Mrs. Benjamin
Cite this Page
"Mrs. Benjamin," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/571.
- Position
- Cook
- Years in President's House
- circa 1897 – 1901
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Female
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- William McKinley
- Biography
- Little is known about Mrs. Benjamin, who served as White House cook under President William McKinley, including her full name. The only known source of information on her life and work at the White House is a newspaper article from 1899 that provided an in-depth examination of the McKinley household. According to the article, “Mrs. Benjamin” was from South Carolina and worked as “the regular White House cook.” Prior to that, she worked as the private cook for South Carolina Senator Benjamin Tillman. The article elaborated that Mrs. Benjamin “is an expert of fried chicken, hot bread, and pies. The President likes Mrs. Benjamin’s conception of pie crust better than the finest French pastry. In fact he would not give her up for forty French cooks.”1 Further information about her life is scarce.
- Henry Caldwell, “The M’Kinley Household,” New York Times, January 8, 1899, pg. 20.
- Birthplace
- South Carolina, USA
- Unclear from context