Elias Polk
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Elias Polk (c. 1806 – December 30, 1886) was an African American enslaved by President James K. Polk and his family from birth until his emancipation in 1865. Following the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he became a conservative Democratic
political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...
at a time when most freedmen joined the Republican Party. As an enslaved person, Polk lived and worked at the Polk farm in
Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia. Maury County is part of the Nashville-Davidson– Murfreesb ...
, in the Columbia home of James and Sarah Polk, in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, and at the Polks' Nashville residence, Polk Place. After the president's death, Elias Polk continued to live at Polk Place and serve the widowed First Lady Sarah Childress Polk. Once Elias gained freedom, he embarked on a public speaking career in which he took up the cause of the Democratic Party and spoke on behalf of former Confederates and slaveholders.


Early life

Elias Polk was born into slavery in 1806 in
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it th ...
. He and his mother were enslaved by Samuel Polk, who was a surveyor. Within a year of his birth, the Polk family, along with those they enslaved, relocated west to the Duck River Valley of Middle Tennessee. On this new farm in what would become Maury County, Elias was raised and worked as what records of the time described as a "mill boy." Elias took grain and other farm products to local mills to be processed into flour or meal.


Career

In 1824, Samuel sent 18-year-old Elias to his son James K. Polk as a gift upon the latter's wedding to Sarah Childress. During his time with James and Sarah, Elias Polk worked as a "body servant", or valet, and "coachman" for James in Columbia, Tennessee. After James Polk was elected President in 1845, he arranged for Elias Polk and Henry Carter, Jr. (whom James Polk also enslaved) to work at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
to support the household. However, Elias's time in Washington, D.C. was cut short as he was sent to work for attorney James H. Thomas from 1846 to 1847. During the Polk Administration, Elias remained in Maury County laboring for Thomas until 1847, when Thomas was elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. At this time, Elias's rental contract was transferred to a "Mr. Matthews" at the Nelson's House Hotel in Columbia, Tennessee. Elias would remain in this position until 1849, when the Polks returned to Tennessee following the end of James's presidency. By April 1849, Elias was brought to Nashville to labor for James and Sarah Polk as an enslaved domestic servant at their mansion, Polk Place. He was taken back to Tennessee with James Polk's family. President Polk died on June 15, 1849, only three months after leaving office. From this time until the abolition of slavery in 1865, Elias Polk remained enslaved by the widowed, former first lady Sarah Childress Polk. Following the passage of the 13th Amendment and the end of slavery in the U.S., Elias began a public speaking career. He became active in the Democratic Party, throwing "in his political lot with displaced slave owners". His political alliance was unusual at a time when most
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
joined the Republican Party. In 1867, Polk was elected as the president of the "Independent Colored Conservative National Club." At a meeting whose speakers included Arthur St. Clair Colyar and Henry S. Foote in June 1867, Polk called for harmony between blacks and whites. He suggested that a new federal tax on cotton production hurt African Americans. However, this position appears to be more self-serving than genuine. Historian Zacharie W. Kinslow states, "Elias Polk understood three things following the American Civil War. He was illiterate, he was around 60-years-old, and he was black. To say his options were limited is a real understatement! He was able to look at his situation and cultivate a following and a reputation that did not necessarily make him either popular or admirable. Instead, he chose economic stability and personal security over martyrdom and furthering the cause of Civil Rights for African Americans. He made a choice of survival within the southern racial caste system, and there is something understandable and human in that. Even if it is a decision that makes us uncomfortable today." From 1871 to 1876, Polk worked as a porter, or custodian, at the
Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...
in Nashville. He returned to Washington, D.C., to work as a "laborer" at the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
from 1876 to 1882. After returning to Nashville, Polk traveled back to Washington, D.C., a few years later, where he met President
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
three days before his death.


Personal life, death and legacy

Polk was officially married twice, with a possible unrecognized earlier slave marriage. His first marriage to Harriet James was short, as the bride fell ill and died shortly after the wedding. His second wife, Mary Mansfield, worked in the coat room at the U.S. Capitol when she met Elias Polk. The two lived in the same Washington boarding house and were married in Davidson County, Tennessee, in the 1880s. Mary was 41 years younger than Elias at the time of the marriage. After visiting Washington, D.C., in 1886, Elias Polk met with President Grover Cleveland at the White House. He was informed by Captain Samuel Donelson, an employee of the U.S. House of Representatives, that Elias was to be reappointed to his old position as a "laborer" at the Capitol. However, that same day, Elias Polk died on December 30, 1886, in a hotel room in Washington, D.C. At the time of his death, Elias was in a considerable amount of debt, and his wife, Mary, was forced to mortgage her Nashville home and carriage to pay off the debts. This left her without the funds to return Elias's body to
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
for burial. Finally, in February 1887, three months after his death, Elias's body was returned to Nashville, where a funeral was held at Clark's Chapel, later known as Clark Memorial United Methodist Church. He was buried in the
Nashville City Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of Nashville's prominent historical figures are buried there. It includes the tombs of 22,000 people, 6,000 of whom were African Americans. Overview Nashville ...
. Historian Zacharie Kinslow states, "During his life, Elias Polk went from being enslaved in the White House to one of the most controversial African-American political activists of his day." For journalist Jesse J. Holland, the author of ''The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African-American Slaves in the White House,'' "In today's parlance, we'd call (Polk) an ' Uncle Tom' because he's taking the gentry's side. But that's how he felt."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Elias 1800s births 1886 deaths People from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina People from Columbia, Tennessee People from Nashville, Tennessee 19th-century American slaves American freedmen Tennessee Democrats Polk family African-American history in Nashville, Tennessee People who were enslaved by presidents of the United States People enslaved in Tennessee American domestic workers