Paul Jennings: White House Slave
Paul Jennings was 10 years old when he came to the White House to serve President James Madison.
Paul Jennings was a ten year old slave when he first entered the White House. James Madison was president. Jennings served Madison as a footman and later as a valet. It was 1809 and Pennsylvania Avenue was unpaved and turned into a sea of mud every time it rained, In the war of 1912 Jennings was involved in rescuing the portrait of George Washington which is considered the White House’s most valuable historical object. Although Dolly Madison tried to claim credit, Jennings challenged her statement.
Image via Wikipedia
Paul Jennings was also the first person to turn his White House memories into a book. It was released in 1865 titled,”A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison.” A white acquaintance helped him get it published. In it Jennings recalled the escape from the White House hours before the British burned the building in 1814. Jennings recalled that Madison was a frugal man who owned only one suit, and was so careful with his whiskey that he probably never used a quart of brandy in his life, and that Madison was kind to his slaves
Beth Taylor, a research associate at Montpelier, the Madison plantation in Virginia, has uncovered new details about Jennings over the past two years by digging out old court records and tracking down and interviewing his known descendants. The White House Curator, William G. Allman, said few historical records existed about black people who lived and worked in the building during the early years. Slaves were forbidden to learn to read or write at that time and anything they had to say was considered of little value.
Jennings was at Madison’s death bed, and was 48 when he finely bought his freedom. As a free man he worked in the government’s pension office. He even helped to support Dolly Madison after she had refused to give him his freedom, as her husband had asked her to at his death. It was said that Dolly treated her slaves badly. She had hired out Jennings to others and kept all his pay, leaving him to get his food and clothes by night work or anyway he could.
Dolly sold Jennings to an insurance agent, who sold him to Sen. Daniel Webster for $120 who promptly set Jennings free and let him work off the debt as a servant in his home. After Jennings bought his freedom he organized a unsuccessful slave escape in 1848 in a schooner known as the Pearl. Although he didn’t discuss any of his hardships in his memoirs, he did suffer many hardships,his wife and children lived on another plantation and he could seldom visit them. He was a lonely man without family near him. Paul Jennings died in 1874 at age 75.
Image via Wikipedia
Discovery of Paul Jennings history was absolutely amazing to his descendants. In the one picture found of Paul Jennings, one great great great grandson said he was startled to see his own features when he looked at the picture. Jennings descendants gathered last week for a reunion at the White House. The house which was built with slave labor now has a black president and his family residing there. Our first black president Barack Obama.
http://socyberty.com/history/slaves-at-martha’s-vineyard/
http://socyberty.com/history/1932-in-washington-DC/
http://socyberty.com/history/president-roosevelts-tree-army/
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33 Comments
ken bultman, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Good one. What goes ’round comes ’round.
unown971, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Nice article Ruby! Keep it up!
iearnonline, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
good one
Francois Hagnere, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Great tribute. Thank you Ruby.
Christine Ramsay, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
He led a very interesting and eventful life. This is a good insight into the lives of slaves.
Christine
Daisy Peasblossom, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Great article, very insightful! Perhaps a black president in the white house will be a step toward calming the prejudice that lives on in this country.
gianne, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
What a wonderful tribute! I think the world is changing…slowly.
Love it!
lindalulu, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Great tribute Ruby and wonderful article!
Buma, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Ruby, you’re always great at biographies, and I always enjoy reading them. Keep up the great work you;re doing!
Mark Gordon Brown, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Very good Historical article.
I have had lots of black friends in my life, some really good people, but it does rub the the wrong way when people expect to be treated differently because of something that happened to their long dead relatives. After all the first slaves were white, and the first black slaves had actually been slaves to other blacks in Africa.
Phill Senters, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Another great article, Ruby. I liked it.
Melody Arcamo Lagrimas, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
A very interesting read.
CA Johnson, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
This was a great tribute Ruby. Paul Jennings seemed like quite a man. Thanks for sharing this with us.
A W H, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Great tribute ! Really liked it..
Katien, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Very good article. At least some things have improved, even if it has taken such a long time.
David Crerand, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Very interesting and well written article.
Mystify, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Wonderful tribute to Paul Jennings! He sounds like a very fasinating man who should be recognized more in the states.Excellent work Ruby!
Lostash, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
A fitting tribute and now so relevant with Obama in power.
thestickman, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Very patriotic and long overdue, this recognition. I knew about the claims that Dolly Madison has about saving the portrait of the First Pres. and some dispute with a black servant whom also claimed to have done this… the rest is all news for me.
great article! 
Alexa Gates, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
He seemed to have a great life… too bad he was lonely
Ruby Hawk, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Thank you my good friends, I appreciate your interest and your comments. You never let me down. I thought Jennings was an interesting subject and I enjoyed collecting the information.
BradONeill, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
That was a great Article Ruby. there is a typo in the beginning where you talk about the war of 1912. I had never heard of him but he sounds like an interesting man. I particularly liked the picture of Obama and the tie in at the end. It really shows just how far we have come as a nation.
CHAN LEE PENG, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
Great article, my friend. Keep good work coming! LIiked it.
Yovita Siswati, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
Interesting fact. Great post.
Hugo La Rosa, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
Amazing personage!
Louie Jerome, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
Not being American I know little of the history of this, but I found your article extremely interesting to read.
Unofre Pili, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
To me, slavery will always be tough to comprehend or as Robert Burns put it, ” Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.” A very nice and thought-provoking article maam.
Dee Huff, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
A very interesting article, Ruby. How awful that he could be bought and sold like that, but at least he finally managed to get free. Freedom has to be one of the most valuable things that anyone can possess.
Jhon, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
Very nice article!!!
PR Mace, posted this comment on Sep 3rd, 2009
Outstanding as usual. I remember learning this in school but you put it in different frame for me. I love your looks into history and how you bring it back around to present day.
Judy Sheldon, posted this comment on Sep 4th, 2009
Ruby, thank you for sharing this information. You have written it as always in a manner that keeps the reader glued to each word.
Our country (unfortunately) still has a long ways to go. I hear Obama referred to as “Hitler” and I know a lot ot the derogatory statements and feelings deal with race. I wish people would be more like children and see each other for what we stand for instead of what we look like.
Rafael, posted this comment on Mar 3rd, 2010
What a remarkable person! Here is someone who was born a slave and lived with adversity and injustice. Yet he managed to buy his own freedom and become a published author. I wish society would spend more time exalting the accomplishments of people like him, instead of being obsessed with the frivolous happenings in the world of movie starts and athletes. As an immigrant, I look up to this man. Let that also be a lesson to all those that live their lives waiting for handouts and blame their failures on society not doing enough for them.
Jenny Heart, posted this comment on Sep 2nd, 2009
Thought provoking article. Like it!