Andrew Johnson and his Slaves

1
Andrew Johnson and his Slaves
2
Background History

• Andrew Johnson may have owned as many as eight
  slaves.
• Each slave performed domestic duties.
• He never sold any of his slaves.

3
Dolly and Sam

• Dolly and Sam, half-sister and brother, were
  purchased at a slave auction in Greeneville,
  Tennessee in 1842.
• Dolly was about 14 years old and Sam was 12.

4
Legend or Fact??

• It has been told that Dolly asked Andrew Johnson
  to buy her. She looked around the crowd of
  buyers and spotted Mr. Johnson. She decided she
  liked his looks so she went up to him and asked
  if he wouldnt buy her.

5
Dolly and Sam

• After Johnson purchased Dolly and Sam, Dolly
  eventually had three children Liz, Florence,
  and William.

6
Sam

• Sam was known as Johnsons favorite, probably
  because of his confident and independent nature.
• According to Martha Johnson, Old Sam boast that
  he was my fathers servant, but the fact is, my
  father was Sams servant.

7
Sam

• Sam was allowed to choose jobs around town, like
  chopping wood and keep part of the money.
• Sam was close to Johnson until his death and was
  one of the few persons that knew where Johnson
  wanted to be buried.

8
Slave Quarters

• No one is sure where the slaves lived, but there
  are a couple of ideas.
• They may have stayed in a cabin, about 30 feet
  from the Johnson Homestead or in a basement room
  of the main house.

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Slave Duties

• The Johnson slaves performed domestic duties
  including tasks such as washing and ironing
  clothes, cooking, cleaning, gardening, caring for
  horses, caring for Johnsons wife Eliza while she
  was sick and working for others around town.
• Johnson took Florence (Dollys daughter) with him
  to Washington, D.C.

10
Slave Duties

• Eliza Johnson taught William (Dollys son) to
  cook and he later became a pastry cook at
  Weavers Grill in Knoxville.
• He said the Johnson family treated him like on of
  their own.
• William cared for Johnson during his last ten
  days of life.

11
Freeing of his Slaves

• According to local tradition, Andrew Johnson,
  then military governor of Tennessee, freed his
  personal slaves on August 8, 1863.
• Mrs. Johnson shared the news with the slaves.
  According to William, One day Mrs. Johnson
  called us all in and said we were free now, she
  said we were free to go or we could stay is we
  wanted to. We all stayed.