such luminaries as daniel webster, henry clay and stephen douglas. one of his patrons was lord ashburton whose residence while residing in washington is now the rectory to the church in which we are presently meeting. in fact james gave the ashburton name to his eldest son, william henry ashburton wormley. james and his family were among the black members of the 19th street baptist church whose white slave holding pastor was named brown. sometimes i ponder. what must it have been like to have your religious leader, a slave holder, as with this pastor? while serving as a pastor at this church, reverend brown also served on the boards of the columbian college with william corchoran, and on the mercantile board with george rigs. james and his wife were married in 1841 by this pastor. in that the wormley family and

attended this church, one can readily see that these great figures were very familiar with the family and james in particular. shortly after 1850, lynch passed leaving each of his off spring to continue their personal growth in the fashion most suitable in their minds. drawing upon his skills as a nurse and catering to the rich and powerful, james became the first steward of the newly established exclusive washington club on la fayette park. based upon several newspaper accounts, his reputation grew substantially among washington elite. members of the club included jefferson davis, william corchoran, george riggs, george washington park, governor john floyd, seward and many others. the club was located in what had previously been known as the rodgers mansion adjacent to the

house on madison. this house ultimately became the civil war era residence of secretary of state, william seward and one of the victims of the lincoln related assassination attempts. another story known by most folks familiar with 19th century washington, revolves around the violent shooting of a washington club member, phillip barton key. the son of francis scott key by daniel sickles. according to published sources, james retrieved key's withering body from the sidewalk and brought him inside. the prosecution of daniel sickles was handled by one member of the club, robert old, as the district attorney. the defense of sickles was handled by another member, edwin stanton. soon to be secretary of war under president lincoln. both of these men would figure prominently in james' life during and after the war. stanton regularly would be in contact with james while he served as a member of the cabinet. even subsequent to the war, they were involved in several

business transactions. old on the other hand returned to virginia and served in the confederacy as the commissioner, a prisoner exchange for jefferson davis. during one of the negotiations conducted at fortress monroe, james accompanied the union delegation and prepared a special meal for his friend old for the negotiations. apparently upon seeing old, james commented i knew he hadn't seen a square meal in a long time. after the war when bob old returned to d.c., james invited him to come to his restaurant to share a glass of wine. james asked him how he enjoyed the wine to which old commented it was a fine wine. james then let him know that it was a wine from old's personal collection. had turned out that james had preserved most of old's personal effects and was pleased to

return them to him as the war had ended. during the 1850s while the washington club was emerging, james also operated his own businesses in the properties on i street directly behind us today. his early hotel patrons were people like general scott. it had begun to develop quite a following. though daughter of an alabama senator, she speaks to how the hotel was, quote, a synonym for delightful living. and the acme of living. as the war approached, the membership of the washington club declined and after the sickles shooting in 1859, the club folded. public notices were posted in the papers that a meeting of the members was to be held on james restaurant on i street. as the civil war commenced,

james and his sons were fully acquainted with president lincoln and other members of the white house family it and staff. when willie lincoln had become ill, early in the administration, james was called in to help him recuperate by applying the nursing skills for which he had become famous. the steward of white house well knew the family. two of his daughters married two of james' sons during the war. unfortunately both women passed before the end of the decade. 6 further the family, and the confida confidant, knew the wormleys because they attended the same church which you heard about this morning. another little known fact is that james wormley was called upon to attend to president in peterson house. this story is not well known, but it's documented in news paper accounts.

general mcclellan during the war years lived on and around la fayette square including madison house and was noted as dining frequently at wormleys giving elaborate meals for 20. by now the reputation of wormleys was international in scope. it was widely known as the residence of choice for many european and south american delegates and financiers and was described by the famous european author in his multivolume treatment of his travels in america. trollop, while in washington, in 1860, was a frequent guest on madison place. he engaged rooms at the wormley's establishment on i street. in his book about his travels, he described wormley as thusly. i'm bound to say that my friend did well for me. i found myself put up at the house of one wormley, a colored man in i street to whose attention i can recommend any english man who may chance to watch porters in washington.

i conceive myself to be greatly in luck. in 1863 when blacks were finally allowed to join in the battles of the war, james' brother, samuel, and two of his sons, had registered for the draft and served in the army. being the very first to enlist in the new d.c. regiment, william served with charles and john cook jr. as quoted in the tribune. quoting from a battlefront letter to douglas from his son charles. as further evidence of the role the family played in abolition, james actively engaged in slave running. on a visit with governor seward, a correspondent wrote seward had commented that he and james had spirited slaves down the james river on their schooner to freedom a year and a half prior to the emancipation proclamation.

i often contemplate what a dichotomy that james wormley maintained his personal relationships with confederate leaders such as jeff davis, floyd, sleidel, and old, at the same time time he was fighting for freedom and abolition and his son lives were on the line in the civil war. when the 13th amendment was passed, there was a custom that members of congress would circulate copies of the document among colleagues for signatures to have as a memento of its passage. charles sumner, one of its supporters, had obtained on his copy over 150 signatures, including of that president lincoln. sumner, as evidence of his friendship, he gave his copy to james. that copy containing the most original signatures in existence today, is now part of the collection at the indiana university library and is called the wormley sumner copy. from before the warriors until

his death, charles sumner had a very close relationship with james and his family. not only did james assist him with his needs while in the district, they also met regularly to discuss current political trends. james was at his bedside in his final hours and accompanied the body for funeral services at kings chapel in boston. their friendship was finally memorialized when james donated sumner's portrait. which had been commissioned by james to the commonwealth of mismis. massachusetts. as the senator's personal effects were being auctioned out of his estate, james purchased the largest number of artifacts which were used to furnish the sumner parlor at the hotel. during the war, james not only conducted a hotel and restaurant, he also operated a catering business, meeting the great demand for such services by the war effort. he regularly catered meals at the various government departments.

also was paid to provide meals for confederate prisoners of war. among his hotel guests in the original complex on i street in 1867, with the japanese commissioners who arrived with great national interest. their stay lasted six weeks and was followed closely in the new york and other papers giving detailed descriptions of their daily activities including a description of their menu. in fact if you go to the white house historical association exhibit, at the renwick gallery, you'll see two bronze urns that were donated at the time of their visit at the white house -- at the wormley hotel. in 1868, james was elicited to accompany him to help set up his household in london and to introduce the chesapeake delicacy to the diplomatic corps. while there, he travelled to

paris to gather other service items and recipes for his kitchen. toward the latter years of the war, the initial effort to form a social club, known as metropolitan club arose and had its rooms in a building located on the southwest corner of the intersection of 15th and 8th street where the american bar association building now stands. james was its first steward and was highly regarded. but that version of the club only lasted a few years. during the next year that building was operated as a hotel, but, by april of 1869, and not 1971 -- 1871, as almost universally asserted, james had taken over the building and opened the next major phase in the evolution of the wormley hotel business. in his new and larger facilities, james had greatly expanded his capacity with 150 rooms, dining rooms, barber shop celebrated liquor stores and universally regarded hospitality, his establishment had become even

more the center of political and social life of washington. it housed members of congress in absolute comfort, as well as served as the home of several foreign ligations. its proximity to la fayette square made it the residence of choice for the elegant and wealthy members of society and government. during this same time, james' sons were actively combatting the long established discriminatory practices in commerce around the district. one of them was ejected from the dress circle of the national theater. james t. wormley felt as long as he could pay the price of admission, he should be able to sit where he wished. this conflict was reported in the major newspapers of the day. in another instance in their fight for civil rights, their effort to eat in a downtown restaurant was challenged. when he attempted to join his white city colleagues to dine. as part of their struggle to enhance education for blacks, william h.a. wormley had been named to the first board of

education for d.c. schools for colored children. and there after, the consolidated board. during his tenure, he attempted to enroll a black child in what was a white school building near her home, rather than the colored one further away. of course, this created quite a storm, but was ultimately unsuccessful. james t., his brother x. pressed his yearning for further education by becoming a member of the inaugural class of howard university, ultimately becoming its very first graduate of any of its departments from the medical school in 1870 being the only one in its class. in 1873, many members of the wormley family clan opened bank accounts in friedman's bank at the southern end of the square even though their primary banking relationship was next door with rigs bank. one of the most famous events at the hotel was what has been commonly known as the wormley compromise.

this compromise was allegedly the culminating meeting that brought resolution to the disputed presidential election of the 1877 between rutherford b. hayes and tilton marking the end of reconstruction. when henry and clover adams returned to washington, to live in 1877, they took up a several month residency at the establishment of their friend james. even after they moved in to their home across 16th street from here, they continued to patronize the hotel along with their friends john and clarence where their social group had become known as five of hearts. haye, having known james, called upon james to assist in personal needs he had throughout his time in the city. the hotel had become so prominent in the social circle of the elite in d.c. that in the early part of 1878, the spanish minister hosted the spanish ball at the hotel, which was declared one of the most elegant events ever held in washington.

in a newspaper account, the scene was described in the following manner -- while approaching wormley's evening, an awning was arranged forming a cover from the street to the front door. within the hotel brilliant lights and the sound of delicious music greeted the guests. spacious dressing rooms were provided in the parlors on the left of the hall where several maid were in attendance to take care of the wrappings. the four, deep, broad, parlors on opposite sides were thrown together forming a magnificent salon. clover adams in her book described the decorations this way. quote, the long parlors were masked with orange trees, magnolias and banks of flowers that completely covered several of the doors. even the chandeliers were a mass of flowers, end quote. typical similar events held at the hotel, attendees included members of the senate, congress,

cabinet, supreme court, military, and official representativives of all the foreign delegations. elegance of the hotel operations mirrored the standards of the world class establishments. in fact, every president from buchanan to teddy roosevelt on one occasion or another partook of the wormley hospitality. president garfield attended a dinner the night before his inauguration. even at the end of president garfield's life after the assassination attempt, wormley catered to him at the white house by preparing his meals and nursing him during his suffering. national newspaper accounts report how james prepared a concoction known as beef tea. in those accounts, the papers report on how james was always called upon to attend to our greatest leaders of the 19th century to lend aid and comfort. the hotel had become the

accommodation of choice for politicians and wealthy elite of the world. mrs. astor, of waldorf-astoria fame, stayed there at the occasion of the after party at the white house. prince napolean, hamilton fish and all the aristocrats in new york engaged rooms during their visit into the city. the chief lord justice of england reserved rooms there in 1884. in a book by another european author, the hotel was described as one of the quietest most elegant and most comfortable hotho hosteleries, in the federal capital. the proprietor a colored man of gentle manners and great administrative abilities. james was even an inventor and was one of the earliest blacks to receive a patent from the u.s. patent office in 1881. unfortunately, james died in boston in 1884. this tragic turn of events was

reported in most every metropolitan paper in the nation. the funeral was held in the hotel, attended by a crowd reportedly of 2,000 people. the casket was attended by 16 pallbearers. of the most prominent men in the city. the curettage was two miles long blocking traffic along h street. the remembrances of his life included comments from men like the great philanthropist, william corchoran stating, "washington had lost one of its best and finest citizens." one article described how he had sent the widow of former governor, john b. floyd and other ladies large boxes of delicacies at the holidays even when they were old and poor. another article describing his renowned integrity was a story where james kept a framed picture of a hack accompanied by two dishonored promissory notes over the desk in the lobby.

these notes having been used to buy his first carriage and harness set in 1847, but only some of the notes were paid. when asked about the hanging, he would tell the tale how he kept that frame assemblage in front of everyone to remember all of his former disgrace and how his integrity was paramount to him. his life was replete with tales of how his word was his bond and that discretion was truly his code of honor. in honor of the memory of james wormley, an elementary school for the black children of d.c. was dedicated in 1885. this building still exists and is located in georgetown on prospect near 33rd street and has been converted to condominiums. after his death, the hotel was continued through december 1893, first by all three sons an ultimately just by james t. wormley. this final decade of the hotel was part of its greatest era of prominence.

secretary blaine hosted a reception for 400 to honor the german and france ligations. the entertainment was provided by the u.s. marine band which was conducted by america's most recognized band leader, john phillip sousa. the hotel was famous for the business and society leading sectors by having as regular patrons such as distinguished persons s as financiers who had invested $15 million in u.s. railroads, august belmont and governor leiland stanford of california. as i close, i ask that now we reflect on how generally the role of blacks has been routinely diminished when read through the prism of the biassed attitudes of the prevailing society of the day. if we relied upon commonly held beliefs, blacks had no role in the history of life in lafayette square except as slaves or subser vichvient

beings forever living in the background of the community. while i have skimmed the surface of the facts gleaned to date, it is clear that we have failed our citizens by neglecting on recognize the achievement of people like the wormleys, cooks and others, who in their daily lives fought every day for the advancement of all people. my sincere gratitude to the white house historical association for recognizing that people of color did more than live lives of servitude and rebellion but strove and achieved very significant accomplishments, not because of their color, but in spite of that god given gift. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. [ applause ] >> thank you, don. the second speaker in our session this afternoon is shelly

stokes-hammond, a development and public affairs officer at the lee howard university library. and, last year, she received a master's degree in historic preservation at gowtry university, and as an adjunct professor there, it was my pleasure to advise her on a field work project that she will -- that will form the basis of her presentation this afternoon. on oscar and jesse depriest. please welcome shelly to the podium. thank you. [ applause ] >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. i would also like to thank neal hortzman, bill riley, for the opportunity to share with you the story about the depriests

and the not-so-secret tea at the white house. let's see if we can -- the right? thank you. when it comes to american history, there are many significant days. some uplifting and inspirational, others are more disappointing and disheartening. most people remember the year 1929 for the devastating crash of the stock market in october. and the great depression that followed. however, three other days that year, march 4th, april 15th, and june 12th, also capture our imagination. on those days both heartening and disheartening events occurred that are inextricably tied to oscar stanton depriest and his wife jesse l. williams depriest, who once lived in a nation's capital at 419 u street northwest and these days are

also connected with a not-so-secret tea that mrs. depriest attended at the white house at the invitation of wife of herbert hoover. the first special day, march 4th, 1929, was a cold and rain y day for presidential inauguration. nefrtles nefrtless -- nevertheless, president elect, herbert hoover and his wife arrived in spirits for the ceremonies. he in his top hat and she in a plum velvet outfit. as the rain poured down, chief justice howard william taft, administered the oath shortly after 11:00 in the morning. it seems that congressman elect depriest was present at the ceremony based on artifacts shared by phillip depriest, his great grandson, whom you'll hear from a little later today. the inaugural day full of hope, promise and festivities ended

with a ball. a few weeks later on april 15, 1929, it was also a rainy day when oscar depriest became the first african-american of the 20th century to be sworn into t more than the usual amount of curiosity always attended upon this most national event. there was much craning of necks, question and an air of expectancy which increased as the time of the opening approached. congressman depriest was elected by the citizens of the 1st district in cook county. with black representation absent in the congress for 28 years, the nation's 12 million black

americans at that time looked to congressman depriest as their own. black representation in congress did not occur until 101 years after the first congress met on march 4, 1789, and only after the civil war had ended in 1865. the first african-american to serve in congress was a republican who represented mississippi. the first black to serve in the house of representatives was joseph h. rainey, a republican also representing south carolina. between 1870 and 1887, 17 african-americans were elected members of congress, all from the new reconstruction governments of the former confederate states. all but two were born in the south, eight were born this slavery. the greatest number, seven,

serving at any one time representing in this photograph until 1969 when there were a total of nine members seated. for most african americans, the election of congressman depriest was like a dream come true. the chicago defender defined the swearing in of mr. depriest as a fulfillment of a prophecy. why? because the words expressed in the house floor by congressman h. white of north carolina in 1901, he said this mr. chairman is perhaps the negro's temporary farewell in the american congress, but let me say phoenix like, he will rise up some day and come again. congressman white was the last black to serve in congress until depriest was elected. up in the visitors gallery, which was segregated at that time, sat the family of congressman depriest. according to the "chicago

tribune," the words often heard whispered in the gallery were, there he is, when people spotted depriest. to overt attempts to keep depriest from being seated, the speaker of the house nicholas long worth, administered the oath to all members at once rather than individually. longworth's decision was influenced by his wife, alice roosevelt longworth, who has been urged by her good friend congresswoman ruth mccormack who was also another newly elected member from illinois. depriest's name was the first on the list of the illinois representatives when the roll call commenced. at 58 years old, he stood 6 feet tall, weighed 200 pounds, had a light complexion, sandy hair and blue eyes. he was sworn in at 1:45 p.m., the session adjourned by 2:00. afterwards, he returned to his office and his desk was banked

with flowers and many friends and well wishers. but out of everyone did not welcome congressman de priest. george pritchard, a democrat from north carolina, refused to accept his office next door. but representative laguardia of new york rebuked such practices. so who was this man who made history in the halls of congress that day? oscar depriest was born in florence, alabama on march 9th, 1871. his parents, alexander and mary, carsner-de priest, were former slaves. his father are made a living as a farmer. alexander was a friend and supporter of reconstruction congressman james rapier. he helped rainier escape threats from the kkk