Elizabeth Jaffray (December 26, 1860, in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

– May 2, 1934, in Ontario, Canada) was an American employed as a

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

in the early 20th century. Jaffray was retained as White House head housekeeper in 1909, a position then equivalent to that of a

majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

. Recruited from an "exclusive New York employment bureau", she became the first female chief servant in White House history. One of Jaffray's earliest, and most controversial, moves was to order the segregation of dining among White House staff. Prior to Jaffray, Caucasian and

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

butlers and valets would dine together, while lower-ranked servants such as maids and footmen would dine separately, though also at a racially integrated table. Jaffrey ordered that the two dining tables be arranged by race, instead of rank. When servants rebelled against the move she threatened mass firings, gaining their ultimate obedience. During her time at the White House she came to be regarded by employees as "a real terror". According to Major Archibald Butt, the aide de camp to President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, Jaffray claimed to have "seen and felt" the

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

of a child she believed was

William Wallace Lincoln William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln (December 21, 1850 – February 20, 1862) was the third son of President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was named after Mary's brother-in-law, Dr. William Smith Wallace. He died of typhoid fever at the White H ...

on several occasions in 1912, around the fiftieth anniversary of his death. The same year she would fret over the corpulent Taft's eating habits, prompting him to promise to go on a diet. Jaffray used horses as a means of transport longer than anyone else at the White House, continuing to be chauffeured in a

brougham Brougham may refer to: Transport * Brougham (carriage), a light four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage * Brougham (car body), an automobile with a similar style Automobile models * Cadillac Brougham, 1987–1992 * Chrysler New Yorker Brougham, c. 1 ...

for her daily shopping excursions into the mid 1920s. Jaffray remained at the White House for 17 years and left in 1926 during the presidency of

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

. Jaffray had reportedly become disgusted by Coolidge's austere spending on White House entertaining; Coolidge, in turn, referred to Jaffray by the nickname "queenie".

Grace Coolidge Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an unin ...

expressed relief at Jaffray's departure, musing that "she has come to consider herself the permanent resident and the President and his family transients". Following her departure Jaffray wrote ''Secrets of the White House''. Published by ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', the book was a tell-all about her time at the executive mansion. She was portrayed by actress

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...

in the 1979

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mini-series ''

Backstairs at the White House ''Backstairs at the White House'' is a 1979 NBC television miniseries based on the 1961 book ''My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House'' by Lillian Rogers Parks (with Frances Spatz Leighton). The series, produced by Ed Friendly Productions, ...

''. She died May 2, 1934, and is buried in an unmarked grave in Ontario, Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffray, Elizabeth 1860 births 1934 deaths American domestic workers White House staff Canadian emigrants to the United States American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Writers from Ontario 20th-century Canadian memoirists Canadian women memoirists