White House Historical Association

Maria Jackson


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"Maria Jackson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/390.
Position
Cook
Years in President's House
circa 1865 – 1867
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Female
Race/Ethnicity
Unclear from Context
Presidency
Andrew Johnson
Biography
Maria Jackson worked as an assistant cook in the White House for President Andrew Johnson. Surviving financial records document her service from December 1865 to April 1867.1 As an assistant cook, Jackson would have worked closely under head cook Eliza Mitchell and been responsible for preparing ingredients, weighing and measuring supplies, and readying foods for cooking.2 No additional records have been identified that shed light on her life or career.
  1. Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 167, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=167&st=image&r=0.015,0.095,0.927,0.508,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 199, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=199&st=image&r=0.025,0.158,0.773,0.424,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 417, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=417&st=image&r=0.007,-0.147,1.103,0.605,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 552, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=552&st=image&r=0.303,0.039,0.437,0.24,0. (2) Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 167, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=167&st=image&r=0.015,0.095,0.927,0.508,0; United States Employment Service, Definitions of Titles (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Manpower Administration, Bureau of Employment Security, 1965) 165, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Definitions_of_titles/xo-0cqua0zgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq="watchman".
Birthplace
Unclear from Context
Unclear from Context
Related Worker
Eliza Mitchell
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, circa 1857 – 1868