Penelope F. Mcleod

Companion and head Housekeeper

Born in Scotland, McLeod served the Dousmans beginning in 1872, first as a companion for the aging and infirm Madam Jane Dousman and later as Housekeeper.

As Houskeeper she was responsible for all aspects of managing the house and supervised a staff including maids, cooks, waitresses, proters, a laundress and others. Some domestic help lived in. others were day workers, and still others worked on a seasonal or as needed basis.

A young cousin of the Dousman children recalled that “[Miss McLeod] was always counting linen and running and doing things and telling the maids what to do.”

When McLeod died in 1896 we was interred with the Dousmans at their family burial plot in Calvary Cemetery.