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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Graduation photograph of Zipporah Marcella Joseph
The Statesman, June 1, 1901.A newspaper clipping about Zipporah Marcella Joseph's graduation.
The Statesman, June 1, 1901.A photograph of Joseph later in life.
The Statesman, June 1, 1901.About 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 Marcella Joseph was a great-grandchild of Nancy Syphax. These are a graduation photograph of Zipporah Joseph, a newspaper clipping about her graduation, and a photograph of Joseph later in life. Zipporah Marcella Joseph is the author's grandmother. 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...
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...
In 1868, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Hobbs Keckly (also spelled Keckley) published her memoir Behind the Scenes or Thirty Years a Slave, and...
On April 16, 1862, Congress passed the Compensated Emancipation Act, ending slavery in the District of Columbia and delivering long-awaited freedom to...
January 1, 1863 was a watershed moment in American history. That morning, President Abraham Lincoln hosted the annual New Year’s Day re...
Charles Willson Peale is synonymous with eighteenth-century portraiture. His depictions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other famous...
Most Americans do not associate the first ladies with slave ownership. In fact, it may be surprising to learn that...
Thomas Smallwood detailed the circumstances of his enslavement and life as a free Black man living in Washington City in...
Often, the accomplishments and contributions of enslaved people are lost to history—undocumented, ignored, or forgotten by successive generations. One of...