Matilda Shugen
Cite this Page
"Matilda Shugen," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/394.
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1867
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Unclear from Context
- Presidency
- Andrew Johnson
- Biography
- Matilda Shugen worked as a second cook in the White House for President Andrew Johnson. Surviving financial records document her service from September 1867 to November 1867.1 She may have worked at the White House before or after that month, but no additional records have yet been identified to confirm the duration of her employment. As a second cook, Shugen 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.
- Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 629, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=629&st=image&r=0.136,-0.172,1.182,0.648,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 653, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=653&st=image&r=-0.05,0.137,0.783,0.429,0.
- Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 629, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=629&st=image&r=0.136,-0.172,1.182,0.648,0.
- Birthplace
- Unclear From Context
- Unclear from Context