In a genealogical discovery, researchers have identified the first confirmed living descendants of an enslaved individual who contributed to the construction of the White House. Jackie Smith Sullivan and her daughter Ashley Swain learned that Swain's fourth great-grandfather, Calvert Ambush, worked on the North Portico of the White House in the summer of 1829.
"There's a piece of him that's inside of me,” Swain, a neuroscience Ph.D. and mother of three in Atlanta, stated. “To understand whose blood is running through my veins, understand the connection that I have and how we got to where we are today, I think that is amazing."
The breakthrough was achieved through a collaboration between ABC News and American Ancestors, a genealogical organization. Researchers from American Ancestors' 10 Million Names project spent over two years sifting through numerous records across several states to find names of enslaved individuals who worked on the White House and had traceable family lines to people living today. Since 2023, ABC News has partnered with 10 Million Names to highlight the history and legacy of slavery in America through genealogical research.
"This is needle in a haystack stuff,” said Yale professor Vincent Brown, a member of the 10 Million Names Scholars' Council. “I mean, you're looking for little property records, birth records in churches, deeds and bills of sale, anything with someone's name on it, but those are scattered all over the place.” The process of genealogy requires finding documents for each person in every descending generation to construct a family tree reaching the present day.
Lindsay Fulton, Chief Research Officer at 10 Million Names, confirmed that this is the first instance where a genealogical organization has linked living descendants to an enslaved person who worked on the White House. "We know that Calvert [Ambush] was one of the people who built the White House from this payroll record," Fulton explained.
Following their discovery, Swain and Smith Sullivan visited the National Archives in Washington, D.C., where they met with author and enslaved labor expert Jesse Holland. Holland presented them with a 197-year-old government payroll record listing individuals who worked on the White House, including Ambush.
"In this box, we have the receipts,” Holland said, referring to the document. He noted that the government rented enslaved people from their enslavers. Swain described the experience of seeing Ambush's name on the original document as “surreal.”
Holland also stated that enslaved laborers were involved in every aspect of constructing both the White House and the U.S. Capitol, from quarrying stones to building roofs, walls, and columns. He added that enslaved workers slept in tents along the National Mall during construction.
Between 1792 and 1829, more than 200 enslaved laborers are recorded as having helped build these structures, though experts believe the number was likely higher. While they worked alongside European craftsmen and some white wage laborers, the wages earned by enslaved workers were paid directly to their enslavers.
Calvert Ambush's path to freedom began in 1833 when his uncle, John Freeman, who had previously been enslaved by Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, secured Ambush's freedom by taking out a $620 loan. Records indicate Ambush married Patsey Cryde in 1834, and they had three children.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama, who in 2016 stated that she woke up each morning in a "house that was built by slaves," recently spoke with Robin Roberts about the discovery. “We're standing on everybody's shoulders to be here,” Obama said. “The whole notion that there are people who are more deserving of being here and enjoying the freedoms of this country, you know, that's just not true. There were a lot of people with a lot of different backgrounds who have toiled and died and served to make this country what it is."