James Fossett
Cite this Page
"James Fossett," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/119.
- Position
- Unclear from Context Unclear from Context
- Years in President's House
- 1805 – 1809
- Legal Status
- Enslaved Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Thomas Jefferson
- Biography
- James Fossett was born to enslaved cook, Edith Hern Fossett, on January 7, 1805, at the White House. His mother worked at the White House from 1802-1809, while his father, Joseph Fossett, was an enslaved blacksmith at Monticello. Details of Fossett’s childhood at the White House are unknown. His sister Maria was also born at the White House in 1807. Many enslaved children worked alongside their parents from a young age. It is possible James may have assisted his mother in the kitchens. James moved to Monticello in 1809 at the end of Jefferson’s presidency as his mother took over the Monticello kitchen.1 In 1816, Fossett was gifted to Jefferson’s grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph.2 Details about his later life and death are currently unknown.
- Thomas Jefferson, Farm Book, 1774-1824, page 128, [electronic edition]. Thomas Jefferson Papers: An Electronic Archive. Boston, Mass. : Massachusetts Historical Society, 2003. http://www.thomasjeffersonpapers.org/; Lina Mann, "Slavery and French Cuisine in Jefferson’s Working White House," The White House Historical Association, November 16, 2018, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slavery-and-french-cuisine-in-jeffersons-working-white-house.
- Thomas Jefferson, Farm Book, 1774-1824, page 158, [electronic edition]. Thomas Jefferson Papers: An Electronic Archive. Boston, Mass. : Massachusetts Historical Society, 2003. http://www.thomasjeffersonpapers.org/.
- Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Unclear from Context
- Related Workers
- Edith Hern FossettKitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1802 – 1809
- Maria Fossett1807 – 1809