Charles Beal

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 Charles Beal. 

Charles Beal was born in Virginia sometime in the late 1810s or early 1820s.¹ Details about his youth are unknown at this time, but he was likely living in Washington, D.C., by 1846, as newspaper articles from that year suggests a man by the name Charles Beal had a letter at a post-office in D.C.²

The 1850 Census lists Beal working at the White House under President Zachary Taylor.³ When Taylor died in July 1850, Beal 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. Beal was recorded among Black staff (alongside Benjamin Quarles, William Williams, Robert Blaxton, Mary Ann Day, and Julia Ball) and identified as a waiter earning $12 per month.⁴ It is unclear how long he remained in this role at the White House, but there is no known evidence that he worked there under President Franklin Pierce, which suggests Beal left his job before Pierce was Inaugurated in March 1853. The 1860 Census still lists Beal as a waiter, but it does not specify his employer.⁵ After this, Beal disappears from the historical record. 

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.