Lucy Biography

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Lucy

Lucy came to Mount Vernon as a child, when Martha married George Washington. Lucy was an enslaved cook. She learned how to be a cook from her mother, Doll. Every day as a cook at Mount Vernon was different. The day depended on the season and the number of guests. But, Lucy always got up at 4:00 a.m. to start the fire in the Kitchen and begin to prepare for the meals that would be served. Martha Washington would visit with her after breakfast to discuss the other meals for the day. Other enslaved people from around the estate would bring ingredients to the Kitchen that Lucy would preserve and store for later, or cook with. These ingredients included fruit from the garden and cream from the dairy.

Lucy’s husband, Frank Lee, was responsible for the service of the meals she prepared in the kitchen. Lucy and Frank had at least four children together, Edmund, Mike, Phill, and Patty. Documentary evidence suggests that the Lee family probably lived in the south wing of the Mansion cellar, where the Washingtons kept a second kitchen. In addition to cooking for the household, Lucy also raised chickens for her own family to eat or to sell. Although her day was often non-stop, she was instructed, if she did have a break, to spin and knit for the Washington family.