ZACHARY TAYLOR, THE LAST PRESIDENT TO OWN SLAVES WHILE IN THE WHITE HOUSE, SIGNS A MILITARY RECEIPT AND MENTIONS TWO OF HIS LONG-TIME SLAVES, CHARLES PORTER AND TOM

ZACHARY TAYLOR (1784-1850).  Taylor was the Twelfth President.

DS. 1pg. 15 ½” x 9 ½”. October 31, 1831. No place.  A partly printed requisition document signed “Z. Taylor Lt Col” in the lower right corner.  The document shows that Colonel Taylor was owed $337.40 for two months of pay, clothing and food.  In the lower left corner is a mention of his two “servants” as the document labels them.  They were Charles Porter and Tom, both of black complexion.  In 1829, Zachary’s father Richard died and left his son two slaves, Charles Porter and Tom.  These two men remained with Taylor for the next twenty years, including going to Mexico during Taylor’s military service.  It is believed that they went to the Executive Mansion with Taylor.  Porter’s 1849 obituary appeared in The Alexandria Gazette, and labeled him as the “faithful body servant of the President.”  A search of RareBookHub shows no Taylor documents mentioning his two slaves ever selling.  The document has been professionally restored and encapsulated.