Jame
Cite this Page
"Jame," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/211.
- Position
- Stables
- Years in President's House
- circa 1832
- Legal Status
- Enslaved Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Andrew Jackson
- Biography
- Jame appears under the name Jim on an 1829 inventory of enslaved people at Andrew Jackson’s plantation, The Hermitage. He was six years old and was listed with his father, also named Jim, his mother, Nancy, and siblings Sam and Nancy. (1)
In April 1832, Jame was mentioned in a letter from the Hermitage’s overseer, Graves. W. Steele to President Andrew Jackson. The letter describes plans to send Jame, who would have then been approximately nine years old, from The Hermitage to Washington. Jame prepared to travel east alongside a horse trainer named William Alexander and other enslaved boys, Byron and Jessey. The group brought racing colts to the president. In October 1832, President Jackson wrote to his adopted son, Andrew Jackson, Jr.: “I will endeavour to send Jame out by William & keep Byron until you & Sarah arrive and returns–They boys are all in good health.” (2) Another letter from Jackson in November states, “Byron and Jame has been on their way home eight days,” as they traveled back to the Hermitage. It remains unclear what Jame’s duties at the White House were, but it is likely he continued to work with the horses. (3)
It is currently unclear whether Jame ever returned to the White House. Further information about Jame’s life remains unknown. - (1) The father Jim passed away later that year, meaning that this is the Jim or Jame that traveled to the White House. “Inventory of Hermitage Slaves and Property,” The Papers of Andrew Jackson Edited by Daniel Feller, Thomas Coens, Laura-Eve Moss, and Harold D. Moser, Vol VII, 1829, 8-10, https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=utk_jackson
(2) “Graves W. Steele to Andrew Jackson, April 11, 1832,” The Papers of Andrew Jackson Edited by Daniel Feller, Thomas Coens, and Laura-Eve Moss, Vol X, 1832, 230, https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=utk_jackson.
(3) “Andrew Jackson to Andrew Jackson, Jr., October 21, 1832,” The Papers of Andrew Jackson Edited by Daniel Feller, Thomas Coens, and Laura-Eve Moss, Vol X, 1832, 536, https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=utk_jackson. - Birthplace
- Unclear from Context
- Related Workers
- ByronTransportation, circa 1832
- JesseyTransportation, circa 1832
- William Alexander
- Jesse
- Wiliam AlexanderTransportation, circa 1832