Louisa Short

Little is known about Louisa Short’s birth and early life. She was likely married to a man named William Short Sr., and together they had at least five children: William Jr., Jerry, John, Washington, and Roscius.¹ William worked as a valet for John Tyler throughout his life, and Louisa likely worked a variety of jobs within the Tyler households. 

While it is unclear if the rest of the Short family worked at the White House, there is evidence some may have. In 1843, President Tyler wrote to his daughter Elizabeth Tyler Waller: “I am very anxious to have a blacksmith and should be willing to part with Washington but if I can hear of a servant that would suit you… I will purchase him for you – I think that Louisa’s William, would make a good servant and if you choose to try your hand with him you can do so – He is a fine boy – and all of Wm Shorts children have a turn for the House – I will willingly my dear daughter pay the hire of a servant maid for you and I think you would do well to procure one of your Aunt Douglas’s – Either Delilah or Maria would suit you if you could get them. Besides it is no trifling matter to have a nurse who is a good seamstress.”² The president mentioned Louisa by name, as well as two of her sons, Washington and William, which suggests they were all part of his current household. Tyler’s reference to the Short children receiving a “turn for the House” also implies they were working alongside their parents at the White House.

After the presidency, the Short family was brought back to Sherwood Forest, the Tyler family plantation in Virginia. The Civil War brought freedom for many enslaved people, including Louisa. She is recorded as a free Black woman between the age of 50 and 70 in Freedman’s Bureau records for Princess Anne County. John Tyler is named as her former enslaver.³ William Short is not listed with her, suggesting that either he was deceased or they were separated. Louisa also appears in the 1870 Census living in Kempsville, Virginia, in the same household as Victoria Brown, who was likely her granddaughter.⁴