Life In A Glebe House, 80 Years Later

WOODBURY — An unusual exhibit celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Glebe House Museum is on view at the museum through October 9.

Members of the John R. Marshall family, their slaves and their friends are portrayed as they went about their day in a busy household in September 1776. Mannequins dressed in carefully researched and hand sewn reproduction 18th Century clothing help tell the Marshalls’ story and give visitors a sense of a well-educated middle class family caught in the activities of daily life.

John and Sarah Marshall moved to Woodbury and the Glebe House in 1771, following John’s call to serve the Episcopalian community there. By 1776, the date portrayed by the exhibit, five of the Marshalls’ nine children had been born and were living there along with at least two slaves.

The exhibit reflects their lives through their clothing and includes “visits” from some of their neighbors as well, offering visitors a flavor of the work and social habits of the family.

The mannequins are clothed in reproduction garments that have been meticulously researched and based on original garments in the collections of museums such as Historic Deerfield, Connecticut Historical Society, Litchfield Historical Society and Colonial Williamsburg. Sandie Tarbox and Hallie Larkin, the guest curators, are historical costumers, lecturers and collectors and have created the costumes for the exhibit.

Ms Tarbox is a well-known artist, independent researcher of the 18th Century and owner of Tarbox and Tarbox, reproducing 18th Century accessories and waistcoats. She gives living history lectures and demonstrations throughout the Connecticut area and is a specialist in historic foodways and hearth cooking.

Ms Larkin is an independent historical costumer and the founder of Southcoast Historical Associates, a living history provider to museums, historic homes and school groups. She is a member of the Costume Society of America and a collector of 18th Century antique costumes. She gives lectures, demonstrations and workshops on historic costuming in New England.

Glebe House Museum & The Gertrude Jekyll Garden, 49 Hollow Road in Woodbury, is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 4 pm from May until October (in November the museum is open only on the weekends). Other times can be arranged by appointment.

The museum can be contacted at 203-263-2855. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children ages 6-12, and $2 for visits in the garden only.