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Members of Gadsby's Enslaved Household
According to John Gadsby's 1844 will, he bequeathed the following 17 enslaved people to his wife Providence during the time they owned Decatur House:
Nace (Ignatius Newton), age 50
Henry King, age 40
Maria King, age 35
Celia King, age 16
Charles King, age 9
Sarah Jane King, age 4
George King, age 18 months
Maria Williams, age 30
Martha Ann Williams, age 7
Mary Ellen Williams, age 4
James Williams, age 18 months
Kesiah Williams, age 28
Mary Frances Williams, age 7
William Williams, age 5
Rosa Marks, age 48
Nancy Syphax, age 45
James Long, age 24
LISTEN:
| Enslaved People |
| Title | Description |
|---|
| Andrew Jackson Statue, Lafayette Square | A slave helps craft this statue and the Capitol's statue of freedom... |
| The White House | From slavery to sit-ins.... |
| Dolley Madison's House | A former slave shows charity toward an impoverished First Lady. |
| St John's Church | Free and enslaved African Americans are married and baptized at the President's parish... |
| Weddings at St. John's Church | Selected entries from the St. John's Church marriage register. |
| Daniel Webster's House | A slave plans a daring escape, but has a change of heart... |
| Decatur House | Where Charlotte Dupuy takes a brave stand against slavery. |
| Ewell House | Buying, selling, and resisting. |
| Charlotte Dupuy | Charlotte Dupuy, an enslaved woman who sued her owner Henry Clay for her freedom. |
| Lafayette Square | An enslaved woman buys her freedom and changes the nation's history.... |
| Elizabeth Keckly (1818-1907) | Elizabeth Keckly was born into slavery in 1818. She went on to purchase her own freedom and establish a successful dressmaking business. |
| Frederick Douglass | Revered African American leader. |
| Paul Jennings | Paul Jennings |
| Tayloe House | Compensated emancipation, only in DC... |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters | Men, women, and children from two families living together in 900 square feet... |
| Emancipation in the President's Neighborhood, 1850 | Emancipation in the President's Neighborhood, 1850 |
| "Negro Life at the South" | A 1859 painting by Eastman Johnson depicting urban slavery. |
| "Mrs. Madison's Slaves Again" | 1848 Newspaper article about the Madison's slaves. |
| "The Negro Celebration in Washington" | 1866 article and engraving about Emancipation Celebration in Washington, DC and President Johnson's address. |
| President's House Carpenters' Roll from May 1795 | Payment record for carpenters,including five enslaved men, who constructed the President's House. |
| Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. | Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. |
| Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy to Henry Clay | Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy from James Condon to Henry Clay. |
| Bill of Sale for Paul Jennings from Dolley Madison to Pollard Webb | Document recording Dolley Madison's 1847 sale of Paul Jennings to Pollard Webb. |
| Charlotte Dupuy's Petition | Letter written by Robert Beale on behalf of Charlotte Dupuy petitioning the Judges to summon Henry Clay to court. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters Floor Plans | Floorplans and architectural drawings of the Decatur House slave quarters. |
| Thomas Greene Bethune [Wiggins], 1849 -1908 | Photograph of blind piano prodigy Thomas Greene Bethune, the first African American artist to perform at the White House. |
| Emancipation in the District of Columbia - List of the Petitions Filed | Government document showing claims paid for emancipated slaves to the former owners. |
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Gadsby Slave Quarters at Decatur House ca.1937 | Photograph taken by Volkmar Wentzel in 1937 showing the H Street side of the slave quarters at Decatur House. |