-class family in the Shady Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh between the 19th and 20th centuries.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting autobiography of a middle class family growing up in Pittsburgh at the turn of the 20th century.

[Si Yun Kimball · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lit rally the only thing this book did was kill my brain cells

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable woman, Ethel Spencer's mother (Mary Acheson). I learned so much about life at the turn of the century from this book and in particular, the life of a large mid-income family in Pittsburgh. Lovely people. Also, a very informative introduction. Beautiful photographs tell the life of the siblings and their relationship to each other. I would have liked to be their neighbor and maybe even friend. Historically valuable memoir.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't recall the details, but I read this for a class at Pitt. Fairly interesting as I recall.

[Leah Munsky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This would have been better if it was half as long as it is.

[Laura M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating first hand account of daily life in Shadyside at the turn of the 20th century. Very detailed and well written.