For many African-Americans, emancipation from slavery meant transitioning from being a household slave to a paid domestic servant. The Johnston-Prettyman family lived in this 1841 house for five generations, and during their ownership they transitioned from owning slaves to employing domestic servants. A circa-1890 photograph of the house shows an African-American domestic servant holding the family's baby. These servants often lived with their employers or walked from their residences in Haiti or Middle Lane. The meager but steady income of domestic servitude started many African-American families on the long road to home ownership, financial self-sufficiency, and access to education.