Peter Brown
Cite this Page
"Peter Brown," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/357.
- Positions
- Butler
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1857 – 1865
- Legal Status
- Unclear from Context
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Biography
- Peter Brown was born into slavery in the early 1800s on a farm in Fauquier County, Virginia. His life, like that of many enslaved people, is not well documented. Most of what is known comes from a 1928 newspaper interview with his son, Robert Brown, then seventy-eight years old. According to Robert, Peter Brown and his family were taken to Washington, D.C., where his enslaver, Edward Turner, arranged for him to work as a butler at the White House during the presidency of James Buchanan. Turner reportedly kept a portion of Brown’s wages, with the rest going to support Brown’s family. Brown’s legal status while working at the White House remains uncertain, as there are no known federal employment or payment records for him.1 Despite the lack of documentation, Robert Brown recounted that his father worked as a butler; therefore, his duties might have included greeting visitors at the door, collecting hats and coats, relaying messages to and from the president, and handling other household tasks. Peter Brown continued to serve during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, with whom he spent the most time. If Brown had remained enslaved, he likely would have returned to Turner’s property after Buchanan’s term ended. That he stayed on under Lincoln—who, to current knowledge, did not use enslaved labor—may suggest that he had gained his freedom by that time. Robert remembered playing with Lincoln’s sons, Willie and Tad, and said his family held the president in high regard. On the night of April 14, 1865, when news arrived at the White House that President Lincoln had been shot at Ford’s Theatre, Peter Brown was reportedly present. According to Robert, it was his father who tried to comfort young Tad Lincoln. Brown remained in service during the early months of Andrew Johnson’s presidency but left the White House soon after. Very little is known about his life following his supposed departure.2 The lack of primary evidence makes this testimony uncertain, as many individuals attempted to link themselves to the late President Lincoln in the years following his assassination. However, there is also no evidence to disprove this account.
- According to the newspaper interview, Robert Brown and his family were enslaved by a man named Conrad Kincheloe, while his father, Peter, was enslaved by Edward Turner. This discrepancy suggests that Robert’s mother may have been enslaved on a different plantation than Peter, and that her children inherited her enslaved status. Several years before the Civil War, Kincheloe emancipated the members of the Brown family he held in bondage, and the family likely relocated to Washington, D.C. Turner may have allowed Peter to remain with his freed family—while continuing to claim his wages—believing it preferable to the risk of escape. “Former Slave’s Testimony,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), February 12, 1928, [4] https://www.newspapers.com/image/618529493/.
- John E. Washington, They Knew Lincoln (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1942), [120–126] https://archive.org/details/bwb_T2-CGU-475/page/122/mode/2up?q="peter+brown"; “Former Slave’s Testimony,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), February 12, 1928, [4] https://www.newspapers.com/image/618529493/.
- Birthplace
- Fauquier County, Virginia, USA
- Unclear from Context
- Related Association Content
- https://www.whitehousehistory.org/abraham-lincolns-white-house