Isaac
Cite this Page
"Isaac," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/128.
- Position
- Scullion
- Years in President's House
- 1804
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Unclear from Context
- Presidency
- Thomas Jefferson
- Biography
- Isaac (surname unknown) is listed in Thomas Jefferson's 1804 memorandum book as a scullion, or kitchen helper, paid $8 plus $2 for alcohol per month for his work.1 According to historian Lucia Stanton, it is possible Isaac was a free Black man.2 Without a surname, it is difficult to tell how long Isaac continued at the White House or other identifying information.
- “Memorandum Books, 1804,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/02-02-02-0014. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Second Series, Jefferson’s Memorandum Books, vol. 2, ed. James A Bear, Jr. and Lucia C. Stanton. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997, pp. 1117–1143.]
- Lucia Stanton, “‘Those Who Labor for My Happiness:’ Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello,” (Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 2012), 45.
- Birthplace
- Unclear from Context
- Unclear from Context