Today I learned about an interesting type of party that used to be fairly common in the Eastern United States, a type of party that has a genealogical theme. The Old Maid’s tea party was an occasion that would often be held on the occasion of a single, college-educated woman’s twenty fifth birthday. The parties were popular during a few different periods in time, including the roaring twenties.
At a typical Old Maid’s tea party, a tea consultant would teach the ladies the art of serving tea. Gifts would be given to the “Old Maid”, and guests would show their family tree charts to the “Old Maid”. The family tree charts were brought to the party in the hopes that the single woman might find an appealing prospect like a single brother or cousin somewhere in the branches of a guest’s family tree. At some of the parties, the guests would even create a deck of cards with genealogy information about suitable bachelors on them and use the cards to play card games. During the games there would be much rowdy discourse of the merits of each of the gentlemen. Sometimes, a genealogy expert was even called in for entertainment. Much like an astrologer would come to a party to tell fortunes, the genealogist would draw up “predictions” of family tree charts or family crests.
These matchmaking events were sincere efforts by groups of friends to ensure that the guest of honor would soon find a suitable mate. Despite the fact that women were becoming college educated, the stereotypes of unmarried women being unable to make it on their own financially persisted. Single women feared that despite their college degrees they could become beggars and bag ladies if they did not marry. “Old Maid” parties served the purpose of bringing friends together for fun and to discuss the issues of the day while lavishing attention on a friend as if to offer her comfort on the occasion of her birthday and let her know that she was still as desirable as ever and that there were still plenty of fish in the sea.
Photo by jdurham on morguefile.com.