WOMEN OF THE CHASE-LLOYD HOUSE home for women, with its endowment grown by several generous legacies as well as the investment of funds derived from a ground rent the trustees continued to hold for part of Hester Ridout’s property in Baltimore. The 1910s saw the conversion of the kitchen annex into a rental dwelling, which brought in additional income as well as the advent of the Chase Home as a highlight of Annapolis tourism. While news accounts show the house was open to visitors as early as 1894; while a report to the Board of State Aid and Charities in 1917 says that the house was now “visited by a large number of strangers desiring to view its architectural charms.” This reflects a larger trend during this period of growing interest in colonial homes and history, both in Annapolis and elsewhere. The Home’s finances were apparently in good shape throughout most of Jenkins’ tenure, which afforded not only cosmetic restorations but also the renovation and partitioning of several of the larger bedrooms by 1917 in order to accommodate additional residents. This picture of health, however, is contradicted by a May 1929 profile in the Baltimore Sun that portrays the house as a “shabby old aristocrat” with peeling paint and sagging stairs; the article suggests a general shortage of funding was to blame for the decay. Less than a month later, a letter to Bishop John Murray from the Board’s treasurer, Daniel Randall, sets out matter-of-factly the terms of a possible sale of the Chase Home and the transfer of its residents to a newly acquired facility. The impetus for this recommendation is unclear, however; Randall states in the letter that the “condition of the Treasury is remarkably good.” Perhaps addressing the criticism leveled by the Sun piece, Randall closes by noting that “Miss Jenkins proposes to do some painting and interior work which will make for the better appearance of the property gen48
Figure 13. Excerpt of letter from Chase Home trustees to Bishop John Murray, recommending sale of the property, June 1929
erally.” While the trustees appeared earnest in their proposal to sell the home and had sought counsel as to the legality of doing so under the terms of Hester Ridout’s will, the plan was never executed and any thought of selling likely evaporated with the stock market crash four months later. Jenkins ended her 32-year tenure as matron on June 1, 1932. A letter to Jenkins from Randall at the time of her retirement notes her desire to continue living in the home as a boarder but says the decision would rest with her successor, Sara Iglehart. For their part, the trustees thanked Jenkins for her “long, faithful and disinterested service on our behalf.” Sara Carnes Price Iglehart (1873-1962) presided over the Chase Home as matron during the trying and tumultuous years of the Depression and Second World War. She was well suited to her managerial responsibilities, having owned and run the Peggy Stewart Inn on Hanover Street until it was sold in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market crash. Initially reluctant to take the position at the Chase Home, Iglehart eventually acceded to the pleadings of Bishop Edward Helfenstein and assumed the post
in June 1932. She was joined by her husband, Thomas, who occupied a newly built addition at the rear of the house until his death in 1934.6 The finances of the home, which had previously been considered secure and well-managed, reached a point of crisis early in Iglehart’s tenure. A letter from the trustees to the bishop in 1933 reported that no money was available to meet expenses or pay the salary of the two black employees Iglehart had hired, Cora Stream and Sarah Parker. An audit of the books was conducted, which eventually led to the replacement of Daniel R. Randall as treasurer. Morale among the residents was similarly low in those days, which Iglehart’s daughter, Anna, recalls as owing to their unhappiness with Jenkins’s managerial style. Iglehart is credited – by her daughter, at least – as turning the Chase Home into “one of the show places in town” during her time as matron. More attention was devoted to the garden, which came to include a magnolia planted in her husband’s memory. One resident, Margarita
B. LeSueur, took on the role of gardener and was sometimes accompanied in her labors by Iglehart’s grandson (and current Chase Home Trustee) Thomas Noble in the 1930s. A key event