Mourning Otis Tour

During the 1800s illness and death were part of everyday life. Few families were spared from loss, including the Swan family who lived at Rose Hill from 1850 to 1890. Their five-year-old son Otis died in September 1864 from rheumatic fever. During the tour, visitors will explore 19th-century Victorian ideas about death, illness, and mourning practices. The mansion will be dressed in mourning for Otis. A casket will be on display in the front parlor, while the windows and mirrors will be draped in black fabric in the mourning style of the 1800s. There will also be mourning items from Historic Geneva’s collection on view and following the tour, visitors can enjoy refreshments in the Carriage House Visitor Center and Gift Shop.