White House Historical Association

William Slade

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"William Slade," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/364.
Positions
Messenger
Valet
Steward
Years in President's House
1861 – 1868
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
Black or African American
Presidencies
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Biography
William Slade was born around 1815 in Northern Virginia.1 In his early years, he worked as a porter at the Indian Queen Hotel in Washington, D.C.—a well-known establishment that no longer exists.2 Slade began his White House service in 1861 as an assistant messenger to President Abraham Lincoln. According to Slade’s daughter, Katherine “Nibbie” Slade, the president confided in her father about “matters of grave concern,” and he reportedly served as a confidential messenger for the president and his family. He also took on a valet role for President Lincoln, overseeing African-American servants and managing food and service arrangements for both public and private functions.3 By 1865, he was listed in the Register of Officers and Agents as a clerk in the loan branch of the Treasury Department.4 In 1865, he returned to the White House and was promoted to steward under President Andrew Johnson. In this role, he oversaw the domestic staff and all public funds allocated to the White House by Congress.5 Slade was responsible for maintaining the aging Executive Mansion, and one newspaper reported that outdated furnishings hindered President Johnson’s first public reception. In response, Slade dressed the East Room in a “tolerably presentable condition,” covering worn carpets and floors in an effort to protect them from further damage.6 Slade continued to serve in the role until his death on March 16, 1868.7 He was buried in Columbian Harmony Cemetery in Washington, D.C.8 Burials there were later disinterred during Metro construction, and moved to National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Maryland.
  1. "William Slade," Find a Grave, accessed May 29, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/221782985/william-slade.
  2. "Decease of Old Citizens," Washington Chronicle (Washington, DC), March 17, 1868,4,  https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044591668/?match=1&terms="William Slade".
  3. Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1861), 18, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_Register_of_the_United_States/UoMhAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=William Slade; John E. Washington, They Knew Lincoln (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1942), 104-112, https://archive.org/details/bwb_T2-CGU-475/page/122/mode/2up?q="peter+brown".
  4. Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1865),19, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Register_of_Officers_and_Agents_Civil_Mi/RxUZAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=William Slade.
  5. Claire Faulkner, “Ushers and Stewards Since 1800,” White House History no. 26 (Fall 2009), republished on White House Historical Association, accessed May 29, 2025, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/ushers-and-stewards-since-1800.
  6. “The President’s Reception,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), January 1, 1866, 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/168067462/?match=1&terms="William Slade".
  7. "Decease of Old Citizens," Washington Chronicle (Washington, DC), March 17, 1868, 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/1044591668/?match=1&terms="William Slade".
  8. "William Slade," Find a Grave, accessed May 29, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/221782985/william-slade; In 1960, the cemetery and all remains were relocated to Hyattsville, Maryland, and renamed National Harmony Memorial Park. See Columbian Harmony and Payne's Cemetery Ledgers Collection, 1901–1959," Collection 066, The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, Washington, D.C. https://thepeoplesarchive.dclibrary.org/repositories/2/resources/1005.
Birthplace
Virginia, USA
National Harmony Memorial Park (formerly Columbian Harmony Payne Cemetery)
Related Workers
James L. Thomas
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, circa 1868 – 1869
Joseph S. C. Taber
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1869
William T. Sinclair
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, Valets, Lady's Maids, and First Family Attendants, Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1885 – 1889, 1893 – 1902
Educational Resources
Classroom Resource Packet: Slavery, Freedom, and the White House
Although many people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, it is also a part of our country’s history of slavery. From the start of White House construction in 1792 until emancipation took effect in Washington, D.C. in 1862, enslaved men, women, and children labored at the Executive Mansion. The stories of these individuals, working under the oppressive institution of slavery in the “People’s House,” demonstrate a stark contrast to the ideals of freedom and democracy that the White House has long represented.