Dicy

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. Records are even more scarce for the enslaved workers in President Taylor’s household. One of them was likely Dicy. Little is known about Dicy, including their full name. 

Like many of the early slave owning presidents, Taylor brought some of his enslaved workers with him to the White House to serve him and his family and to supplement the free wage laborers. Evidence for Dicy being at the White House comes from President Taylor’s will, which he drafted in 1846 and which came into effect when he passed away in July 1850. The will bequeathed six “servants, slaves for life,” to Taylor’s wife, First Lady Margaret Taylor: Dicy, Charles Porter, Tom, Jane Webb and her two children William and Caroline.¹ The fact that Dicy and the others were willed specifically to the first lady suggests they worked closely with her or the family. Records prove Charles Porter worked at the White House, so it is likely the others did as well.² Dicy is also the only one of the six who does not appear on records from Taylor’s time as an officer in the U.S. Army. The other five served Taylor during his military career in such places as Mexico and Florida and were thus some of the enslaved servants who worked most closely with him. Presumably, then, Dicy also worked closely with Taylor or the first family. Unfortunately, little else is known about Dicy at this time.³