Jessey
Cite this Page
"Jessey," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/212.
- 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
- Jessey was enslaved at Andrew Jackson’s plantation, The Hermitage. Jackson likely purchased Jessey sometime between 1829-1832, as he does not appear on an inventory of Jackson’s enslaved people taken in 1829, (1)
In April 1832, Jesse was mentioned in a letter from the Hermitage’s overseer Graves. W. Steele to President Andrew Jackson. The letter describes plans to send Jessey from The Hermitage to Washington. Jessey prepared to travel east alongside a horse trainer named William Alexander and other enslaved boys, Jame, and Byron. The group brought racing colts to the president. While the other two enslaved boys that traveled to the White House appear in Jackson’s correspondence, Jessey does not appear again. It is unclear how long he remained in Washington. Further information about Jessey’s life remains unknown. (2) - (1) “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, 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. - Birthplace
- Unclear from Context