Josephine Shorter
Cite this Page
"Josephine Shorter," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/395.
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1868
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Unclear from Context
- Presidency
- Andrew Johnson
- Biography
- Josephine Shorter worked as a second cook in the White House for President Andrew Johnson. Surviving financial records document her service from January 1868 to February 1868.1 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 second cook, Shorter 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 688, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=688&st=image&r=0.198,-0.056,0.9,0.493,0; Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 705, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=705&st=image&r=0.198,0.382,0.758,0.415,0.
- Andrew Johnson Papers, Series 10, Financial Records, 1829–1877, Bills, 1835–1868, October, image 688, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss27839.mss27839-051_0376_1142/?sp=688&st=image&r=0.198,-0.056,0.9,0.493,0.
- Birthplace
- Unclear From Context
- Unclear From Context