Jean-Pierre Sioussat
- Positions
- Doorkeeper
- Usher
- Steward
- Years in President's House
- circa 1809 – 1817
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Presidency
- James Madison
- Biography
Born in Paris, France in 1781, Jean-Pierre Sioussat moved to the United States around 1806.1 Sometimes called “French John,” he worked for James and Dolley Madison at the White House; he is sometimes called the doorkeeper, steward, or master of ceremonies. He was present as British troops approached the White House during the War of 1812; Paul Jennings credits Sioussat and White House Gardener Thomas McGrath with the removal of George Washington’s portrait prior to the burning.2 He also allegedly saved Mrs. Madison’s parrot, Polly; according to family recollections, Sioussat taught the bird French phrases.3
Sioussat married three times in his life and had several children; this includes a son he named for James Madison. Sioussat died on April 29, 1864 and is buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.4
Thank you to the Papers of James Madison, to Hilarie M. Hicks, Senior Research Historian, James Madison's Montpelier, and to Holly Shulman, editor of the Dolley Madison Digital Edition, for providing research assistance with this biography.
- “John “French John” Sioussa Sr.,” FindAGrave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144005931/john-sioussa.
- Paul Jennings, A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison (Brooklyn, NY: George C. Beadle, 1865), 15.
- Hilarie M. Hicks, “Parroting Historical Research,” August 13, 2018, James Madison’s Montpelier, https://www.montpelier.org/parroting-historical-research/#_ftn3.
- “John “French John” Sioussa Sr.,” FindAGrave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144005931/john-sioussa.
- Birthplace
- Paris, France
- Burial Place
- Glenwood Cemetery
- Blue markers indicate birthplaces and green markers indicate burial places. Black markers are used for places of both birth and burial.