Collection The Decatur House Slave Quarters
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
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Photograph of Zipporah Joseph (Parks) Hammond. She is the author's mother.
Stephen E. HammondPhotograph of Zipporah Joseph (Parks) Hammond. She is the author's mother.
Stephen E. HammondAbout this Gallery
Nancy Syphax was a member of a prominent Washington, D.C. family that was considered to be among the “Black Elite” during the nineteenth century.1 Unfortunately, Nancy did not share the same status as most of her family. Instead, she worked as an enslaved house servant in the President’s Neighborhood at Decatur House for John Gadsby from at least 1836 until his death in May 1844. Most of her other family members in the District of Columbia were freed by 1837 through the efforts of her father William Syphax—however both she and her brother Charles remained enslaved until 1862. Zipporah Joseph (Parks) Hammond was a great-grandchild of Nancy Syphax. She persevered through segregation and isolation to become the first black nurse to graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1946. Click here to read the full article about Nancy Syphax.
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
In 1980, Margaret Johnson Patterson Bartlett, great-granddaughter of First Lady Eliza McCardle Johnson and President Andrew Johnson, gave an oral interview...
In 1868, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Hobbs Keckly (also spelled Keckley) published her memoir Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave, and...
Built in 1818-1819, Decatur House was designed by the English architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe for Commodore Stephen Decatur and Susan...
James Buchanan is often regarded as one of the worst presidents in United States history.1 Many historians contend that Buchanan’s...
On February 11, 1829, members of Congress convened to certify votes for President and Vice President of the United States as Andrew...
Although Michelle Obama was the first African-American first lady of the United States, African Americans have been integrally involved in...
Often, the accomplishments and contributions of enslaved people are lost to history—undocumented, ignored, or forgotten by successive generations. One of...
Thomas Smallwood detailed the circumstances of his enslavement and life as a free Black man living in Washington City in...
On April 16, 1862, Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act, ending slavery in the District of Columbia and delivering long-awaited freedom to...
Most Americans do not associate the first ladies with slave ownership. In fact, it may be surprising to learn that...
January 1, 1863 was a watershed moment in American history. That morning, President Abraham Lincoln hosted the annual New Year’s Day re...