Thomas Bishop was a hired, white servant at Mount Vernon. Initially, he came to America with General Edward Braddock from England in the spring of 1755. Given his role accompanying Braddock, he was involved in the conflict in the Seven Years’ War. George Washington met Bishop through Braddock, and eventually hired him as his servant. Bishop would later be employed at Mount Vernon from 1761 until his death in 1795.
According to Martha Washington's grandson George Washington Parke Custis, Bishop had been part of "Braddock’s own regiment" during the battle of the Monongahela, "and, on account of possessing superior intelligence, was detailed as a body-servant, to accompany that ill-fated commander on the expedition to Fort du Quesne." Bishop was close to Braddock throughout the battle and assisted in carrying the mortally wounded general from the field.1 After Braddock’s death he sought other employment. Shortly after Washington was promoted to colonel of the Virginia regiment, he hired Bishop at a rate of ten pounds per year. In 1756, Bishop along with fellow servant John Alton accompanied George Washington and his aide, Captain George Mercer, on a trip to Boston, traveling via Philadelphia, New York, New London, Connecticut, Newport, and Providence.2 Bishop left his position seven months after Washington's retirement to civilian life. However, he later returned to Washington’s employ at Mount Vernon in 1761.
At Mount Vernon he completed various tasks for the Washington family. He entrusted Bishop to deliver wheat and handle disputes regarding its quantities.3 Other task involved overseeing enslaved labor at Mount Vernon. Among the tasks Bishop is known to have performed over the years were: safekeeping and distributing the alcohol provided to enslaved and hired laborers during the harvest in 1764. He also was the overseer at Muddy Hole Farm from 1766 to 1769.4 In these roles he often worked with farm managers and indentured servants, as well as those enslaved by the Washington family.
Bishop's wife, Susanna, served as a hired servant at Mount Vernon for many years. In addition to performing tasks for the Washington family, she also was a midwife for enslaved women at Mount Vernon. She died on the evening of Sunday, December 4, 1785. Thomas and Susanna’s daughter, Sarah, married Thomas Green, a carpenter and joiner at Mount Vernon.5
Bishop passed away in January of 1795. Upon learning of the death of his old servant, George Washington wrote: "Altho' Bishop should never have wanted victuals or cloaths whilst he lived, yet his death cannot be cause for regret, even to his daughter; to whom, from the imbecility of age, if not when he died, he soon must have become very troublesome to her, and a burthen to all around him."6 In his will, George Washington left his daughter Sarah a bequest of $100, "in consideration of the attachment" of her father "to me…having lived nearly forty years in my family."7
Notes:
1. Benson J. Lossing. Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington, by his Adopted Son, George Washington Parke Custis (New York: Derby & Jackson, 1860), 158.
2. George Washington, "Notes on Journey to Boston, February 1756," The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 1, 297n, 298, 299.
3. “George Washington to Carlyle & Adam,” The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008. Colonial Series (7 July 1748–15 June 1775), Volume 7 (1 January 1761–15 June 1767)
4. George Washington, "13 June 1764," The Diaries of George Washington, Vol. 1, 329; The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, Vol. 7, 443, 516; Vol. 8, 104, 221.
5. George Washington, "4 December 1785," The Diaries of George Washington, Vol. 4, 244, 244n.
6. "George Washington to William Pearce, 25 January 1795," The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 34, 103.
7. George Washington, "Last Will and Testament, July 1799," The Writings of George Washington, Vol. 37, 287. In the months before Thomas Bishop's death, his son-in-law left Sarah and their child at Mount Vernon. Washington financially assisted Sarah when she moved to Alexandria to find work to support herself and her child.
