White House Historical Association

Valentino Melah

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"Valentino Melah," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/404.
Position
Steward
Years in President's House
1869 – 1871
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
Ulysses S. Grant
Biography
Valentino Melah was born in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (present-day Italy) around 1824.1 Melah later moved to the United States, and he became a naturalized citizen in 1856.2 He worked in the hotel business in New York and made a name for himself as a “caterer of long experience” there, working at the Astor House and Everett House hotels prior to joining Ulysses Grant’s White House staff as steward in December 1869.3 In this role, Melah managed the household staff and oversaw lavish parties and dinners thrown by the Grant family, as well as traveling with them to their vacation home in Long Branch, New Jersey.4 Melah remained in the role until the fall of 1871, when newspapers announced he had resigned to open a club house in D.C. He was replaced by John Henry Whitlow, an African-American servant on the staff.5 After leaving the White House, Melah moved to Illinois; he died there in 1872 and is buried at Calvary Catholic Cemetery.6
  1. Valentino Melah in 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Washington Ward 1, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: M593_123; Page: 210A, Ancestry.com.
  2. Valentino Melah in U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Soundex Index to Petitions For Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906 (M1674); Microfilm Serial: M1674; Microfilm Roll: 174, Ancestry. Com.
  3. John Y. Simon, "The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 19: July 1, 1868-October 31, 1869" (1991). Volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. 21. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-volumes/21, pg. 413; Valentine Melah in U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records, The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110; Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 2 of 2, Ancestry.com. “State Dinners,” Evening Star, December 12, 1870, pg. 1, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1870-12-12/ed-1/seq-1/; See also Mary Clemmer, Ten Years in Washington (Hartford, CT: A.D. Worthington and Co., 1874), 171.
  4. Mary Clemmer, Ten Years in Washington (Hartford, CT: A.D. Worthington and Co., 1874), 171; “Local News,” Evening Star, September 13, 1871, pg. 1, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1871-09-13/ed-1/seq-1/.
  5. “News by Mail,” Kennebec Journal (Maine), November 1, 1871, pg. 3; “Latest News Items by Mail,” Daily Milwaukee News, October 5, 1871, pg. 2; Ulysses Grant to Frederick T. Dent, Letter, September 16, 1871 in John Y. Simon, "The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 22: June 1, 1871-January 31, 1872" (1998). Volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. 7. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-volumes/7, pg. 141.
  6. “Valentino Melah,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/204818253/valentine-melah.
Birthplace
Italy
Calvary Catholic Cemetery
Related Workers
John H. Whitlow
Kitchen, Dining Room, Pantry, and Storeroom, Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1870 – 1877
Joseph S. C. Taber
Ushers, Stewards, and Doorkeepers, 1869
Related Association Content
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/orphan-becomes-white-house-steward