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Winter Program Series: "Lifting the Curtain"

The Berwinds and Their Butlers: Tales of Thievery, Balls and Strikes

With Eve Loftus, Preservation Society Assistant Curator

What you need to know

The Elms 367 Bellevue Ave
Newport, RI 02840
February 6, 2026 11:00am – 12:00pm
Ticket Type Price
Non-Member Adult $25
Member Adult $20
You will climb and descend 120 stairs and must stay together as a group. There is no elevator available for public use.


Program Dates

The dates on which this program will be held are listed below.

Friday, January 16
Friday, February 6


Join Eve Loftus for an exploration of the many identities behind the title of Edward J. Berwind’s butler. Between 1899 and 1907, four different men employed as the Berwinds’ butler made headlines for challenging the status quo, whether for theft, for organizing a butlers’ ball in Newport or for leading staff walkouts at The Elms.

In this behind-the-scenes look at ongoing historical research, you will learn about these men once known as “Berwind’s butler,” and what their publicized stories can teach us about domestic service and the rise of labor activism during the Gilded Age.


Eve Loftus, Preservation Society Assistant Curator, earned an MPhil in Public History and Cultural Heritage from Trinity College Dublin with a focus on emerging decolonial practices in museums. She joined the Preservation Society’s Museum Affairs team in February 2024, bringing experience in historical and genealogical research as well as museum education and tour guiding. Eve’s focus on social history guides her research into domestic work at the Newport Mansions, and her investigations have shed new light on the individuals who kept the houses running.

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