White House Historical Association

Melinda Colbert Freeman

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"Melinda Colbert Freeman," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/122.
Position
Unclear from Context Unclear from Context
Years in President's House
circa 1808 – 1817
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Biography
Melinda Colbert was born in 1787 at Monticello to Betty Brown, the half sister of Sally Hemings.1 In 1797, Melinda was among the enslaved people deeded to Thomas Jefferson’s daughter Maria upon her marriage to John Wayles Eppes.2 At Monticello in 1803, she met and fell in love with John Freeman, an enslaved man working for President Thomas Jefferson. The pair prepared to ask Maria Eppes for permission to marry. However, Eppes passed away on April 17, 1804.3 Her death caused great concern for John and Melinda and they feared family separation. On April 18, 1804, John penned a letter to the president, asking Jefferson to purchase himself and Melinda.4 Jefferson declined to purchase Melinda, but did purchase John.5 Although the details remain unclear, at some point between 1804-1809, Melinda gained her freedom, joined her husband in Washington, D.C., and gave birth to children. At the conclusion of Jefferson’s presidency in 1809, he prepared to bring John back to Monticello. However, under Virginia law, Melinda could not return to the state without risking re-enslavement. Freeman once again wrote directly to the president, expressing the problems with leaving his wife and children. Jefferson decided to sell John to incoming President James Madison.6 John Freeman became free on July 22, 1815, and continued to work for President James Madison until 1817. During Madison’s presidency Melinda also worked for the first family. Receipts demonstrate that Melinda was a seamstress and sewed pillowcases, curtains, and carpets for the White House.7 Following her White House tenure, Melinda and John officially recorded their marriage in D.C. on March 24, 1818.8 The Freemans lived in a house on K Street and had eight children. They were active members of D.C.’s free black community and helped purchase other enslaved people’s freedom. Following her husband’s death in 1839, Melinda lived within the household of her daughter. Melinda Colbert Freeman died in 1860.9
  1. Lucia C. Stanton, ‘Those who Labor for My Happiness:' slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), 167-168.
  2. “Marriage Settlement for Mary Jefferson,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-29-02-0437. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 29, 1 March 1796 – 31 December 1797, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002, pp. 549–551.]
  3. “To Thomas Jefferson from John Freeman, 18 April 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-43-02-0223. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 43, 11 March–30 June 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017, pp. 259–261.]
  4. “From Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 7 August 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-44-02-0187. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 44, 1 July to 10 November 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019, pp. 195–196.]; “Contract for Purchase of John Freeman, 23 July 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-44-02-0130. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 44, 1 July to 10 November 1804, ed. James P. McClure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019, pp. 139–141.]
  5. “To Thomas Jefferson from John Freeman, 2 March 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-9937. [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. It is not an authoritative final version.]; “Enclosure: Deed of John Freeman’s Indenture to James Madison, 19 April 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0126-0002. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, p. 156.]
  6. Hilarie M. Hicks, “The Naming Project: John Freeman,” Montpelier, March 23, 2021, https://www.montpelier.org/the-naming-project-john-freeman/.
  7. Ancestry.com. Washington, D.C., U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1801-1825 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997, accessed January 23, 2025,https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2084/records/8079?tid=&pid=&queryId=a7c4f814-113b-4447-a621-236bf3c9877b&_phsrc=nPk11&_phstart=successSource.
  8. Hilarie M. Hicks, “The Naming Project: John Freeman,” Montpelier, March 23, 2021, https://www.montpelier.org/the-naming-project-john-freeman/; Lucia C. Stanton, “‘Those who Labor for My Happiness:” slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello,” (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), 168.
Birthplace
Albemarle County, Virginia, USA
Related Worker
John Freeman
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, 1801 – 1817
Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/slavery-in-the-thomas-jefferson-white-house