John Dabney
ENCYCLOPEDIA VIRGINIA
“skillful architect of pyramidal adornment”
U
nlike their counterparts in the big northern cities, a number of barkeepers in Richmond were men of color, free or enslaved.
There was Jasper Crouch, a freedman, who served up drinks at the Quoit Club. John Dabney, who was owned by the DeJarnette family, and, according to the Richmond Times, was the “cunningest compounder of beverages, and the most skillful architect of pyramidal adornments and floral fancy garniture.” He was working to buy his and his wife’s freedom. The war ended before he had paid the full debt. Even though he did not have to, he paid the remaining money anyway.
Jim Cook, a slave, served HRH the Prince of Wales during his 1860 visit to Richmond. Cook’s juleps were the Prince’s fondest memory of his visit. (This event is also attributed to Dabney and they worked together in at least one Richmond restaurant.) Lemuel Butler worked at the Powhatan House and formally at the Columbian. He died in 1870 at the age of 52. A newspaper advertisement in Richmond’s Daily Dispatch run in 1857 specifically requested for hire “a competent barkeeper (colored)” to work at the Springs for the summer season, with the option to stay for the balance of the year if desired. T H E A M E R I C A N C I V I L WA R M U S E U M 1 1
