White House Historical Association

Unidentified Martin Van Buren Worker 7


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"Unidentified Martin Van Buren Worker 7," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/239.
Position
Unclear from context Unclear from Context
Years in President's House
circa 1840
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Biography
According to the 1840 Census, there were five free African Americans working for President Martin Van Buren at the White House. The census did not specify their names or what jobs they performed, though it did note their sex and age ranges; one was a woman between thirty-six and fifty-five years old. Unfortunately, at this time nothing else is known about the individuals.1
  1. “Martin Van Buren” in the 1840 United States Federal Census, accessed via Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8057/records/1619909?tid=&pid=&queryId=d31b2a20-a3b6-438f-94e5-6d14472cea2b&_phsrc=KCT2523&_phstart=successSource; Matthew Costello, “The Enslaved Households of President Martin Van Buren,” White House History.org, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-households-of-martin-van-buren.
Birthplace
Unclear from context
Unclear from context
Related Workers
Unidentified Martin Van Buren Worker 5
circa 1840
Unidentified Martin Van Buren Worker 6
circa 1840
Unidentified Martin Van Buren Worker 8
circa 1840
Unidentified Martin Van Buren Worker 9
circa 1840