Paul Jennings

Paul Jennings (c. 1799 – 1874) was an American abolitionist and writer. Enslaved as a young man by President James Madison during and after his White House years, Jennings published, in 1865, the first White House memoir. His book was A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison, described as "a singular document in the history of slavery and the early American republic."

Living in Washington, D.C., from 1837 on, Jennings made many valuable connections and was aided by the northern Whig Senator Daniel Webster in gaining freedom. In the 1850s, Jennings traveled to Virginia, where he tracked down his children, who had grown up on a neighboring plantation with his wife, Fanny, who was also enslaved. His relatives on his mother's side were sold by the widow Dolley Madison with Montpelier in 1844. His three sons joined the Union cause during the American Civil War.

In 2009, his descendants were honored at Montpelier after a lecture on Jennings. They were also invited to a private viewing at the White House of Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portrait of George Washington.

Early life and education Jennings was enslaved at birth at Montpelier in about 1799; his mother, who was African-Native American, was enslaved by the Madisons. The mixed-race Jennings, as an enslaved child, was a companion to Dolley's son Payne Todd. He began to serve James Madison as his footman and later was trained as his "body servant". Other people enslaved at the White House helped save such valuables as silver. (The portrait was returned to the White House, where it is the only surviving item from before the War of 1812.) Legend has it that he assisted First Lady Dolley Madison in this effort. In his memoir, Jennings wrote that a French cook and one other person did the physical work of taking down the painting.

Post-White House years After the president ended his second term, the Madisons returned to Montpelier in 1817, bringing Jennings. He was 18 years old and continued to serve Madison as his valet for the rest of the president's life. Jennings married Fanny, an enslaved woman held on another plantation, and they had five children who lived with their mother. Jennings was with Madison when he died in 1836.

Struggling financially, in 1844, Dolley Madison sold Montpelier and all its property, including its slaves, to raise money to live on. He entered the large free black community of Washington, which outnumbered enslaved people by three to one at the time.

In 1848, Jennings helped plan a mass escape of 77 enslaved people from Washington, D.C., on the schooner Pearl. It was the largest escape attempt by enslaved people in US history. John, Franklin, William and daughter Mary later joined him in Washington and the area. Also in 2009, the Montpelier Foundation arranged a private visit for Jennings's descendants to the White House to see the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington and celebrate Jennings for his efforts during the War of 1812. One of his descendants lives in a rowhouse in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., which his family has owned since the 19th century. James Madison University honored Jennings on February 8, 2019, by naming a new residence hall after him.