colors, made by madam hyde denuville. hyden clay and martin van buren were notable whose rented the decatur house. these were some of the many people, many notable people, par sonages if you personages, whom jennings got to know. even as a slave, it helps to know people in high places. he was well connected, a networker and he took appropriate advantage of the connections in his pursuit of the right to rise. and i feel obliged to say that the door at dolly madison s house moved all over the place. first in front. then it moved to the side where you see it in that photograph. later that door was made a window. today it is further down on h street. you see president polk whom jennings worked for you. can believe that dolly kept all the earnings. and dolly herself, who is a little bit fuzzy, she is not holding her, her head straight enough is to the right of polk as you are looking at the photograph. here its the lafayette square gates. here is lafayette square gates. this giv
african-americans and the circumstances surrounding their visits. this is 1:10. as we learned this morning, many did not enter service at lafayette square vounl taele vv. jefferson, madison, monroe, jackson, tyler, polk, taylor, owned slaves and brought them to the white house and from their plantations in the south. until 1862, when slavery was abolished in district of columbia slaves worked alongside paid black freemen and european servants at the white house. for most of the 19th century, the structure of the white house staff remained generally the, the same. at the top was a steward, federal employee who was bonded. the congress created this position to safe guard the silver and furnishings in the white house. the steward was on the government pay ll lroll. it required patience, strayed tiff administrative ability and great sense of discretion. beneath him, maids, footmen, cooks, laborers, and about 1/3 of the servants lived there in the basements. some in a
attended this church, one can readily see that these great figures were very familiar with the family and james in particular. shortly after 1850, lynch passed leaving each of his off spring to continue their personal growth in the fashion most suitable in their minds. drawing upon his skills as a nurse and catering to the rich and powerful, james became the first steward of the newly established exclusive washington club on la fayette park. based upon several newspaper accounts, his reputation grew substantially among washington elite. members of the club included jefferson davis, william corchoran, george riggs, george washington park, governor john floyd, seward and many others. the club was located in what had previously been known as the rodgers mansion adjacent to the house on madison. this house ultimately became the civil war era residence of secretary of state, william seward and one of the victims of the lincoln related assassination attempts. another story known by
of the white house. first lady eleanor roosevelt widely known for her human rights efforts made it a point to seek out the advice and counsel of white house workers during the roosevelt administration. as a result, many white house workers encountered improved attitudes towards the household staff and african-americans in particular. throughout the century, working conditions of the white house would improve. over the 20th century, hundreds of people have worked behind will the scenes at the white house preparing family meals, state dinners and welcoming visitors. today a household staff of approximately 95 work together to maintain and preserve the 132 room residence. many of these workers today are african-americans and many notable figures of the past have also been african americans who have spent decades employed at the white house. some of the most famous are lillian rogers parks who was a seamstress and maid who first came to the white house as a young girl helping her
african-americans and many notable figures of the past have also been african americans who have spent decades employed at the white house. some of the most famous are lillian rogers parks who was a seamstress and maid who first came to the white house as a young girl helping her mother, a white house maid, during the taft administration. her tale would eventually become a book and tv mini series called back stairs at the white house. she and other long time workers such as elon sew fields, butler a and, and eugene allen, chief butler from 1952 to 1987, have been integral to the white house and have helped define its culture over these many years. elon sew fields eloquently observed i don t feel like a servant to a man, i feel i was a servant to my government and to my country. for more than 200 years, the white house has depended on work hes would origins can be traced to many nations and cultures reflecting the racial and ethnic composition of our population have kept the w