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Nancy Syphax–Life and Legacy: Colonel Edward Creston Gleed

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

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Nancy Syphax–Life and Legacy: Zipporah Joseph (Parks) Hammond

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

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Slavery in the President's Neighborhood: The People

While there are few written accounts of the enslaved and free African Americans who built, lived, and worked at the White House, their voices can be found in letters, newspapers, memoirs, census records, architecture, and oral history. In this collection, learn about some of the enslaved individuals that built, lived, and worked at the White House and in the President’s