TIMELINE OF OWNERS AND TENANTS
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One of the unique aspects of Decatur House's history is the number of residents who made this Lafayette Square their home between 1819 and 1956. The original owners, Stephen and Susan Decatur only enjoyed their new house for fourteen short months - a duel that cut short the life of the naval hero, also cut short his wife's tenancy in the home. Thus began nearly a half-century of revolving tenants and owners - it was not until 1872, the beginning of the Beale occupancy, that a single family occupied the house for a significant period of time.

Though it was the names of the illustrious that most often appeared on the deed or the lease, Decatur House was also occupied by an untold number of servants - including the enslaved. Ongoing research continues to uncover information about these often nameless residents of Decatur House - and known information is included with the biographies residents listed below.

1819-1820
Stephen and Susan Decatur
United States Naval Commissioner and his wife

1820-1822
Baron and Baroness Hyde de Neuville
French Minister to the United States and his wife

1822-1827
Baron de Tuyll
Russian Minister to the United States

1827-1829
Henry Clay
Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams

1829-1831
Martin Van Buren
Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson

1831-1833
Edward Livingston
Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson

1834-1835
Sir Charles Vaughn
British Minister to the United States

1836-1844
John and Providence Gadsby
Hotel and Tavern Owner and his wife

1844-1861
Providence Gadsby
Widow of John Gadsby

1845-1849
George M. Dallas
Vice President of the United States

1849-1850
Joseph Gales
Publisher and Editor

1850-1851
John A. King and James G. King
New York Representative, U.S. Congress and
New Jersey Representative, U.S. Congress

1851-1857
William Appleton
Massachusetts Representative, U.S. Congress

1858-1859
James Orr
South Carolina Representative, U.S. Congress

1859-1861
Judah Benjamin
Louisiana Senator, U.S. Congress

1861-1872
John H. McBlair
Agent for heirs of John Gadsby

1861-1865
United States Army
Bureau of Subsistence, Quartermaster General

1872-1893
Edward F. Beale and Mary Beale
Frontiersman, Entrepreneur, Ambassador and his wife

1893-1903
Mary Beale
Widow of Edward Beale, daughter of Samuel Edwards,
Pennsylvania Congressman 1785 -1850

1903-1938
Truxtun Beale and Marie Beale
Ambassador to Persia, Greece, Romania, Serbia and his wife

1938-1956
Marie Beale
Socialite, author, and preservationist

1956 - present
The National Trust for Historic Preservation
The nation's largest preservation organization