John Mauld
Cite this Page
"John Mauld," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/39.
- Position
- Porter
- Years in President's House
- 1789 – 1792
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- George Washington
- Biography
- Information about John Mauld’s life outside of the President’s House remains unknown. Mauld worked for George Washington at both presidential residences in New York as well as the President’s House in Philadelphia. Washington hired him as a porter, or person that assisted the first family with travel and luggage, when the previous porter, James Hurley, was promoted to footman.1 John was married, although his wife (unnamed) does not appear to have worked in the household. However, John and his wife traveled with the Washingtons’ servants when they moved to Philadelphia in October 1790.2 John also accompanied George Washington on his tour of the southern states from March to June 1791.3 While working for the president, he dressed in livery, a uniform including a woolen coat, vest, and breeches in the colors of Washington’s coat of arms, white and red.4 In 1792, Richard Keating replaced Mauld as porter.5
- Stephen Decatur, Jr., Private Affairs of George Washington, from the records and accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, his secretary, (New York: De Capo Press, 1969),102, https://archive.org/details/privateaffairsof0000deca/page/124/mode/2up.
- Mrs. Mauld sewed handkerchiefs for George Washington in January 1791 for which she was paid $1.00. However, it does not appear that she was employed in the household beyond this. Stephen Decatur, Jr., Private Affairs of George Washington, from the records and accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, his secretary, (New York: De Capo Press, 1969),189, https://archive.org/details/privateaffairsof0000deca/page/124/mode/2up. “Tobias Lear to George Washington, 10 October 1790,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0260. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 6, 1 July 1790 – 30 November 1790, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1996, pp. 549–552.]
- Stephen Decatur, Jr., Private Affairs of George Washington, from the records and accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, his secretary, (New York: De Capo Press, 1969), 209-210, https://archive.org/details/privateaffairsof0000deca/page/124/mode/2up.
- Jessie Macleod, “Giles,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, accessed October 22, 2025, https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/giles; Stephen Decatur, Jr., Private Affairs of George Washington, from the records and accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, his secretary, (New York: De Capo Press, 1969), 12, https://archive.org/details/privateaffairsof0000deca/page/124/mode/2up.
- Stephen Decatur, Jr., Private Affairs of George Washington, from the records and accounts of Tobias Lear, Esquire, his secretary, (New York: De Capo Press, 1969), 252, https://archive.org/details/privateaffairsof0000deca/page/124/mode/2up.
- Birthplace
- Unclear from Context
- Unclear from Context
- Related Workers
- Richard KeatingTransportation, 1792 – circa 1793
- James HurleyTransportation, 1789 – circa 1793