Georgetown in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Freed Slave and Future President
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 1, 2018
1. Freed Slave and Future President Marker
Inscription.
Freed Slave and Future President. . At the turn of the 19th century, Yarrow Mamout, a slave granted his freedom a few years earlier, amassed $200 and purchased a piece of property and a house at what is now 3330-3332 Dent Place. Born in West Africa, Yarrow worked for 50 years for Georgetown's Beall family as a mason. Quite a character , pleasant and quirky, ubiquitous on the streets of Georgetown and "the best swimmer ever seen on the Potomac" , Yarrow was a devout Muslim, who retained his African name and convention of placing his surname before his given name. His character was captured in two paintings: one by one of the most respected early American painters, Charles Willson Peale; the other by Georgetown College professor and artist, James Alexander Simpson. A copy of the Simpson painting can be seen at the Georgetown Branch Library. Peale's painting hangs in the Atwater Kent Museum in Philadelphia and has been called "the most sensitive portrait in early America with an African American as the sitter." Yarrow died at the age of 87 and was buried on his property, a few yards from here., About 150 years later, for six months in 1953, Senator John Kennedy and his bride Jacqueline rented a house across the street at 3321 Dent Place from a family friend. Photographer Orlando Suero photographed Jackie in the dining room, and the photograph appeared in Anne Garside's book, Camelot at Dawn. In the picture Jackie is wearing an evening gown while lighting candles on a table set with her silver sand Sevres china. The future president enjoyed painting in the backyard with the oil paints Jackie had given him for Christmas.
At the turn of the 19th century, Yarrow Mamout, a slave granted his freedom a few years earlier, amassed $200 and purchased a piece of property and a house at what is now 3330-3332 Dent Place. Born in West Africa, Yarrow worked for 50 years for Georgetown's Beall family as a mason. Quite a character — pleasant and quirky, ubiquitous on the streets of Georgetown and "the best swimmer ever seen on the Potomac" — Yarrow was a devout Muslim, who retained his African name and convention of placing his surname before his given name. His character was captured in two paintings: one by one of the most respected early American painters, Charles Willson Peale; the other by Georgetown College professor and artist, James Alexander Simpson. A copy of the Simpson painting can be seen at the Georgetown Branch Library. Peale's painting hangs in the Atwater Kent Museum in Philadelphia and has been called "the most sensitive portrait in early America with an African American as the sitter." Yarrow died at the age of 87 and was buried on his property, a few yards from here.
About 150 years later, for six months in 1953, Senator John Kennedy and his bride Jacqueline rented a house across the street at 3321 Dent Place from a family friend. Photographer Orlando Suero photographed Jackie in the dining room, and the photograph appeared
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in Anne Garside's book, Camelot at Dawn. In the picture Jackie is wearing an evening gown while lighting candles on a table set with her silver sand Sevres china. The future president enjoyed painting in the backyard with the oil paints Jackie had given him for Christmas.
Location. 38° 54.699′ N, 77° 4.079′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Georgetown. Marker is at the intersection of Dent Place Northwest and 34th Street Northwest, on the right when traveling east on Dent Place Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3400 Dent Place Northwest, Washington DC 20007, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 1, 2018
3. 3321 Dent Place NW
Current house at 3321 Dent Place NW, former residence of John F. Kennedy
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, July 25, 2017
4. Yarrow Mamout
This 1822 portrait of Yarrow Mamout, “Old Yarrow”, by James Alexander Simpson is on loan from the Georgetown Branch Library to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
“Yarrow Mamout’s remarkable story testifies to the contradictory attitudes toward slavery, the African diaspora, and Islam in the early years of the American Republic. When he was approximately sixteen, Yarrow was forcibly taken from his educated family in Guinea. He was bought by the Beall family in 1752, working first on a plantation near present-day Takoma Park, Maryland, and then in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Gaining his freedom after forty-four years, Yarrow remained in Georgetown — living among the approximately four hundred freed slaves there — working at many different tasks: making brick and charcoal, loading ships, weaving baskets. With his earnings, Yarrow bought stock in the local bank and, in 1800, a log home (now demolished) on Dent Place, in the garden of which he would pray toward Mecca.
James Alexander Simpson, Georgetown University’s first art instructor, painted this portrait amid rumors that Yarrow was a centenarian, which had turned him into a local celebrity of sorts. Indeed, for this reason, Charles Willson Peale, portraitist of George Washington and other luminaries, had made a special two-day visit to Georgetown to paint the 'chearfull' Yarrow a few years earlier. Upon his death, Yarrow was remembered as a pious Muslim and for his industriousness and determination in the face of adversity.” — National Portrait Gallery
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, September 12, 2016
5. 3330-3332 Dent Place, location of Yarrow Mamout's former residence
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 1, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 450 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on January 1, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 4. submitted on March 28, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 5. submitted on April 4, 2018, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.