Unidentified Thomas Jefferson Cook 1
Cite this Page
"Unidentified Thomas Jefferson Cook 1," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/141.
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1802
- Legal Status
- Unclear from Context
- Gender
- Female
- Presidency
- Thomas Jefferson
- Biography
- When Thomas Jefferson entered the White House in March 1801, he briefly employed a woman to cook for him until he hired French chef Honoré Julien in May. Her name is unknown. The only reference appears in Jefferson’s 1801 Memorandum Book; “the cook woman Mar. 20. to May 20.” She earned $30.00 for her work during this time. (1)
- (1) “Memorandum Books, 1801,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/02-02-02-0011. [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. 1032–1061.]
- Birthplace
- Unclear from Context