Decatur House
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Document summoning Henry Clay to court to answer Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom.
Credit: National Archives, Washington, DC
Few people know the story of a brave woman named Charlotte Dupuy who was enslaved in Decatur House, the large brick residence that has stood on Lafayette Square at the corner of H Street and Jackson Place since 1818. In 1829, while living at Decatur House, Dupuy sued her owner, Secretary of State Henry Clay, for her freedom. Charlotte Dupuy, or "Lotty" as she was known, felt that Clay was obligated to uphold an agreement she had with her previous owner to free her and her two children, Charles and Mary Ann. Clay's tenure as the Secretary of State ended before the case was decided, so Clay was instructed by the Circuit Court to leave Dupuy behind in Washington, though he took her husband and children back to Kentucky with him. Charlotte Dupuy continued to live in Decatur House and was employed by the home's next resident, Secretary of State Martin Van Buren.
The Court ultimately ruled against Dupuy and she was forcibly taken to the New Orleans residence of Clay's daughter and, eventually, to Clay's Kentucky estate. In 1840, eleven years after her lawsuit, Henry Clay freed Charlotte Dupuy.
Today at Decatur House, you can see a reconstruction of the kitchen where Charlotte Dupuy probably worked.
Listen to:
Decatur House Tour Audio
Call 1 (202) 595-1859, then 118#. (Quicktime Version)
Related Images:
 Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy to Henry Clay Click Image to Enlarge Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy from James Condon to Henry Clay  Charlotte Dupuy's Petition Click Image to Enlarge Letter written by Robert Beale on behalf of Charlotte Dupuy petitioning the Judges to summon Henry Clay to court.  First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom Click Image to Enlarge A letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom.  Decatur House Today Click Image to Enlarge Decatur House, a National Trust Historic Site, located on Lafayette Square in Washington, DC. |
Related Subjects:
Enslaved People
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Weddings at St. John's Church | Selected entries from the St. John's Church marriage register. |
| Thomas Greene Bethune [Wiggins], 1849 -1908 | Photograph of blind piano prodigy Thomas Greene Bethune, the first African American artist to perform at the White House. |
| The White House | From slavery to sit-ins.... |
| Tayloe House | Compensated emancipation, only in DC... |
| St. John's Church | Free and enslaved African Americans are married and baptized at the President's parish... |
| President's House Carpenters' Roll from May 1795 | Payment record for carpenters,including five enslaved men, who constructed the President's House. |
| Paul Jennings | Paul Jennings |
| Members of Gadsby's Enslaved Household | A list of their names and ages. |
| Lafayette Square | An enslaved woman buys her freedom and changes the nation's history.... |
| Gadsby Slave Quarters at Decatur House ca.1937 | Photograph taken by Volkmar Wentzel in 1937 showing the H Street side of the slave quarters at Decatur House. |
| Frederick Douglass | Revered African American leader. |
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Ewell House | Buying, selling, and resisting. |
| Emancipation in the District of Columbia - List of the Petitions Filed | Government document showing claims paid for emancipated slaves to the former owners. |
| Elizabeth Keckly (1818-1907) | Elizabeth Keckly was born into slavery in 1818. She went on to purchase her own freedom and establish a successful dressmaking business. |
| Dolley Madison's House | A former slave shows charity toward an impoverished First Lady. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters Floor Plans | Floorplans and architectural drawings of the Decatur House slave quarters. |
| Decatur House Slave Quarters | Men, women, and children from two families living together in 900 square feet... |
| Daniel Webster's House | A slave plans a daring escape, but has a change of heart... |
Resistance to Slavery
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Paul Jennings' Letter | Reading of letter from Paul Jennings to Daniel Webster. |
| Paul Jennings | Paul Jennings |
| Frederick Douglass | Revered African American leader. |
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Ewell House | Buying, selling, and resisting. |
| Dolley Madison's House | A former slave shows charity toward an impoverished First Lady. |
| Daniel Webster's House | A slave plans a daring escape, but has a change of heart... |
| Charlotte Dupuy's Petition | Letter written by Robert Beale on behalf of Charlotte Dupuy petitioning the Judges to summon Henry Clay to court. |
| Charlotte Dupuy | Charlotte Dupuy, an enslaved woman who sued her owner Henry Clay for her freedom. |
| Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy to Henry Clay | Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy from James Condon to Henry Clay. |
Charlotte Dupuy
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| First page of a letter from Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's petition for freedom | Letter written written by Henry Clay to his agent in Washington, Philip Fendall, regarding Charlotte Dupuy's bid for freedom. |
| Charlotte Dupuy's Petition | Letter written by Robert Beale on behalf of Charlotte Dupuy petitioning the Judges to summon Henry Clay to court. |
| Charlotte Dupuy | Charlotte Dupuy, an enslaved woman who sued her owner Henry Clay for her freedom. |
| Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy to Henry Clay | Bill of Sale for Charlotte Dupuy from James Condon to Henry Clay. |
Related Websites:
More about Decatur House's African American residents on its website.
http://www.decaturhouse.org/people/africanamericans.htm
Search "Decatur House" in The Library of Congress' Historic American Buildings Survey to see architectural drawings and photographs of this building.
www.memory.loc.gov/pp/hhhtml/hhabt.html
