Hercules: Cooking An Escape And Serving Some Freedom

Historical records indicate that Hercules was born sometime around 1750, which means that he was approximately 40 years old when he was transported to America's first "White House" in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Mt. Vernon, Virginia by George Washington. Hercules, as an enslaved African descendent, labored as Washington's chef. But he was not just a run-of-the-mill chef; he was actually a thoroughly impressive chief chef.

In terms of his personal life, he was married to a woman named Alice, an enslaved seamstress at Mount Vernon. Together they had three children, including Richmond who was one of the nine African descendants brought to Philadelphia by Washington. After Alice died in 1787, Hercules alone raised those children and probably had a fourth child later.

Despite his renowned culinary talents and his "prominent" status as the chief chef in the president's household, Hercules knew that he was nothing more than a thing, a "species of property" to Washington. That is exactly why, sometime in March 1797 in Philadelphia, he escaped and remained forever "free" at some unknown location until some unknown death date.