Unidentified Martin Van Buren Valet 1

Little is known about President Martin Van Buren’s valet, but he was mentioned in a contemporary newspaper article. On September 1, 1838, the Madisonian newspaper reported that President Van Buren was visiting Sulphur Springs in Virginia for rest and relaxation and recorded a day-in-the-life of President Van Buren. The paper reported that he was attended to by “his negro valet,” who he often spoke to while getting dressed in the morning. After getting dressed, the valet accompanied Van Buren as they rode horses.¹ A valet was a personal attendant who helped well-to-do men dress, shave, and perform any other tasks they needed. They often attended them closely throughout the day.² 

The Madisonian article did not provide a name for Van Buren’s valet, but we know the valet was black and a man, since valets at this time were exclusively male. The 1840 Census entry for President Van Buren’s household includes two enslaved men aged ten to twenty-four and one free black man aged twenty-four to thirty-five.³ The valet could have been any of these three individuals. There is no evidence that Van Buren legally owned enslaved people while president, so the two enslaved men in his household were most likely hired-out from local enslavers. Another possible explanation is that these enslaved people came to the White House with Angelica Singleton Van Buren, the president’s daughter-in-law and White House hostess.⁴ 

Nothing else is known about President Van Buren’s valet at this point.