Mary Riley 1

One of the presidential households we know the least about is that of Zachary Taylor. Documentation is scarce, as most of his personal papers were lost when Union soldiers occupied his family’s plantation in Louisiana during the Civil War. Furthermore, Taylor’s tenure as president was short, as he died in office less than two years into his term, meaning he produced fewer records to begin with. As a result, only a handful of individuals have been identified as working at the Taylor White House. One of them was Mary Riley. 

Mary Riley was born in Ireland around 1824. It is unclear exactly when she moved to the United States, but the 1850 Census lists her as working at the White House under President Zachary Taylor.¹ When Taylor died in July 1850, Riley stayed on staff, at least temporarily, as did many of the household workers. We know this because in August 1850 President Fillmore compiled a financial document detailing wages owed to White House domestic workers. The list included staff names, as well as their position, salary, and race. Riley was recorded among white staff (alongside Ignatius Ruppert, Edward McManus, Sophia O’Brien, Thomas Cogan, and another woman also named Mary Riley) and identified as a chambermaid earning $7 per month.² 

It is unknown how long she remained at the White House, but there is no evidence she was still working there under President Franklin Pierce, meaning she likely left her job prior to Pierce’s Inauguration in 1853. According to the 1870 Census, Riley was still working as a housekeeper, but it does not specify the employer.³ 

Little else is known about Riley at this time.⁴ There was another person named Mary Riley working at the White House as a laundress at the same time as her, also born in Ireland (listed on the 1850 Census as “Mary Riley 2”). This makes it even more challenging to discern further information about either worker.⁵

Thank you to Michael Cohen and Amy Larrabee Cotz, editors of the Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore papers, for providing research assistance with this biography.