WHO COOKED IN COLONIAL AMERICA?
The division of labor in 18th century America was determined by gender, class, and ethnicity. Women and men operated under societal expectations that determined their respective roles within the home and their communities. During the early colonial period, men and women often shared the labor of survival. As European settlements became more established, and more family units formed on the American frontier, so too did gender roles. The ideal European family, in which a household was led by a man who presided over both family and business while a woman managed the home, took root in the decades preceding the Revolution and held fast in the period that followed. During this time, food preparation was labor that most often fell to women, especially in households of low to middling income.
Although they worked alongside men in the running of shops and agricultural operations, the work of maintaining the household was usually performed exclusively by women. This included cleaning, spinning yarn and weaving cloth, care of livestock and gardens, and childrearing. Cooking, of course, was a prominent aspect of this work, consuming much of a woman’s time during the day. This was compounded by the issue of preparing food for her whole family in a time of high birthrates – about seven children per mother. Sometimes, a woman’s occupation – such as innkeeper – demanded even more time in the kitchen. Unmarried women without property often worked in other households as domestic servants, whose many responsibilities included food preparation.
In wealthy households, however, cooking was often the responsibility of domestic staff. In such households, as with Martha and George Washington, the lady of the house would determine a menu for the day or week and leave the tasks of preparation and serving to indentured servants or the enslaved. Enslaved people, who were mainly Africans by this time, were forced to work in a variety of occupations that ranged from fieldhand, to skilled craftsman, to domestic servant. In these capacities, men and women (and children) worked side-by-side in bondage. Enslaved cooks and chefs did not have choice in their status or occupation and lived in a variety of conditions that depended on their geographical location (North versus South, urban versus rural) and the whim of their enslaver. Yet, despite having almost no control over their daily lives, enslaved cooks exerted a great deal of influence on the burgeoning American cuisine and crafted dishes and cooking techniques that we continue to use today.
Resources:
- “Women and Children in Colonial America,” National Geographic Resource Library (n.d.)
- “Africans in Colonial America,” National Geographic Resource Library (n.d.)
- Ed Crews, “Colonial Foodways,” Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Educational Journal (Fall 2004)
- Kelly Fanto Deetz, “How Enslaved Chefs Helped Shape American Cuisine,” Smithsonian Magazine (2018)
- Brooks Jones, “A Look at Eighteenth Century American Foodways,” Cookery in Colonial America (2012)
- Jone J. Lewis, “Women and Work in Early America: Before the Domestic Sphere,” Thought.Co (2019)
AMERICA'S FIRST CELEBRITY CHEFS
Long before the the likes of Rachel Ray, Anthony Bourdain, and Bobby Flay, the culinary world had star cooks who were renown for their talents, skills, and innovations. Unlike celebrity chefs today, who publish autobiographies, open their own restaurants, and have their own television shows, they mainly worked behind the scenes. This was a function of status - most of the most prominent people in the American culinary world were servants and the enslaved. Their personal notoriety was tied to the notoriety of the households that they were bound to, inextricably linked to the people that they served. James Hemings and Hercules Posey were among the many enslaved culinarians who tremendously impacted the landscape of the American table.
JAMES HEMINGS
James Hemings was born in 1765 to Elizabeth Hemings, an enslaved woman who was brought to Monticello as human property in the inheritance of Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson. Six of Elizabeth's children were fathered by John Wayles, making James Heming the younger half-brother of Martha. He was also the brother of Sally Hemings. At Monticello, the Hemings family were bound in slavery as tradespeople and domestic workers. As a young man, Hemings was tasked with acting as a personal attendant to Thomas Jefferson and, at times, as a hired valet to Jefferson's acquaintances.
When Jefferson was appointed American minister to the French court in 1784, Hemings was summoned to accompany him to France. Jefferson chose Hemings with the explicit purpose of sending him for training in the art of French cookery. During his time in Paris, Hemings studied with Monsieur Combeaux, who had been hired to work in Jefferson's kitchen for a period of one year. After studying with Combeaux, Hemings was trained by a woman cuisiniere and studied under a master pastry chef. His most important training, however, was in the kitchen of the Prince de Conde at Chateau Chantilly. This kitchen was renown, with cooking widely considered superior to that of the Palace of Versailles. All the while, Hemings was undertaking intensive study of the French language. By the time his training was complete, Hemings could effectively supervise an entirely French kitchen. As the chef de cuisine, he was entitled to monthly wages that amounted to a regular income, although Jefferson paid him only half of what he paid to the previous chef cuisinier.
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| A diagram for the kitchen at Monticello, featuring a masonry stove used for French cooking. Courtesy of Monticello.org, |
It is notable that by the time of his arrival in France, slavery had been abolished and enslaved people brought to France were entitled to petition the French courts for manumission. The French political scene was roiling with talk of revolution and the issue of slavery was central to that discourse. It is likely that Hemings, either by himself or with the assistance of an attorney, would have been able to successfully sue for his legal freedom. It is unknown why he chose to return to North America when his chances for obtaining manumission were better than most, but it is possible that Hemings may have used his return to negotiate more favorable arrangements for himself - such as receiving a wage - and his family.
His return to the United States in 1789 had an indelible impact on the American palate. In addition to bringing back his innovative French-fusion cuisine, Hemings is also credited for introducing foods like creme brulee, meringues, ice cream, French fries, and European macaroni and cheese to the American table. Hemings also brought back new kitchen technology with the "potage" stove, a precursor of modern stoves. In North America, Hemings continued to work for Thomas Jefferson, now the Secretary of State, and served food to the highest-ranking people in the country. In this capacity, Hemings served an important, but often uncredited, role in one of the most important political negotiations in American history. It was Hemings's carefully crafted food that was set upon the table on during the "dinner table bargain" of the Compromise of 1790. It was at this dinner that Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison resolved a congressional deadlock that allowed the federal government to assume state debts and designated the permanent location of the American capitol in the area now called the District of Columbia. This takes on a special significance when Jefferson's own beliefs about food are taken into account: Jefferson believed that a pleasurable table could "unite good taste with temperance" and communicate ideas about egalitarianism and citizenship. Although the contents of that dinner are lost to time, the menu and settings would have been intentionally calculated to convey national identity and Jefferson's own political ideology. Hemings was a key element of this and its unlikely that Jefferson would have been able to convey these ideas through food without the expert skill of an enslaved chef.
By law, enslaved people in Philadelphia could claim their freedom after a period of six months. As with his time in France, however, Hemings did not petition for his manumission when he was eligible. Rather, he bargained with Jefferson directly. This is documented in the manumission agreement written by Jefferson in 1794, during his final days as Secretary of State. This document confirmed the terms of Hemings's manumission, but witheld his freedom until he trained another enslaved chef to take his place. Hemings and Jefferson both followed through with the terms of this contract and, by 1796, Hemings left Monticello for the first time as a free man. After James left, his brother Peter Hemings took over his role as the head chef at Monticello.
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| Inventory of kitchen utensils, written by James Hemings shortly before his departure from Monticello. Courtesy of Monticello.org. |
Hemings's life after slavery is sparsely documented, although some hints exist in a few of Jefferson's surviving correspondences. He first went to Philadelphia, where he likely would have had connections to the free and enslaved black community from his time working there. Beyond that, he is believed to have spent some time traveling, possibly to Europe, and at least contemplated a trip to Spain. Eventually, he settled in Baltimore and worked as a chef at the Columbian Hotel. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson - now President - sent for Hemings with a proposal to hire him as the White House chef. However, Jefferson did not approach Hemings directly as he would a free man, instead choosing to pass the summons through local white acquaintances. Hemings's response to Jefferson's messenger was that "he would not go until [Jefferson] should write to himself." Ultimately, Thomas Jefferson never wrote to Hemings directly with the job offer and ceased pursuing the matter. During his time as President, Thomas Jefferson hired a French chef, Honore Julien to work in the White House. During this time, Julien trained two enslaved women from Monticello in French cookery and it is likely they would have brought Hemings's French-Virginian style of cooking with them as well. One of these women, Edith Hern Fossett, went on to become the head chef at Monticello after Jefferson's retirement.
Not long after declining Jefferson's proposal, however, Hemings died at the age of 36. In 1801, his cause of death was reported to be suicide, but present-day scholars continue to investigate the circumstances of his passing. Regardless of cause, his untimely departure highlights the sheer amount of accomplishment in his short life and his enduring impact on American cuisine.
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| This portrait, attributed to Gilbert Stuart, is often said to depict Hercules Posey. This claim has recently been disputed. |
HERCULES POSEY
Hercules Posey is another American chef whose life was constrained by slavery. Born around 1748, Hercules Posey was originally enslaved by Virginia planter John Posey, and worked as a ferryman on Posey's plantation. It is uncertain what year he was enslaved by George Washington, but he is listed for the first time in Washington's tax records in 1770, probably age 16. By 1786, Posey had joined the household laborers as a cook but, unlike his counterpart James Hemings, Posey did not receive formal training from professional chefs. Rather, he was trained by other hired and enslaved cooks that worked at Mount Vernon. He had an aptitude for cooking and management, and quickly rose through the ranks to serve as chef de cuisine. As a master of his craft, Posey was known to run a strict and efficient kitchen:
“The
chief cook gloried in the cleanliness and nicety of his kitchen. Under his iron
discipline wo [sic] to his underlings if speck or spot could be discovered on
the tables or dressers, or if the utensils did not shine like polished silver.
With the luckless wights who had offended in these particulars there was no
arrest of punishment, for judgement and execution went hand in hand…It was
surprising the order and discipline that was observed [during the preparation
of an important dinner]. His underlings flew in all directions to execute his
orders, while he, the great master-spirit, seemed to possess the power of
ubiquity, and to be everywhere at the same moment."
(RPMW, 422-423)
Posey's skills made him a prominent person in his own right that was known across the communities in which he lived. He was also recognized as valuable to the Washington's political life; besides making their favorite foods, he was also responsible for preparing food for the statesmen, dignitaries, and other people that dined with the Washingtons. As such, he was among a select few taken along with the Washingtons to Philadelphia, the location of the first presidential residence, upon George Washington’s ascendency to the presidency. His status was unusual, as Posey oversaw paid white servants and was permitted to walk around Philadelphia freely. Posey also had a disposable income, earning one hundred to two hundred dollars per year by selling extra food from the presidential kitchen. This income allowed him to dress stylishly and expensively, a quality that he was known for. Of Posey's personal style, George Washington Parker Custis wrote:
These special circumstances should not be misconstrued as freedom, however, as the Washingtons took special measures to prevent Posey from obtaining manumission. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780 prohibited non-resident slaveholders from holding slaves in the state for more than six months – after which an enslaved person would be considered automatically free. Washington argued that the law should not apply to his household, but he did not challenge it in court. Rather, he used a loophole to work around the decree by rotating his enslaved servants between Pennsylvania and Virginia on a six-month basis so that they were never there long enough to qualify for manumission. This rotation included Hercules Posey and it would eventually aid him in his self-manumission.
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| NPS Photo. Mount Vernon ledger featuring notes about the work of the enslaved people and Hercules Posey's escape. MORR 12052. |
The general's cook ran away, being now in Philadelphia, and left a little daughter of six at Mount Vernon. Beaudoin ventured that the little girl must be deeply upset that she would never see her father again; she answered, "Oh! Sir, I am very glad, because he is free now."
(DMTA, 32)
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Longworth's New York Almanack and Directory, 1808/9. Courtesy of the New York Public Library Digital Collections. |
Records show that Washington immediately set about trying to apprehend him and that the search went on for more than a year. Posey’s escape proved to be permanent, however, and he never returned to Mount Vernon. He settled in New York City, where an 1809 directory shows a man by his name working as a cook at 3 Orange Street in Manhattan.*
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| Hercules Posey's death record, uncovered by researchers Ramin Ganeshram and Sara Krasne. Courtesy of the New York City Municipal Archives. |
Resources:
- Lina Mann, "The Enslaved Household of President Thomas Jefferson," The White House Historical Association (n.d.)
- Lina Mann, "Slavery and French Cuisine in Jefferson's Working White House," White House Historical Association (n.d.)
- "James Hemings, 1765 - 1801" [Biography], The James Hemings Society (n.d.)
- "James Hemings" [Biography], Monticello (n.d.)
- "The Culinary Legacy of James Hemings," Monticello Magazine (Summer 2019)
- Norman J. Risjord, "The Compromise of 1790: New Evidence on the Dinner Table Bargain," William & Mary Quarterly (April 1976)
- "Hercules" [Biography], The Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington, Mount Vernon (n.d.)
- "Hercules, Chef to the President," The James Hemings Society (2019)
- George Washington Parke Custis, Recollections and Private Memoirs of the Life and Character of George Washington (1860)
- Louis-Philippe, King of the French, Diary of My Travels in America, translation by Stephen Becker (1977)
- Ramin Ganeshram, "Hercules Posey: George Washington's Unsung Enslaved Chef," BBC World's Table (2022)
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