White House Historical Association

John Bartholomey

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"John Bartholomey," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/69.
Position
Tutor
Years in President's House
circa 1793 – 1795
Legal Status
Free Person
Gender
Male
Race/Ethnicity
White
Presidency
George Washington
Biography
John Bartholomey worked for George Washington at the President’s House in Philadelphia. He first appeared in household account records in September 1793 as a french tutor for Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Parke Custis. He earned $9.00 per month for tutoring.1 He continued to appear in household records at various points while Elizabeth was at the President’s House, until July 1795. He does not appear after this point; Elizabeth married Thomas Law the following spring, marking an end to her education.2 Information about Bartholomey’s life outside of the President’s House is limited. He appeared on a Philadelphia census taken in 1793, living in Philadelphia’s Dock Ward. His profession was listed as “schoolmaster.”3
  1. “Washington’s Household Account Book, 1793-1797 (continued), The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1906, Vol. 30, No. 1, 46, https://www-jstor-org.mutex.gmu.edu/stable/pdf/20085321.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default:b1a31e013816c6edfc275a2744ab46c1&ab_segments=0/spellcheck_basic_search/control&initiator=search-results&acceptTC=1; “Washington’s Household Account Book, 1793-1797 (continued), The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1906, Vol. 30, No. 3, 323, https://www-jstor-org.mutex.gmu.edu/stable/pdf/20085341.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default:b1a31e013816c6edfc275a2744ab46c1&ab_segments=0/spellcheck_basic_search/control&initiator=search-results&acceptTC=1.
  2. “Washington’s Household Account Book, 1793-1797 (continued)," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1907, Vol. 31, No. 1, 58, https://www-jstor-org.mutex.gmu.edu/stable/pdf/20085371.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default:b1a31e013816c6edfc275a2744ab46c1&ab_segments=0/spellcheck_basic_search/control&initiator=search-results&acceptTC=1; “Elizabeth Parke Custis Law,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Accessed November 18, 2025, https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/elizabeth-parke-custis-law.
  3. “John Bartholomy in the Pennsylvania, U.S., Septennial Census, 1779-1863,” Ancestry, accessed November 18, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2702/records/593182?tid=&pid=&queryId=da704078-0134-4991-8fe2-2e85df0f4edb&_phsrc=OuO795&_phstart=successSource.
Birthplace
Unclear from Context
Unclear from Context