Baptiste

Little is known about Baptiste. He is mentioned in a letter from 1814 between White House Steward Henry F. Doyhar and President James Madison. Doyhar had recently been fired and wrote to Madison to complain about his termination and list the reasons for his poor performance. He mentions Baptiste as a chef who worked alongside Doyhar in the White House for four months during the winter of 1813-1814 with a pay of $20 per day.¹ 

According to Doyhar, Baptiste often arrived to work late and intoxicated which made Doyhar’s job harder. Doyhar also accused Baptiste of undermining his authority and conspiring with the enslaved staff to complain about Doyhar's conduct. He also told Madison that Baptiste stole things from the household for himself and for the enslaved workers. The two chefs sparred repeatedly over Baptiste’s conduct.² An article in the National Intelligencer on March 6, 1818 lists a “Mr. Baptiste” as having letters at the post office in Washington, D.C., indicating he may have still been in the District at that time.³ 

Thank you to the Papers of James Madison, to Hilarie M. Hicks, Senior Research Historian, James Madison's Montpelier, and to Holly Shulman, editor of the Dolley Madison Digital Edition, for providing research assistance with this biography.