Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018 - 31

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject

to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state

A Slave

wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall

Who Was an 'Artiste'

any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process

of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of
By Susan N. Denaro, Esquire

W

hile touring the Museo
Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
the
laws.Spain a few years
in Madrid,
ago, a portrait simply titled "Hercules"
featuring a man in a fancy, crisp white
chef 's outfit caught my eye. It was painted
in 1797 by Gilbert Stuart, an artist renown
for his portraits. I thought it odd that
an African-American gentleman was
important enough to have been painted by
anyone in that era, especially someone of
Stuart's caliber. His most famous painting
is an unfinished portrait of George
Washington that is the basis of his image
on our current dollar bill.
I did not think much more about
that painting as I toured the rest of the
museum, but when I spotted aprons and
tea towels featuring Hercules' portrait for
sale in the gift shop, I decided I needed
to know more about him. Imagine my
surprise when I learned he was George
Washington's cook.
Hercules, no known last name, was first
listed on the record of slaves for whom
Washington paid taxes in 1770. Historians
theorized that he may have been born
around 1754 since taxes were not due
on slaves before they attained the age of
16. Hercules worked as a ferryman for a
neighboring plantation and in 1767 was
mortgaged to Washington for whom he
initially worked as a ferryman.
Hercules married Alice, a seamstress
and Custis Dowager slave owned by
Martha Washington. They had three
children, Richmond, born in 1777, Evey,
born in 1782, and Delia, born in 1785;
Alice died in 1787. At some point after
Alice's death, he is believed to have
fathered a child with another woman, but
he did not marry her and her identity was
not recorded.
The 1786 slave census listed him as
chief cook at Washington's Mansion
House and according to George
Washington Parke Custis, the step-

grandson of Washington, Hercules was
a celebrated 'artiste', which was the term
for a head chef at that time. Custis was
quoted as saying that Hercules was
"highly accomplished and as proficient in
the culinary arts as anyone who could be
found in the United States."
Hercules was one of nine slaves
Washington brought with him when
the situs of our government moved from
NYC to Philadelphia. It was reported
that Washington was disappointed with
the 7
cook in the original presidential
residences and opted to use his own chef
instead in Pennsylvania. Because of his
culinary prowess, Hercules was allowed
to bring his son, Richmond, with him to
Philadelphia, something that was deemed
a 'special privilege' back then.
Another privilege was that he was
allowed to sell leftovers, known as slops,
from the Presidential kitchen, a practice
that earned him up to $200 a year.
During his time in Philadelphia, he was
known as a 'celebrated dandy' who spent
his money on expensive clothing and
luxuries. Evidence of his love of dressing
well can be found in that Stuart portrait
featuring him in a frilly cravat, a fitted
and pressed chef 's waistcoat and a tall
chef 's hat.
In addition to being an impeccable
dresser, he was known for keeping a
meticulous kitchen and was called 'Uncle
Harkless'. He reportedly ruled his staff
with an iron fist and did not allow a
speck or spot on the tables or dressers
and required that the silver utensils were
always brightly polished.
Even back in the 1700s, northerners
had issues with the practice of slavery
observed in the South. Because
many southern members of our first
government brought slaves with them,
the Pennsylvania legislature passed
a law that if a slave was brought to
Pennsylvania from a state that allowed

slavery and that individual stayed for
a period in excess of six months, he
could declare himself to be free. Sadly
for Hercules, George Washington was
careful to never allow him or his son to
remain in Pennsylvania for that length of
time and shuttled them back and forth
between Mount Vernon and Philadelphia
accordingly.
At least one of Washington's
biographers reported that Hercules and
Richmond escaped from Philadelphia
to freedom in 1797, the same year as the
Stuart portrait was completed, stating
they didn't want to be returned to Mount
Vernon. Their escape followed the alleged
theft of money by Richmond from Mount
Vernon in 1796, which Washington feared
at the time was a sign they were planning
an escape. Although a diligent search was
undertaken for them, their whereabouts
were never discovered during Washington's
lifetime.
Washington died in December 1799,
leaving a Last Will and Testament he
signed just months before that freed
Hercules and his other slaves. However, he
had no control over the Custis Dowager
slaves and, as a result, Hercules' children
were not freed until Martha Washington's
death in May 1802.
While many of the head chefs who
served modern day presidents have written
cookbooks and become celebrities in their
own right, none have as tasty a story as
Hercules, the man I consider to be the
First Chef of the United States. I wonder
whether Hercules was unable to read and
write and that that is the reason none
of his recipes are known today. While
such a thought is sad enough, it is sadder
still that I had to travel to Spain to learn
about his indentured service to President
Washington.
Susan N. Denaro, Esquire, is with the
Wyomissing law firm of Georgeadis||Setley.
Spring 2018 | 31
Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2018
