William Slade (valet)
William Slade (died March 16, 1868) was the White House Usher, at the time, "one of the highest posts available to a black Washingtonian";[1] he acted as valet, confidential messenger, door keeper, and majordomo to Abraham Lincoln (t. 1861 – 1868).[2][3]
Career
Previously Slade had kept a boardinghouse in Washington and served as a messenger in the Treasury Department.[5] When Slade became Lincoln's majordomo, he became trusted by Lincoln with confidential secrets. In his 1942 book They Knew Lincoln, historian John Washington calls Slade the “confidential messenger and confidant” to the President, wherein the President would give Slade private missions to perform and in exchange Slade "kept the closest mouth on all public affairs and would never discuss any of Lincoln’s plans or business with anyone."[6] After his death, Slade's daughter recorded that her father had destroyed some old documents of Lincoln's.[7][8] In addition, Lincoln used to test the lines of some of his speeches out on Slade.[9]
He was an elder at the 15th Street Presbyterian Church, Washington.[10] Slade was also an activist within his community. He urged Lincoln to give Washington D.C.'s African American men a say over the officers who were selected for their regiments. He also was active in arguing for the right to vote, and he corresponded with Frederick Douglass about the Johnson White House after Lincoln's death.[11]
In popular culture
In the 2012 film Lincoln directed by Steven Spielberg, Slade was played by Stephen McKinley Henderson.[12]
References
- ^ Conroy, James B. "Slavery's Mark on Lincoln's White House". WHHA (en-US). Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ Abraham Lincoln: A Life - Page 252 Michael Burlingame - 2008 "A few members of the White House staff were black, including the messenger-valet-steward William Slade, known as an excellent storyteller; the cook Cornelia Mitchell; and the butler Peter Brown. William Johnson, a valet-cum-barber .."
- ^ Sweet, Natalie (Summer 2013). ""A Representative 'of our people': The Agency of William Slade, Leader in the African American Community and Usher to Abraham Lincoln"". The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. 34 (2): 21–41. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "Ushers and Stewards Since 1800". WHHA (en-US). Retrieved 2022-11-05.
- ^ Abraham and Mary Lincoln - Page 86 Kenneth J. Winkle - 2011 "In Johnson's place, he appointed William Slade, an African American who kept a boardinghouse in Washington and was serving as a messenger in the Treasury Department. Slade became Lincoln's valet and “confidential messenger” and ..."
- ^ Washington, John (February 7, 2018). They Knew Lincoln. Oxford University Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-0190270964.
- ^ Lincoln's Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln And The Soldiers' Home - Page 69 Matthew Pinsker - 2005 "The daughter of William Slade, who was the presidential valet, reported that her father "had destroyed many old pieces of ..."
- ^ Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America - Page 332 Allen C. Guelzo - 2006 "Nicolay dismissed Colfax's story out of hand, but there remains some possibility that there may indeed have been a “lost” version of the Proclamation, since the daughter of Lincoln's valet, William Slade, remembered that her father “destroyed ..."
- ^ My Fellow Americans: Presidential Addresses That Shaped History - Page 73 James C. Humes - 1992 "During the process he would at times read out some lines to his valet, William Slade. "William, how does that sound?" he kept asking. Lincoln was not so much asking for advice as testing out the sound of the phrase as it rolled off his tongue."
- ^ The Living Lincoln - Page 110 Thomas A. Horrocks, Harold Holzer, Frank J. Williams - 2011 "An elder in the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, Slade served as White House steward and as Lincoln's valet.46 ..."
- ^ Sweet, Natalie (Summer 2013). ""A Representative 'of our people': The Agency of William Slade, Leader in the African American Community and Usher to Abraham Lincoln"". The Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. 34 (2): 21–41. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ Lincoln at IMDb