Joseph Dougherty

Joseph Dougherty was born in Londonderry, Ireland around 1774.¹ 

He may have briefly served President John Adams at the White House.² President Thomas Jefferson employed Joseph between 1801-1809 as a coachman, working for $14 per month plus a $2 gratuity for alcohol. Jefferson also supplied Joseph with livery.³ According to Jefferson, Joseph Dougherty served “rather as a riding agent than as the head of my stable.”⁴ After meeting fellow employee Maria (Mary) Murphy in 1801, the couple married with Jefferon’s permission; however, they later exhibited marital problems that forced Dougherty to take time away from the White House in 1807. He rejoined the staff soon after.⁵ Jefferson hired Joseph’s brother, Robert, in 1807 to serve as a footman.

Following his time in the White House, Joseph held a variety of jobs including raising sheep for wool, a porter and ale bottling business, city commissioner, and briefly served as superintendent of buildings for the Navy, War, and State departments. He also kept in touch with Jefferson throughout the years, sometimes acting as Jefferson’s agent in Washington. However, Joseph and Mary later "lived in poverty in Philadelphia" and Jefferson provided charitable donations to help them.⁶ Joseph Dougherty died in Washington, D.C. on July 21, 1832.⁷