While the lower level of Dumbarton House is dedicated to the influential Nourse family who owned the property, this upper level is dedicated to naming those individuals who lived and labored here. Unfortunately, most of what is known of the enslaved and free workers today is limited to small vignettes found in the personal letters of the Nourse Family and records that indicate where each individual might have worked on the property. This portion of the exhibition is an attempt to right this wrong by recontextualizing the space from their perspective.
In addition to building much of the infrastructure in the federal city, free and enslaved workers also labored in the private sphere. Much like other elite Washington area homes, Dumbarton House relied on the labor of free and enslaved Black people to perform daily functions for the Nourse family who lived here. Many of the objects included in this room would have been used by free and enslaved workers to make the white occupants comfortable. Items like the Fireplace tongs and Bedwarmer serve as a reminder that enslaved and free Black workers rose early in the cold morning to ensure that the Nourses woke to a warm house. For the Nourse family meals, enslaved and free workers prepared and served the food from dishes like this porcelain Tureen.
This room also highlights the artistic expression and aesthetic appreciation of enslaved and free Black workers in Georgetown and beyond. Although commodified themselves, these individuals sought to surround themselves with beautiful objects as exemplified by Catherine Taylor’s bright red Headscarf. Free and enslaved individuals also produced art that was distinctly shaped by their condition of enslavement. Dave the Potter was known for his earthenware Jugs that often featured Bible verses or poetry. As a formerly enslaved person, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley moved to Washington, D.C. where she eventually secured a position as a dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln. Over the course of her work, Keckley collected dress scraps which she then made into a brilliant Quilt.
Dave the Potter, Stoneware Storage Jar, 1852.
This stoneware jug was made by an enslaved craftsman, David Drake. Also known as “Dave the Potter,” the artist lived in the Edgefield District of South Carolina. The “LM” inscribed on the side of the jug references Lewis Miles’ plantation where Drake was enslaved. At the time, it was illegal to teach enslaved people to read and write. Scholars have suggested that the bible verses carved into the stoneware were abolitionist metaphors that enslaved people who were using the jug would read while they labored. This jug is a perfect example of a piece that operates as both a piece of art and a utilitarian object.
John Gaither, Tea and Coffee Service, 1807-1817, silver.
This silver tea and coffee set would have surely been a welcome sight at the Dumbarton House breakfast table. However, its connotation of beauty and luxury foregrounds the harsh realities of enslavement. The same people who used this set to prepare coffee and tea for the white occupants of Dumbarton House would not have been able to use this set for themselves. By focusing on their labor in this space, rather than just the elite family who owned the property, we can begin to see the complex histories that exist at Dumbarton House.
Catherine Taylor's discharge, c. 1853.
Taylor & Huntington; Lantern slide of the slave dealers, Price, Birch & Co., in Alexandria, Virginia; 1861; albumen, sodium chloride, silver nitrate and glass.
Unknown, Tintype of a Young Woman with a White Child, c. 1860, silver on iron photographic plates.
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, Quilt, 1850-1875, silk.
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born into slavery in 1818 in Dinwiddie, Virginia. When her enslaver moved to St. Louis, Keckley and her son moved with them. It was there that she began working as a dressmaker. She eventually saved enough money to purchase freedom for herself and her son, allowing her to move to Washington, D.C. in 1860. Here she opened her own shop and quickly became known as one of the best dressmakers in the city, even making dresses for clients such as Mary Todd Lincoln. This quilt was actually made from scraps of silk used for dresses. It serves as a reminder that some enslaved people leveraged their artistic skills for freedom.