On April 16, 1789, George Washington left his home to New York City to be inaugurated as the first President of the United States. He was accompanied by Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress, and Colonel David, Washington’s longtime friend and secretary. Although the president-elect made no mention of their presence in his diary, he was also accompanied by several enslaved individuals.

When Washington arrived in New York City in late April 1789, he moved his household into a large private house at 1 Cherry Street. He rented the home for one year from Samuel Osgood. Although spacious, the house barely contained all the people cramped inside: George and Martha; their grandchildren, Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis and George Washington “Wash” Parke Custis; Tobias Lear; Washington’s private secret David Humphreys, William Jackson, and Thomas Nelson, Jr.; at least ten white or free black paid servants that worked and may have boarded in the home; and several enslaved individuals.

 During Washington’s presidency, at least ten enslaved people worked at the president’s houses in New York City and Philadelphia: Hercules, Moll, Giles, Austin, Richmond, Paris, Joe, Christopher Sheels, and William Lee.

 They tended the horses and carriages in the stables, escorted Washington and his family when they left the house, cooked in the kitchen, did laundry, cleaned the home, cared for the Washingtons’ grandchildren, helped the Washingtons dress in the morning, did their hair, mended their clothes, waited on the dining table, and greeted guests. Every aspect of the home depended on enslaved labor to run smoothly.

Georgia Trustees

Courtesy of Georgia Info, Digital Library of Georgia.